Retreating so as not to throw away, recycling waste to save resources, exploiting nature without impoverishing the planet: upcycling is more than ever in vogue. Like many ingredient suppliers, Symrise has committed itself to this research around cranberries, which has enabled it to develop three new cosmetic active ingredients, which Justine Thuleau and Christophe de Jouvancourt presented during a webinar on 6 August 2020.
It is one of only three fruits native to North America (the other two being blueberries and Concord grapes). Particularly well adapted to cold and wet weather conditions, it is harvested in Canada in the fall, in basins filled with water from glaciers or melting snow that allow the fruit to float to be more easily removed from the plants. A sustainable method of harvesting that does not affect natural water resources, especially since the water used is recycled after harvesting.
Small bay, great effects
Cranberries are well known to the food industry for their nutritional benefits. Symrise’s “Nutrition” division exploits it in particular for human or animal food as well as for dietary supplements, generating by-products that have been evaluated by the ingredient supplier for cosmetic use.
This is how the “Cranberry 360°” project was born, as part of a global upcycling approach, with the desire to enhance all the components of the cranberry by producing as many cosmetic extracts of interest as it can offer, without competing with food applications: a highly sustainable approach that reduces the quantity of waste, optimises production processes to avoid contamination and ensure cosmetic quality, and secures the supply chain by guaranteeing 100% …