It is a pleasure for us to share our latest partnership within the personal care universe, with Go Cirkulär.
Go Cirkulär is a sustainable skin/personal care brand based in Malmö, Sweden. It was founded in November 2021 by Irene Atance, a Public Health and Sustainability professional who had the ambition to reduce waste while making skincare routines more sustainable.
We had a chat with Irene to learn more about Go Cirkulär and tell you about it in her own words.
"At Go Cirkulär, we manufacture high-quality skincare products that are upcycled, gender-neutral, and 100% natural. We carefully craft our products in our lab at Malmö by using only ingredients such as organic cold-pressed oils, natural waxes, and essential oils. We avoid unnecessary ingredients such as perfumes, synthetic preservatives, or other chemicals that could negatively impact human health or ecosystems.
Go Cirkulär’s business model and organization’s structure is inspired by the circular economy and the three R’s approach: reuse, reduce, recycle." - said Irene Atence (IA), CEO of the Swedish startup.
KB: What is the story behind Go Cirkulär?
IA: The story began when during the Master Studies, we had to elaborate a sustainable project that englobed all aspects of sustainability: people, profits, and the planet.
Back then, I wanted to work with coffee, after finding out that Sweden was the second country where people consume most coffee in the world (an average of 3,2 cups of coffee a day), and of course, with great consumption comes the waste...
My personal interests, education, plus, winning a Scholarship at Lund University to start my own upcycling project, allowed me to start my entrepreneurial journey working with coffee grounds. This led to the beginning of Go Cirkulär and ultimately, the launch of our first product, a fantastic Upcycled Coffee Body Scrub in May 2021.
KB: Why did you decide to do business outside your home country Spain? / and why in Sweden?
IA: I lived and worked internationally for over ten years in countries such as the UK, Chile, Denmark, and Sweden. I moved to Sweden in 2014 due to personal reasons. Here in Sweden, I found the entrepreneurial and sustainability ecosystem needed to start a business within the circular economy.
From my experience, there is no place like the Nordic region when it comes to implementing systemic changes in the public and private sector towards sustainability. Sustainability is somehow embedded in Swedish Culture which makes it easier to operate sustainably too as a business. I got really inspired to see all the sustainable solutions and innovations that are starting at Universities and Start-Up Hubs in South Sweden, it was definitely very encouraging.
KB: Why is it important to upcycle food waste, such as spent coffee grounds?
IA: Coming from a food background, I have been aware of the different dimensions of the food waste problem for a long time, from natural to human issues. We discard ⅔ of the food produced globally, this is really outrageous!
The solutions won’t necessarily come from public policies so, we, the people, and private companies can definitely contribute to reducing the waste numbers.
There are many reasons why to engage to solve the food waste but long story- short, we are consuming the planet. At this point, we require 1.7 planets to continue using its resources at the current pace.
If nothing changes, it will be very difficult for future generations and ecosystems to thrive. Our Philosophy is to think more circularly. This model gives space for the systems to regenerate. This doesn’t mean being perfect but making small changes that will take us closer to the better utilization and waste management of food and other resources.
KB: Why did you choose to partner with Kaffe Bueno?
IA: A year ago, when I started to build Go Cirkulär, I heard somewhere about Kaffe Bueno and I got very inspired about their mission, and more in particular, how Kaffe Bueno was taking upcycling ideas forward.
From that moment, I knew that I wanted to create a product with Kaffe Bueno, to strengthen the circular and upcycling mission between neighbor Nordic countries, Sweden and Denmark.
KB: How is the partnership with Kaffe Bueno affecting Go Cirkular?
IA: Go Cirkulär is at the initial stages so we can definitely learn a lot from Kaffe Bueno, their journey, and their experiences in introducing upcycling ideas to the market. There is still a lot to do when it comes to promoting “Upcycling” as a business model so I believe it is always better to work and collaborate together, to unite when shared the same mission.
KB: Tell us about the products you are launching and KB’s role in them?
IA: We are closing our coffee body line with a fantastic Activating Coffee Body Oil made with organic cold-pressed oils, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory essential oil blend, and, Kaffoil - one of Kaffe Bueno's Upcycled Active Ingredients, which has great skin regenerative properties.
It has been a product that our customers, fika and non-fika lovers, were requesting since we launched Go Cirkulär’s Coffee Scrub. We are very happy about this collaboration that is coming to life in September.
We have conducted some validation trials and the results were fantastic. We love products that are kind to human health and the planet, but also, the products that have that spark and quality that makes you feel good on your own skin.
Get Go Cirkulär products HERE.