Our Story.

REUSED, REPURPOSED, RELOVED.

Nature gives us lots of wonderful ingredients that make our skin healthier and more radiant – like used coffee grounds and brewed chai tea spices. But they often end up going to landfill.

Why should all that good stuff go to waste?

It shouldn’t. That’s why, at UpCircle, we elevate leftover natural ingredients, bringing them back to life as beauty products your skin will love.

And as well as being 100% natural, our skincare range is also 100% brilliant. Because you shouldn’t have to choose between doing the right thing and getting the best results. With UpCircle, you get to enjoy the uplifting benefits of nature’s own skin rejuvenators – and do the planet some good, too.

That’s all-round better skincare.

Our History

THE BIRTH OF OPTIAT

We had a thought: if we're throwing away a cafetière full of coffee grounds every morning, how much is going to waste from coffee shops all over London?

A lot, as it turns out. So we decided to do something about it.

We needed a way to give those coffee grounds a new lease of life. And Optiat was born.

DECEMBER, 2015

LAUNCHING HEAD FIRST IN COFFEE

What better place to test our coffee-based skincare concept than the London Coffee Festival?

The scrubs flew out the door - whoosh! We came, we scrubbed, we conquered.

Maybe, just maybe, we were on to something.

APRIL, 2016

ANNA JOINS THE TEAM

Team work makes the dream work!

Anna wanted her piece of the sustainable skincare dream. Even if it meant working alongside her brother. *eyeroll*

And so, one became two

SEPTEMBER, 2016

URBAN OUTFITTERS - OUR FIRST PARTNER

We sent hand-sealed, sellotaped-up prototypes to UO HQ, perhaps we were too optimistic? Perhaps not. They loved the scrubs and became our first retail partner.

DECEMBER, 2016

GOING GLOBAL

Geographical boundaries. Who needs them? Not us. We hopped our scrubs over the channel and secured distribution in not 1, not 4, not 6 but 8 European countries over the next 6 months.

JAN - APRIL, 2017

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Storytellers cotton on to our circular skincare mission. During 2018 the brand is featured by the likes of The Daily Mail, The Independent, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Vogue, The Telegraph, Stylist, Grazia, The Evening Standard, Veggie Magazine, Vegan Food & Living and Women's Fitness. What a page turner.

2018

SMASHING TARGETS

We achieved our crowdfunding target of £200,000 in just three days and closed the round overfunded by £17,000. Mic drop.

FEBRUARY, 2018

CHAI FIVE!

The return of the soap bar. We're saving coffee, we're saving hemp, what's next on our hit list? Chai. We begin salvaging the aromatic spices brewed to make chai syrup, transforming them into our new soaps.

MARCH, 2018

INTO THE DEN

The co-founding siblings take their chances against the Dragons… and walk away victorious. The duo received investment offers from 3 dragons and agreed a deal with Touker Suleyman and Tej Lalvani.

AUGUST, 2018

UPCIRCLE IS BORN

As our product ranges expand we take the opportunity to unify the brand, unveiling a fresh new look and name. Our circular economy mission is now front and centre: we're ready for world domination.

NOVEMBER, 2018

NEW YEAR, NEW HOME

The brand has far outgrown the siblings parents' home. It's time to move out. We leave a trail of coffee footsteps and set up in our shiny new premises.

JANUARY, 2019

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING

UpCircle body scrubs stroll into 740 Boots stores across the country. Woosh.

MARCH, 2019

PITCH-TASTIC

A panel of Sainsbury’s buyers listen to fast-paced pitches from six beauty brands shortlisted from over 60 companies. UpCircle is chosen as a winner - result!

APRIL, 2019

SCOOPING UP AWARDS

UpCircle win the FSB London Ethical Green Business of the year AND are re-awarded Natural Products 30 Under 30. Buzzinggggg!

APRIL, 2019

H+B SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!

Just seven months after rebranding we launch our full UpCircle range into the UK's leading health retailer - Holland and Barrett.

JULY, 2019

UPCIRCLE DOWN UNDER

Mid-week, as we slept, UpCircle hit the shores Down Under with an event as swish as a wedding!

AUGUST, 2019

FEELING REVITAL-ISED!

We add Revital’s 18 branches to our list of UpCircle high street retailers. Victory dance

AUGUST, 2019

ONLINE SHOPPING MADE EVEN EASIER

UpCircle launches with online grocers Ocado and Farmdrop, as well as online beauty platform Feel Unique. We all love a virtual trolley!

SEPTEMBER, 2019

The Idea

Back in 2015, we had a thought: if we're throwing away a cafetière full of coffee grounds every morning, how much is going to waste from coffee shops all over London?

A lot, as it turns out. So we decided to do something about it.

We needed a way to give those coffee grounds a new lease of life. And UpCircle was born.

The Mission

We're restlessly determined to make products that leave the planet better than we found it. We do things differently - and love sharing our ideas for making things better.

We use the highest quality ingredients, for the best possible results. You'll feel the difference.

Meet The Team

William Brightman

The brains behind the operation. (The serious one).

A touch-typing whiz with the focus of a monk. He's dealing with calls, emails and meetings like there's no tomorrow. So long as he's got a Boiler Room set to listen to, William can plug formulas into Excel without stopping to think.

Favourite part of your role?

What doesn't a typical day involve!? I enjoy the buzz of knowing that with every sale we are all helping to promote a circular economy by elevating skincare to the next level.

Favourite UpCircle product?

Has to be our new Tangerine body scrub - zingy grapefruit and citrusy may chang is a winner!

Anna Brightman

The brawn behind the operation. (The sociable one).

If you’ve ordered it, she’s getting it to you, whether that’s 1 scrub or 1000 scrubs. Got an event? She’ll be on the panel. Visiting a show? She’ll say Hi first!

So, Anna takes on the most and least glam parts of the job.

Favourite part of your role?

Developing new products. I love that we have businesses and individuals coming to us with their leftover natural ingredients. Can we cook up a circular skincare solution? If there's a will, there's a way.

Favourite UpCircle product?

The serum is my ultimate skin saviour, no matter the weather it keeps my skin hydrated and glowy. Just what you need.

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