An Interview with Anna & Will of UpCircle

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An Interview with Anna & Will Founders of UpCircle

I am so pleased to share a very interesting interview with Anna & Will, brother and sister who started our newest brand UpCircle. Find out how they came up with the idea of reducing waste by turning it into skincare.

Enjoy!

Vic x

TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU STARTED UPCIRCLE

ANNA: Our brand name encapsulates our core purpose: sustainability and promoting the power of the circular economy. UpCircle also hints at ‘upcycling’, the process of making something better from things that already exist. That’s our “why”. It’s been a gradual process and each product from our range has its own unique provenance given the circular economy element. Their unique story is part of what makes them so special.

WHAT MAKES UPCIRCLE SO UNIQUE?

WILL: Skincare is a crowded market. Lots of skincare brands can claim to be vegan, natural, handmade, organic, cruelty-free etc. and so can we.. but we want to go a step further. How many brands can claim that their products have saved literally hundreds of tonnes of valuable skin-loving ingredients from ending up in landfill?

ANNA: We say, “natural” is the new “normal” and normal is boring. To stand out you have to go a step further and that’s why we create waste-fighting formulations. We are the only brand who recycle coffee grounds into skincare products at scale, so the range is the definition of innovative! Our tagline is “Pioneering skincare that’s regenerative by design”.

WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE DAY RUNNING UPCIRCLE LOOK LIKE?

ANNA: UpCircle gets me out of bed in the morning, bright and early, seven days a week! It’s been an absolute whirlwind, both exciting and exhausting, but it’s certainly fair to say that the business has taken over my life since the start – and shows no signs of letting up! Brand founders tend to wear a lot of hats, but I would loosely describe my role within the brand as “The Story-Teller”.

WILL: No two days are the same. A typical day here contains everything from new product research and testing, to branding meetings, to social media planning, to speaking on panels, conferences and talks. We’re all our own bosses within the team, we set our own to-do lists – and they’re always long!!

WHAT UPCIRCLE PRODUCT MAKES YOU MOST PROUD?

ANNA: Our soaps, because I love their backstory. They’re made with residual chai spices, a by-product of the tea industry, (more specifically a family-run chai company based in Bath in the UK). The spices are used to produce chai syrups. Water is poured through the spice mix, but the spices still smell amazing after the process is over. The chai spice blend consists of ten hand-sourced spices, including nutmeg, vanilla, ginger and cloves. We naturally dry the spices first, then grind them down before infusing into our soaps. And why do we use them? Well, their intoxicating aroma of course! They give our soaps their characterful scents.

WILL: My answer to this changes all the time, it’s a tough question! At the moment, I think I’d have to say our certified organic Face Serum! It has won multiple awards and is our highest rated product. It’s made with antioxidant-rich coffee and rosehip oils which fade dark spots and brighten the complexion. I think one of the reasons for its success is that it’s extremely reasonably priced. Only £14.99 for an 100% natural certified organic serum is pretty hard to come by.

It’s also very multi-dimensional as it’s suitable for all skin types – light enough for those with oily skin, whilst nourishing enough for dry skin too. Similarly, it can be used morning or evening. In the morning, you can use it to nourish and brighten the skin through the day. At night, it can be used to fight wrinkles and repair skin damage. Can’t go wrong!

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF UPCYCLING USED COFFEE BEANS?

WILL: I asked a local coffee shop what they did with their waste coffee and was shocked to hear that they were producing so much that they had to pay the council to have it removed and disposed of on landfill sites. Throughout my teenage years I wanted to be a makeup artist so always had a keen interest in beauty and skincare. I knew that coffee had loads of great skincare benefits, so…that was my lightbulb moment! Why not repurpose the coffee into sustainable circular skincare products? We began our journey collecting coffee grounds from one coffee shop, we now collect from hundreds of coffee houses across London – our list is always growing!

ITEM OF MAKEUP OR SKINCARE THAT YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT

ANNA: Eye Cream is the skincare product that I enjoy using most. (Ours smells like a caramel latte which certainly helps!) My sister and I always do Face Mask Sundays as we live together, so that’s a little tradition that I also love.

WHAT IS YOUR DAILY BEAUTY OR SKINCARE ROUTINE?

WILL: This depends on the weather, what I’m doing (I wear more layered skincare if I’ll be doing lots of cycling out and about for example). Generally I try to keep things simple with a great cleanser, great moisturiser, great serum and of course SPF!

FAVOURITE FOOD?

WILL: Impossible to choose one, I’ll just say anything Japanese.

ANNA: And I’ll say anything Mexican!

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE THREE DREAM DINNER DATES WHO WOULD THEY BE?

ANNA: My current role within the business is to tell the story of our brand and products. I do this through events, marketing, press, social media – whatever channels I can. I know no one better at story-telling than Louis Theroux. From the decision about which stories he chooses to tell, to how he goes about questioning his subjects, to his empathetic, slightly awkward but ultimately charismatic stance, to his thoughtful and fair conclusions, I find him to be one of the very best. I can’t think of a better person to have dinner with!

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

ANNA: Lots of time spent with friends and family! They are what recharge my batteries for being the best I can be at work.

WHAT SONG DO YOU LISTEN TO THAT ALWAYS CHEERS YOU UP?

ANNA: My boyfriend is a music producer, so anything that he’s composed always cheers me up.

IF YOU COULD VISIT ANYWHERE ON EARTH WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

WILL: We had an incredible family holiday in a campervan down the west coast of Australia when we were younger. I now have a family of my own and would love to recreate that trip with them when my children are old enough.

IF YOU WERE A SUPERHERO WHAT POWERS WOULD YOU HAVE?

WILL: The ability to teleport to any location instantly.

ANNA: Being able to selectively mind-read. I’d have to be able to switch it on and off though, constant would be torture!

WHAT ALWAYS BRINGS A SMILE TO YOUR FACE

ANNA: When customers take the time to email or even send letters, showing before and afters of their skin and letting us know how much they love UpCircle – those sorts of things that make me most proud. Knowing that I create products that make people feel good about themselves is the best and most inspiring feeling in the world.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT?

WILL: Getting 3 offers of investment on Dragons’ Den.

ANNA: Tripling the size of our team in 2021.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR UPCIRCLE?

WILL: Over the next few years we’re eager to be able to offer a full skincare line, to cater to whatever skincare concern you may have, so new product development is a big focus for us. We’re highly motivated to continue sourcing varied ingredients that are ending up being thrown away prematurely.

ANNA: Some other by-product ingredients that we’re experimenting with include flower petals from the floristry industry which we’d like to use in bath products and gin distillery by-products that we’d like to use in a Hand Sanitizer. Lots to look forward to!

You can find our full range of UpCircle products by clicking here.