Founded by brother-sister duo Anna and William Brightman, UK-based company UpCircle is a sustainable skincare brand shaking up the industry with the concept of ‘by-product beauty.’
UpCircle focuses on creating a circular economy by upcycling discarded ingredients into high performing, quality skincare products.
After noticing how coffee grounds were being discarded in astounding quantities each day, the co-founders decided to create an innovative way to repurpose them. UpCircle gives these coffee grounds a new lease of life in the form of skincare, and also salvages ingredients such as fruit stones and chai spices.
Beginning with a popular coffee-based exfoliant, UpCircle expanded its product range to include cleansers, moisturizers, and serums. The salvaged chai spices are ground up and used to make gently exfoliating soap bars with delicious fragrances such as cinnamon and ginger, and fennel and cardamom. Discarded fruit stones that are rich in Vitamin A, C, and E are ground and used in a variety of different moisturizers and face balms.
As of December 2019, UpCircle hit the milestone of saving 200 tonnes of coffee from being wasted. The company started with the mission to provide quality skincare from natural waste ingredients and has grown into a globally stocked brand that ships worldwide to an ever-growing customer base.
