Kaffe Bueno Brews Upcycled Coffee-Derived Ingredients for Cosmetics and Skincare

Kaffe Bueno has opened its coffee biorefinery in Rødovre, Denmark that provides a source for naturally derived, upcycled active and functional ingredients for skin care, beauty and personal care.

With €2.5 million backing from the European Innovation Council, Kaffe Bueno site is the first coffee biorefinery in the world.

“We've always believed in the transformative power of coffee. This biorefinery is a testament to that belief and a reflection of the efficacy and importance of the circular economy,” said CEO Juan Medina.

Ingredients From Coffee for Beauty & Personal Care

Kaffe Bueno’s roster of ingredients is derived from the compounds naturally found in coffee by-products, which are isolated using green technological innovations.

The Danish bioscience company was founded in 2016.

Its roster of ingredients includes products such as Kaffoi, a lipophilic extract. There are two versions—Kaffoil in its rawest form being a dark viscous and fragrant oil, and Kaffoil-R, a semi-refined version serving as a sustainable alternative to argan oil that  increases hair shine, promotes anti-breakage and helps to repair chemically damaged hair.

Kaffe Bueno also offers Kaffage, an amphiphilic biopolymer 100% derived from upcycled defatted coffee. Its unique composition, enriched with polyphenolic groups, provides unparalleled multi-functionality and exceptional performance, according to the company. Thanks to its potent anti-glycation properties and antioxidant activity, it is a proaging powerhouse. Its natural hues makes it easy to mimic skin tones and develop inclusive formulations, reducing the reliance on conventional color compounds like iron oxides, while boosting SPF, said Kaffe Bueno.

Sustainable Sourcing

When brewed, a cup of coffee utilizes only 1% of the nutritional value in coffee's biomass, according to the company. The  grounds, usually end up as waste. This exacerbates the problem as the decay releases large amounts of CO2 and methane, which is about 25 times more potent than CO2, according to the company.

“For every ton of oil we extract from coffee grounds, we save the atmosphere 56 tons of CO2. While protecting the environment and climate, we also utilize a much larger portion of coffee's nutritional content. We must think in terms of better and more gentle utilization of nature's resources,” said Alejandro Franco, COO.

Planned Expansion

The site in Rødovre  can initially upcycle 500 tons of coffee grounds per year, but expansion is possible. Capacity can be expanded to 1,500 tons at the Rødovre refinery, according to officials.

Additionally, Kaffe Bueno says its plans to open more coffee biorefineries in other parts of the world in the next decade.

“This is just the beginning. Our goal is to leverage the high availability of coffee by-products worldwide to continuously reduce transport emissions and costs for all stakeholders. Therefore, this is just the first of many biorefineries to come,” noted Camilo Fernandez, CFO.