veg-up

veg-up is a natural, organic and vegan cosmetics brand produced by Laboratoires BeWell, a small artisanal cosmetics laboratory in Serravalle, in the Republic of San Marino. The company was founded in 2007 by Angelita Della Bella [5], and the veg-up consumer line of bio-vegan makeup was introduced some years later at the Biofach trade fair in Nuremberg in 2016 [5]. The brand covers face care, body care, makeup, haircare and solid cleansers, and positions itself around what it calls "clean and conscious beauty."

The brand remains active, running a direct online store alongside its parent laboratory's professional business. Its formulas carry organic and vegan certifications, and the company emphasises handmade production and low-impact packaging.

Laboratoires BeWell was established in 2007 in San Marino by Angelita Della Bella [5][1]. According to the San Marino weekly Il Ponte, Della Bella had worked as a manager in the aesthetics-equipment sector from 2000; finding that market saturated, she moved into manufacturing and set up the laboratory to produce natural professional cosmetics [5]. In its early years the company supplied salons, spas and beauty professionals, and the press described a small team of around eleven people spanning logistics, consulting, administration, sales and research [5].

The veg-up name belongs to the company's consumer-facing line of bio-vegan makeup and skincare, which was launched at Biofach 2016, an international trade show for organic products held in Nuremberg [5]. Formulations were described at the time as built on plant-based active ingredients and water, excluding synthetic solvents, synthetic fragrances, silicones and petroleum derivatives [5].

The brand's origin sits across two neighbouring territories. The laboratory and headquarters are in the Republic of San Marino, at Serravalle [1], while the packaging the company selects is described as made in Italy [1]. The corporate base is San Marino; the "made in Italy" reference applies to packaging materials rather than to the company's location.

veg-up is owned and produced by Laboratoires BeWell. The same laboratory also operates a professional, business-to-business line under the BeWell Green name, aimed at spas and beauty salons. Della Bella is identified as the founder and leader of the company across the brand's own channels and the Il Ponte feature [5].

The company frames its work as "a perfect union between science and nature." veg-up describes its ideal as "clean and conscious beauty, a green formula and sustainable packaging," and says it selects only natural, organic and fully vegan cosmetics. Formulation is overseen by Dr. Federica Giuzio, described by the company as a cosmetologist, pharmacist and aesthetic surgeon who serves as the scientific director for all of its products. Alongside plant extracts, marine actives and other natural ingredients, the brand says its formulas also use patented and high-performance molecules, with the stated aim of effectiveness that respects the skin's physiology.

The veg-up range spans several categories: face care (cleansers, serums, creams, oils and masks), body care, makeup, haircare, sun care and solid cosmetics. Signature and best-selling items listed by the brand include a phosphatidylcholine body wrap for cellulite, a Terracotta bronzing product, an aloe and beta-carotene sun activator, a compact concealer and a volumising lip gloss.

The lines carry two certifications: AIAB, an Italian standard for organic cosmetics, and VeganOK, which certifies the absence of animal-derived ingredients [1]. The company states that its products are 100% vegan and free of GMOs, petrolatum, paraffins and parabens [1]. On animal testing, Della Bella told Il Ponte, "I have never experimented on animals, even before" — a reference to the ban on animal testing that San Marino adopted in 2007 [5].

veg-up describes a low-impact approach to both manufacturing and shipping. The company says everything is produced by hand in its laboratory, without polluting industrial processes. For packaging, it reports using mainly recycled and recyclable cardboard or PET, and for shipping it says it protects orders with corn-based packing peanuts and paper filling, using paper-only tape.

In 2016, Il Ponte, a weekly newspaper in San Marino, published a feature titled "Cosmetica, la bellezza targata BeWell" (by Melania Rinaldini), profiling the laboratory and its veg-up bio-vegan line [5].

The brand is active. It maintains a direct-to-consumer online store with current products, and its parent laboratory continues to operate in the professional cosmetics channel.