Designing sustainable high-value skincare products from grape waste: Concept to product (Pure Super Grape)

Keracol is a spin-out company from The University of Leeds, UK. Keracol develops novel approaches to the extraction of active molecules from plant sources, and fractionating and purifying them for application in cosmetic products for hair coloration, hair care and skin care. Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a multinational retailer primarily working in food and clothing. After seeing Keracol speak at an international conference on cosmetics, M&S approached Keracol to design skincare products utilising natural waste materials as actives in a new product range. M&S wanted to significantly expand their beauty range and to launch innovative products with the defining characteristic of combining product development with high quality science and nature. The products were to align with Keracol’s company ethos on developing functional, natural and sustainable cosmetics; this provided an excellent fit with M&S’s vision for strategic development under Plan A.

After reviewing several opportunities for different waste streams in M&S’s food production, the partners agreed to focus on developing an active ingredient from grape waste. Global wine production in 2009 was over 27.2 million tonnes and provides a significant waste stream (20% of harvest) of grape pomace (skins, seeds) and stems. Vitis vinifera varieties contain a plethora of products of both primary and secondary metabolism, and the majority of flavonoids, stilbenoids and proanthocyanidins localised in the skin and seeds of the fruit are potential actives in the pomace. Keracol developed a process to extract an isolate rich in antioxidants and resveratrol (a known anti-inflammatory stilbenoid). DPPH assays demonstrated that the extract was a powerful antioxidant in solution. Sustainable cosmetic formulations for skincare were developed and antioxidant capacity remained very high. Product stability testing was conducted. Studies with human volunteers demonstrated perceived anti-aging benefits of the formulated skincare products.

The production process was scaled-up to multi-kilogram scale and actives were extracted from Pinot noir grape pomace (from English sparkling wine production). Six new skincare products were launched in M&S stores under the brand name “Pure Super Grape”. Since launch the products have won several cosmetic industry awards.