UpCircle Beauty

UpCircle Beauty is a London-based skincare and body-care company founded in 2016 by siblings Anna and William Brightman [2][7]. It builds its products around a circular-economy idea: rescuing by-products that other industries would throw away — used coffee grounds first of all — and turning them into natural, organic cosmetics. The brand remains active, selling directly online and through retailers across the UK, Europe and the United States, and has been a certified B Corporation since 2022 [6].

The company's logo styles the name in camelCase as "UpCircle", and it is also referred to as UpCircle Beauty.

The idea began with a waste problem. According to the company, co-founder Will Brightman learned that a London coffee shop was paying to send its used coffee grounds to landfill, while his sister Anna knew coffee had skincare uses and saw that no one was repurposing grounds that had already been brewed [7]. The pair tested a coffee-grounds face scrub at the London Coffee Festival, where, in the brand's own words, "the scrubs flew out the door." The response convinced both siblings to leave their jobs and build the business full time.

The founders divide the work between them, with Will handling operations and finance and Anna leading on communications and public-facing work. External sources give their surname as Brightman; the company's team page uses first names only.

There is a small discrepancy over exactly when the brand began. UpCircle's own timeline dates the launch to April 2016 at the London Coffee Festival [2], while trade-press coverage cites September 2016, which most likely reflects the company's formal incorporation [7]. The year itself, 2016, is not in dispute.

UpCircle grew quickly from its single scrub. By the end of 2017 the company reported collecting grounds from around 100 artisan coffee shops, and it expanded into several European markets. In August 2018 the founders appeared on the BBC series Dragons' Den and secured investment from Touker Suleyman and Tej Lalvani, though the deal was not ultimately completed and the company continued independently [8].

Retail distribution widened over the following years: a successful public pitch to supply Sainsbury's in 2019, followed by placement in Holland & Barrett and online retailers. In 2020 the company launched a refill scheme and a dedicated EU website, and co-founder Anna Brightman was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. From late 2022 the brand began manufacturing in the United States and entered US retailers including Whole Foods and Walmart.

UpCircle's stated mission is to "prove that the future of beauty can be circular, affordable, and performance-led" [4]. The company frames affordability as central to that goal, arguing, in the founders' words, that sustainability should not be "something that's only possible for the elite" [7]. Alongside its circular-economy focus, the brand lists values including accessibility, transparency, inclusion and body positivity.

The products are positioned in the accessible, indie price range rather than as luxury goods, consistent with the company's argument that cost should not be a barrier to more sustainable purchasing.

The core of UpCircle's range is upcycled ingredients — materials rescued as by-products from food, drink, fragrance and agricultural industries. Beyond coffee grounds, the company says it works with more than 55 leftover ingredients, drawn from sources such as argan shells, apricot and olive stones, date seeds, chai spices left from syrup production and oat husks from cereal milling [5]. By its own account it has transformed more than 450 tonnes of brewed coffee.

The signature Coffee Face Scrub was the founding product. The range now spans skincare — cleansers, toners, serums, eye creams, moisturisers, face oils, SPF and masks — as well as body care and haircare. The Organic Face Oil was the brand's best-seller for several years until a Shampoo Crème overtook it in 2023.

Sustainability is the brand's defining feature rather than an add-on. UpCircle describes itself as a pioneer of "by-product beauty," and its packaging is stated as 100% recyclable and 99% plastic-free [8]. In April 2020 it introduced a refill scheme intended, as the company puts it, to "close the loop" on packaging. In February 2022 it was certified Plastic Negative through the organisation rePurpose Global.

The brand states that its products are vegan and cruelty-free — no animal-derived ingredients and no animal testing by the company or its suppliers; third-party review sites corroborate these self-stated claims, though no named certification body such as Leaping Bunny is confirmed in available sources. In 2022 UpCircle became a certified B Corporation, reporting a B Impact Assessment score of 96.3 against a median of 50.9 for ordinary businesses [6].

UpCircle has been recognised chiefly for its sustainability work. It received a US CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) award for sustainability excellence in 2022, and in 2023 a shampoo was named best for afro and textured hair by Top Santé [2]. Co-founder Anna Brightman's inclusion in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 was among the brand's earlier press milestones.

UpCircle is an active company. It operates a direct-to-consumer website alongside multi-region retail distribution in the UK, EU and US, and has continued to launch products and shift its best-sellers through 2023 and beyond. Its most recent notable milestones include the 2023 rise of the Shampoo Crème and ongoing expansion into US retail.