• Entrepreneur The Spanish woman who wants to revolutionize the beauty routine with her facial devices

  • K-Beauty "Unlike food, all cosmetics are processed"

Can

garbage be transformed into beauty

?

Visual artists such as Vik Muniz and even Spanish fashion firms such as Ecoalf, which creates clothing from fishing nets, have already demonstrated this.

That is why the Catalan entrepreneur Artur Arqués (Barcelona, ​​April 19, 1991) is not afraid of entering a crowded

cosmetics

market , from the most powerful groups talking all the time about

greenwashing

[the greenest marketing] to small and special proposals for some or other reason.

"Since our country is one of the leaders in

the wine sector

, I had the idea of ​​creating a line based on the dregs of the grape that is extracted from the production of wine," he says.

This is how Foosh arose, the result of the union of the English words

Food

(food) and

Fresh

(freshness, novelty), with the intention of using

natural ingredients

with beneficial properties for the skin from already useless waste.

In fact, he was inspired by a trip where he visited a Copenhagen coffee shop that used orange peel and leftover coffee grounds to make a hand cream.

"Small daily habits can make big global differences. And more when it comes to sustainability, where

the whole world seems very ecological from the outside

, "he criticizes.

What could he contribute with a new beauty brand?

"Doing something better from existing products.

Honest

and ethically sustainable cosmetics, in which concern for the environment and natural resources is our reason for being and our main focus, not a sales strategy," says Arqués.

CIRCULAR BEAUTY

The various products made from Foosh's wine grape discard, from facial cleanser to serum and cream.

In fact, it has managed to come

full circle from start to finish

.

"We want to reduce food waste by revaluing wasted natural by-products and enclosing them in 100% biodegradable packaging, without plastic waste."

It is about turning ingredients that other industries discard "into natural cosmetic products that are better for the consumer and for the planet," she asserts.

Thanks to his close contacts in the

world of wine,

he was able to collect large quantities of 'grape breeze', a semi-solid residue made up of skins and seeds that is obtained from pressing grapes in winemaking.

"This 'breeze' from organic vineyards in Penedès (Barcelona) is rich in

antioxidants and polyphenols

and is the basis of our anti-aging formulations. Normally it is not used despite having around 70% of the extract."

He wanted them to be suitable for all budgets.

"We always believed that natural cosmetics could be made at a reasonable price. And for us it makes even more sense: to create a positive impact on consumption we want to reach the maximum number of people possible, without cost being a barrier", justifies the businessman.

His creams are priced at 30 euros, the cleanser 17 and the exfoliant 24 euros.

Its logo is an

infinity

, a symbol of the circular economy or circular beauty in this case.

Believe in local production for the environmental and socioeconomic benefits for society.

"The idea seemed innovative enough to us to take a risk. The first commercial action was in March 2022, through a

crowdfunding

campaign [small donations] and we sold to the Netherlands, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, and outside of Europe, in Canada, Indonesia and the United States".

In September they launched the

online

store .

"For this first half of 2023, we started the B2B strategy in the pharmacy channel and specialized

natural cosmetics

stores ."

ONE VOTE WITH EVERY PURCHASE

Image of the process by which 100% biodegradable jars are created, so as not to compromise the planet.

And do you already have a star product?

"There are those who have dry skin and are lovers of

cold cream

, others who love the serum because it has a very light texture... But we could say that there is one in particular that would take the prize:

the facial scrub with nuggets The positive reaction of the people when trying it is instantaneous, because at the moment you already notice the small

grape

seeds on your face exerting their action and the sensory experience and aroma are excellent".

View this post on Instagram

Barely a few months after launching on the market, the three partners with Arqués in this project -all of them, by the way, in their twenties- continue to keep their jobs, although they have completely changed their lifestyle.

"

Few hours of sleep

, meetings in the afternoon at the end of the working day, weekends or even on vacation. But, for now, we have been able to manage it," he slides smiling.

The profiles are complementary, from the scientific to the pure business.

"Our goal is to be

the main agents of change,

showing that to take care of ourselves it is not necessary to compromise the planet. People no longer want to put any product on their skin. They are more selective with the ingredients, active principles and origin".

Nor do we need so much on a day-to-day basis, they believe, and lately they have not stopped adding ointments to the routine.

"It's very important to understand that we also

vote with every purchase

, choosing the businesses we support, and consumers speaking up for a more sustainable society."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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