Everything You Need To Know About UpCircle, from co-founder Anna Brightman

If, like me, you’ve seen UpCircle products all over Instagram, you’ll be as excited as I was hear more about the pioneering skincare brand with sustainably at the forefront of all they do.

UpCircle describes itself as a natural ethical skincare brand that is both vegan and cruelty free. Basically all you need to know is, they turn leftover natural ingredients (e.g. used coffee grounds) into quality skincare products - meaning you can look good, but feel good about it too.

I chatted to co-founder Anna to get more insight into how such a unique idea came to fruition with UpCircle as the pioneer in by-product beauty, what the journey has been like and the ups and downs she’s faced along the way.

Even better, the UpCircle team are offering C Word readers 20% off with code CWORD!

What made you want to start UpCircle?

It all started about four years ago now. My brother William (co-founder) asked his local coffee shop what they did with their used coffee grounds at the end of the day and was shocked to hear that they were producing so much that they had to pay the council to have it removed and disposed of on landfill sites. 

He decided it was a great starting point for a business idea, but wasn’t sure what that idea was – that’s where I came in. Throughout my teenage years I wanted to be a makeup artist so always had a keen interest in beauty and skincare. I knew that coffee had loads of great skincare benefits, so… lightbulb moment! Why not repurpose the coffee into sustainable circular skincare products?

We began our journey collecting coffee grounds from one coffee shop, we now collect from 100 coffee houses across London – our list is always growing!

What are UpCircle’s core values?

We transform by-products from other industries into our products. We started out making face and body scrubs from the coffee that we collected. We then extracted the oil from the coffee for our best-selling certified organic face serum and eye cream.

We are the only brand who recycle coffee grounds into skincare products at scale, so the range is the definition of innovative! We’ve now saved over 275 tonnes of coffee. We also rescue and reuse ingredients from the argan, tea, juice, date, olive and wood industries. The only limit to by-product beauty is a lack of imagination!

Our products are natural, organic, vegan, cruelty-free, palm oil-free, sustainable, handmade in the UK and housed in 100% recyclable packaging. But the key point of difference between us and other brands is that each of our products is made with a core repurposed ingredient. No other beauty brand is doing what we do, we are pioneering the by-product beauty movement.

UpCircle (taken from upcycle) has a primary aim of making the world a more sustainable place - what does sustainability mean to you? And how does UpCircle withhold this aim?

Our brand name encapsulates our core purpose: sustainability and promoting the power of the circular economy. UpCircle also hints at ‘upcycling’, the process of making something better from things that already exist. Each product is unique and has its own story. It’s what makes our range so special.

“Natural” is the new “normal” – we go a step further with our waste-fighting formulations. What other beauty brand can claim that their products have saved literally hundreds of tonnes of valuable ingredients from ending up in landfill?

What’s the first thing you do personally when you wake up before work?

My sister and I go for a run around the park, then we come in and have a cup of coffee before we get swept away by the day! 

What other women inspire you?

All of the women in my life inspire me in one way or another, but on this occasion I’ll say my mum. She’s the hardest worker I know (seriously, she never stops) and yet somehow always has time for the people around her.

What advice would you give other female entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

Ironically, to not feel obliged to take onboard everyone’s advice. No one knows your business idea, your personality or your life like you do, so trust your instinct. There’s no harm in listening, but you don’t have to take everyone’s advice and run with it!

Also, on a practical level.. Stay in your existing job for as long as possible and save, save, save. Do as much of your research and resourcing whilst still employed, you need your ducks in a row as much as you feasibly can before taking the big leap!

Who are some of your favourite female-led brands right now? (either in beauty or elsewhere)

Too many to choose! Here are a few… Dame, Sabinna, Plastic Freedom, By Rotation, Nibs Etc. Rubies in the Rubble, Boom Cycle, Asquith London, Raw Halo… honestly, I could go on forever. 

Have you ever encountered people who have been challenging or proven difficult to work with as a female entrepreneur and what is your approach to these kinds of situations?

Absolutely, I feel like this is inevitable! My previous job was as an area manager for a supermarket. I managed four stores each with between 50 and 100 staff – so it’s safe to say I’ve had my fair share of experience working with a huge variety of characters.

I think it’s important that people are always encouraged to express themselves freely, in an environment where there is no judgement and they will be treated fairly and with respect. I’m also an advocate of nipping things in the bud! Allowing issues to bubble up is never beneficial!

What’s your favourite UpCircle product?

My answer to this changes all the time… At the moment, during this lockdown, I haven’t been wearing any makeup which I’ve quite enjoyed. I’m keeping my skincare routine simple and functional - but having to combat the effects of harsher weather as well as the tiredness and stress that come with such a period of uncertainty (and endless working!!). Therefore, I’d have to say that the product I’m loving most right now is our eye cream. It helps to keep my eyes from appearing tired or puffy and it smells like a maple latte! The cucumber extract in the cream also soothes and firms the skin around my eyes. It’s a real skin saviour product overall!

Have you got any exciting new projects we should know about on the horizon for UpCircle?

Our intention is to keep on innovating. At the moment we’re looking at how we can begin rescuing flower petals from local florists to turn into beautiful fragrant bath products. Growing our team is also something that excites me greatly. With each new member we have a new wave of excitement, passion and personality. We hired our first ever staff member last year, and this year we became a team of eight - crazy!!

In the last 12 months we’ve expanded our repurposed ingredient portfolio to ten by-products from varied industries. For example, this year we began repurposing residual fruit waters leftover after the creation of juice concentrates. Our product launches for next year include an ocean-friendly SPF, a Hand Wash, Hand Lotion and Hand Sanitiser Trio which we plan to launch widely into restaurants and hotels. We’re also developing a Night Cream and Lip Balm – all set to launch in 2021.