Upcircle India

We envision to become a innovative household brand with a range of upcycled products

The waste that is generated after consumption of coffee is either sent to landfill or incineration. This causes greenhouse gas emissions (namely methane and CO2). Upcircle India creates a value chain for converting the spent coffee grounds into value-added cosmetic products like soaps, scrubs, lip balm and incense sticks. We have developed a scalable and sustainable method to collect, transport, process and utilize the spent coffee grounds in an environmentally friendly manner.

An average Indian household waste composition comprises approximately 30 to 60% organic (or biodegradable) waste. The current scalable technique that is used in order to process this waste is either composting or biogas production. These are conventional and low-cost products. 

Upcycling is an innovative technique which can be used to convert the discarded organic waste into high value products. We aim to work with the biggest companies in India to transform these organic waste into value at an industrial scale, giving new life to a material previously considered waste, and contributing to a circular economy.

Our solution serves people of all ages and gender who wish to opt for sustainable skincare. We want to make sustainable skincare available to everyone's reach. Currently, sustainable skincare is priced at a higher cost and is beyond the reach of many who want to adopt it. Also, our solution will help reduce waste and make sustainable and effective skincare products. 

We aim to build an entire portfolio of upcycled ingredients and products that are made from by-products of the food value-chain.

We surveyed coffee shops to first understand how they dispose-off spent coffee grounds and found it lands in waste collection. We thought we can reduce the huge waste by turning it into something useful. We took online surveys and talked to people in malls/cafes/ stores to understand their perceptions and the type of sustainable skincare they will like to use including ingredients, pricing, and expectations. We along with feedback from focus group members at all stages developed our MVP and gave out samples to focus group members and labs to get feedback. 

To date, we have worked on creating a business model and concept development. We have done intensive surveying and research to get inputs and validate hypotheses. 

We have also developed MVP of scrub, soap, and other sustainable skincare products using spent coffee beans and distributed samples to collect user feedback and pricing estimates. We have also sent out samples for lab testing and certification. 

Our business will use an APP and website to receive orders and another partner APP to collect biodegradable waste for collection and processing it to convert waste into upcycled products. 

Going forward we will use data analytics to optimize the supply chain and make the collection and material handling better. 

Currently, we are in the prototyping phase and plan to serve at least 5000 users by end of 2022

Our impact goal is to reduce 1000 Kg of biodegradable waste by end of the year and turn it into a profitable venture which helps us to create employment for the less educated and rural populations. Also, 25% of the profits from every sale will go towards helping empower and grow sustainable initiatives. 

We are measuring our progress using simple indicators as to how many KG of waste have we converted into Upcycled products. As a major part of our raw material is waste that we prevented from going into dump yards this works as a good indicator to understand if we are on right track and how are we helping the environment. 

Major barrier includes 

Financial - We need to scale to gain economies of scale and mass production to reduce costs and take products to the mass market. Currently, we are making everything from home and need specialized machinery to make the process faster and efficient. 

Cultural- We need to change the mindset of people and make them realize that organic/ sustainable products are as per or at times better than chemical products. We need to help them transition to refillable and reusable skincare. 

The team has the experience and is currently in the final year of MBA Tech from a top-ranked and highly recognized university in the country. 

Apart from education, the team includes members who have volunteered with AIESEC and deeply understand and care about climate change and waste management. The team also is skilled in branding, marketing and has done various internships, courses and gained practical experience in the domain and thus understands brand building. Thus the idea of creating a brand that stands for sustainable and upcycled skincare and FMCG products is in good hands. 

Currently none but in final level talks with 4 coffee houses and 2 retail stores.