Upcycling

Upcycled fruits from the fruit industry

Our Naturome fruit ingredients are the by-products of the fresh fruit puree production carried out by our longstanding partner Trade Solutions. The process recovers part of the volatiles that are otherwise lost during pasteurization. We then use these volatiles to produce our Naturomes, ensuring less resource loss and waste.

Turpentine Derivatives

We use upcycled turpentine extracted from the paper industry, and in particular from the production of cardboard from softwood. Turpentine from these softwoods is valorized through a fractionation process in which we retrieve the two key molecules alpha and beta pinene. Most of these extracts come directly from DRT, acquired by dsm-firmenich in 2020.

Cedarwood Virginia from the furniture industry

In the USA, the Virginia cedar tree is used to build closets that naturally repel bugs with their scent. The leftover sawdust can then be used for distillation.

Cedarwood Alaska from the forestry industry

Thuja occidentalis – also known as (white) cedar – is native to the northeastern USA and southeastern Canada. Widely used as an ornamental tree for hedges, its pruned branches are collected for distillation.

Cedar Alaska from the forestry industry 

Our Cedarwood Alaska Canada is derived from sustainably produced sawdust from the forestry industry. As much as 30% of the tree can end up as sawdust during the process of turning logs into lumber, so our partners take this by-product and process it at their sites, resulting in a collection of unique, sustainably sourced essential oils. Spent sawdust is returned to the sawmills before being transported to pulp and paper mills where it’s used as a source of clean, renewable energy.

Upcycled Eucalyptus from the paper industry

Our Eucalyptus Globulus oil is made using leaves and twigs left over from eucalyptus wood processed for paper or timber. This helps use the trees to their full potential, with every 1 kg of our oil saving 100 kg of biomass that would otherwise have gone to waste. Once the eucalyptus oil is distilled, the remaining by-product, bagasse, is repurposed as a natural fertilizer for the eucalyptus plantations.

Upcycled flowers from the fresh flower industry

In India, 95% of flowers are used for ornamental purposes or religious ceremonies, with tuberose and jasmine particularly common. Unsold flowers are bought by Jasmine Concrete EPL, whose sourcing strategy ensures that the flowers don’t go to waste and the growers are paid for their work. 

Upcycled cinnamon bark from the spice industry

The bark of the cinnamon tree is peeled and air-dried for 24 hours before it takes the form of a hollow stick. The most beautiful sticks are sold to the spice market, with the remaining bark valorized through distillation into cinnamon essential oil. The tree leaves can also be used to create cinnamon leaf essential oil, rich in Eugenol.

Cardamom from the spice industry

Cardamom is most commonly sold as a whole pod at spice markets – but seeds that don’t meet certain visual standards are often rejected. We purchase these seeds and give their olfactive beauty a new life.

Eugenol

Fallen clove leaves are collected and valorized to create clove leaf essential oil. From this, we distill Eugenol and undertake multiple chemical transformations that enable us to obtain a variety of fascinating natural or renewable molecules.

Upcycled honeycomb from the beeswax industry

Every year, beekeepers renew 20% of their hives’ frames, reusing the wax for as long as they can. Once the beeswax is too old, we purchase it for extraction – and afterwards, we sell the remaining wax to the candle-making industry, minimizing waste.