The Ideas Factory

One of the best things about working in a small team? Every one of us is our own boss. This International Women's Day is about how we each make a difference.

So, let's meet the team and celebrate the vital input of each of the UpCircle gals.

The reputation: Pushy, desperate, wild-eyed, greedy, excessive... fundamentally unsustainable. 

Not ideal.

So, as a start up ethical brand, centred around sustainability, why have we chosen to participate in Black Friday this year?

We'll keep this brief, today a global climate strike is under way, with millions of people protesting for an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone.

Team UpCircle is joining the strike, so forgive us for the radio silence - there was no way we were going to miss this.

If you'd like a little more detail on what all this is about, click below.

 
It's now just over 6 months since we switched up our brand, waving goodbye to Optiat and hello to UpCircle.

But how has it all gone? What have we achieved and what have we learned? And, perhaps most importantly, WHAT'S NEXT?

We are thrilled to have been named the FSB Ethical Green Business of the Year! Due to our win we will go through to the UK final in London on 23 May - wish us luck!

Last week we took part in the inaugural Sainsbury’s Beauty & Wellbeing Live Innovation Pitch at Natural & Organic Products Europe. The team of buyers listened to fast-paced two-minute pitches from six beauty brands that had been shortlisted from over 60 companies.

Click READ MORE to watch a video of Anna's winning pitch!

I’m meeting Anna Brightman in a restaurant on the South Bank. She hugs me, asks me how I am, and if I found the place alright.

Anna’s office is located in a railway arch, and is stocked pile high with organic skincare products, with a couple of desks for her and her brother, William, crammed in too.

The Impact Hustlers podcast features entrepreneurs and change-makers solving the world's biggest problems and creating massive social impact.

In this episode UpCircle co-founders Anna and William Brightman chat with host Maiko Schaffrath about their achievements to date. 

As loyal followers of our brand journey we owe you a more in depth explanation. What, exactly, has happened over the past month? There’ve been a few changes and it’s only fair we share why. So, in this post we’ll lay bare our thought processes in the name of transparency.

The newly re-branded UpCircle products debuted at London's First Zero Waste Market this December. The event was a huge success - check out the highlights video, featuring UpCircle co-founder Anna!

What was the biggest surprise for us going on the show? Spending over three hours being grilled by the Dragons! Standing the whole time, with bright lights beaming at you, answering question after question.

We had no idea what the BBC would decide to show on TV. It could be the worst moment of our lives: embarrassed in front of millions, laughed at and kicked out of the Den. It was terrifying!

Co-founder Anna spent the morning with the wonderful hosts of Hoxton Radio chatting about all things UpCircle.

Listen to her radio debut here!

The Clean Hub is a community of clean beauty enthusiasts that seek to educate the beauty world of alternatives to toxic ingredients.

We were thrilled when they contacted us to be a part of their 'Clean Chat' podcast series. Have a listen!

This weekend marked the official 2nd birthday of UpCircle. 

We love looking back to see how far we have come between our three experiences at the show, from day zero, to year one, to year two. We thought it would be fun to take a look back at snapshots from each year!

As we get ready to release our new soap bars we caught up with Ash from Henny & Joe's, the chai tea company whose leftover spices have formed the base of our new range!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Vevolution festival to pitch UpCircle at the Pitch + Plant Dragons’ Den Competition.

We were delighted to walk away as the winners!

Naturewatch Foundation is a registered charity working to improve the lives of animals. We are proud to now be one of their endorsed cruelty free brands!

Read our guest blog!