Caffe Inc. uses upcycled coffee grounds for sustainable beauty solutions

10 Jun 2024 --- Caffe Inc. recovers resources from coffee by-products, such as spent coffee grounds, to create an oil for personal care applications as an alternative to palm and argan oils. Coffee oil has nourishing properties that can benefit the skin and hair.

Globally, 800 billion cups of coffee are consumed each year. However, only 1% of the coffee bean ends up in a cup of coffee. Caffe Inc. says it uses the other 99% to make a cosmetic ingredient. 

Personal Care Insights speaks to the eco-friendly coffee-based products company about its solutions and influence in the beauty industry.

What inspired the company to focus on coffee-based cosmetics?
Caffe Inc.: Among many agricultural bi-products, coffee waste is one of the beverage industry’s largest sources of organic waste. Globally, about 9.5 billion kg of coffee is produced annually. However, for every kg of coffee made, 80% goes to waste. Coffee is a valuable plant product rich in beneficial ingredients such as antioxidants, caffeine and essential fatty acids. In brewing coffee, the primary use for this commodity, much of its value is preserved to be upcycled.

How does coffee oil affect the skin and hair?
Caffe Inc.: Our products improve the skin barrier and support skin repair due to their rich content of vitamin E, antioxidants, Omega-6 and Omega-3 and caffeine. The richness in vitamin E and antioxidants protects against free radicals and strengthens the skin barrier, and Omega-6 and Omega-3 are essential building blocks for the skin barrier. The caffeine content is known to promote blood circulation and help stimulate hair growth. Meanwhile, polyphenols and melanoidins provide support against dandruff, and kahweol and cafestol promote hair growth.

What are the sustainability credentials of your products?
Caffe Inc.: We are building a strong case for upcycled coffee oil, as it has a fatty acid composition similar to other extremely popular oils such as palm and argan. Compared to these oils, coffee oil has additional properties that benefit our health. Palm oil is the world’s most widely used vegetable oil, with 66 million consumed annually, while oil plantations cover more than 27 million hectares worldwide, including tropical rainforests.

Caffe Inc. uses upcycled coffee oil for beauty products.Similarly, argan oil is also linked to deforestation. The scarcity of argan trees in Morocco, coupled with the rising domestic use of the product and the use of the trees for building materials, is expected to constrain the production of argan oil. Replacing virgin materials with coffee oil reduces the impact on natural habitats.

Our circular solution offers an environmental impact five times better than conventional solutions in the market. Unlike argan oil and castor oil, which require plantations and often lead to deforestation, our use of waste streams makes us a more sustainable option. Additionally, we offer a carbon-negative proposition as we use all the ingredients of spent coffee grounds, capturing the carbon in the materials we produce.

How important is sustainability to Caffe Inc.?
Caffe Inc.: Sustainability is at the core of Caffe Inc. and is our primary reason for operating. Our business model is designed so that as we grow and process more coffee grounds, we reduce environmental impact by minimizing waste. We are a purpose-driven company on a mission to eliminate coffee waste sustainably. We find value in coffee through green chemistry by extracting different products to achieve this. In the modern economy, making a sustainable environmental impact without supplying a level of value is challenging.

What is the target consumer for your coffee ground solutions?
Caffe Inc.: Our target customers are businesses that manufacture cosmetic products and are driven by a sustainable purpose. We aim to supply customers who can utilize the benefits of upcycled coffee ingredients. As we scale up to large-scale production, we are looking to launch our products with mainstream suppliers to expand the reach of our sustainable solutions.

Do you think any consumers would hold reservations about the products made from upcycled coffee grounds?
Caffe Inc.: As a manufacturer of upcycled ingredients, we aim to ensure top quality and never compromise on it. We already match the quality level of virgin coffee oil. The market trend is moving toward more sustainable and upcycled solutions, and we believe consumers will increasingly embrace this shift. As awareness grows, any reservations about products made from upcycled coffee grounds will likely diminish.

We need cosmetic market pioneers to open the market for sustainable and upcycled ingredients and solutions. That also means that cosmetics do not always look like conventional products. An open mindset is needed. For example, colors might not be as white as they used to be.

What are you currently developing in the world of coffee-based cosmetics?
Caffe Inc.: We are launching a refined oil with a clear profile and a neutral smell. This coffee oil can be used in a wider variety of products. We are also working on a new product, “a coffee extract,” in powder form.

By Sabine Waldeck