As part of 草榴社区 Guardian campaign, Farming Can, Emily Ashworth looks at how farms can make their mark on the cosmetic and beauty industry.
Skin care is not something you would normally associate with agriculture, but with the rise in using natural ingredients in our daily routine it makes sense that farmers, who work with nature every day, can capitalise on this and get a foot in the door of this billion pound industry.
And there is no getting away from it - most products we now buy, from food to fashion to face creams, are chosen because of their environmental impact, a feature which is heavily imbedded in two leading beauty products which have originated from farming.
The Rhug Estate, in north Wales is renowned for its natural beauty, spanning across 12,500 acres and surrounded by iconic views - the Berwyn Mountains, and just a little further out, Snowdonia National Park.
Run by Lord Robert Newborough, the farm and estate has been in the family since 1637, and he is known for his innovative and forward-thinking ways, as well as being at the helm of Rhug's sustainable ethos.
Already home to the UK's first farm drive thru, the estate prides itself on quality and provenance, supplying beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey and goose from the organic certified farm, and were awarded the Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales.
But to further make use of their resources, in 2020, Lord Newborough set out on his next venture - to break into the beauty and cosmetic market.
Rhug's range, Wild Beauty, launched and quickly made a name for itself with its farm to face products.
He says: "At Rhug we have championed the highest standards of organic and sustainable farming for many years, thereby enhancing and protecting the environment. It is no coincidence that there is therefore a much greater diversity of wildlife and naturally occurring plants on the estate. These plants are clean, natural and free from toxins. We started to use some of the plants in our kitchen, and that then led to discussions last year about other potential uses.
"I felt there was an opportunity to create a truly authentic organic and natural skincare brand, building on the rich heritage of the estate and all our experience in organic and sustainable farming practices. With such a wide array of plants growing all around us at Rhug, we set about understanding which plants had the right qualities and could be applied to our skincare collection.
"It's been fascinating to see the development of our collection, blending some of the most precious skincare ingredients with our own plants, to create a range of organic, natural and effective products. I've walked past heather and gorse and herb robert on the estate for many years, but until recently I had no idea of their beneficial qualities for the skin."
The UK cosmetic market is, as of 2020, worth a staggering £27 billion and is the seventh largest cosmetic market in the world.
With such materials at the industry's fingertips, it seems like a worthwhile venture to take, and the estate's line of products has already bagged some prestigious beauty awards - they were awarded gold at the Beauty Bible awards 2021 and products are sold in luxury high street stores such as Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason.
"We have had great interest in the brand, partly due to the fact that it is, to our knowledge, the most highly certified, sustainable and organic skincare range to be launched into the global market place in the last twelve months," says Lord Newborough.
"This is clean beauty at its best coming from this renown Estate in North Wales that was awarded a Royal Warrant in 2018. The fact that many of the products have also won several industry awards in a short time has also led to a surge in enquiries. We will continue to expand our reach into other markets and are in discussions with other well-known retailers."
Similarly, with an interest in recycling and using natural waste products, Byre, founded by Quentin Higham in 2019, has found that demand for his milk-based moisturisers has risen since the pandemic, and there has been a significant shift in consumer interest for ‘green beauty.'
The creams are made from using whey, a by-product from the cheese making process, all sourced from Red Tractor assured farms in the UK, which makes it a go-to product for anyone wanting provenance and a strong sustainable story.
"There was a rise in personal care products during the pandemic, as people spent more time at home and wanted to indulge more and treat themselves to quality skin care and body care products," says Quentin, who has had a prolific career working within the cosmetic industry.
"Demand for natural content in beauty products has been increasing before the pandemic but even more so now as the trend for green beauty, sustainability and transparency is becoming part of everyday life.
Consumers are expecting brands to take more responsibility for protecting the environment with regard to sourcing ingredients and componentry."
The creams which are enriched with aloe vera, sustainable poppy seed oil, vitamins and natural extracts, are available in three products - full cream, semi-skimmed and skimmed - and they have already bagged a top industry award, winning silver at the Global make-up awards in 2020, for their full cream body wash.
It seems like Quentin is onto something - the dairy industry wastes 87,000 tonnes of whey per year, and with the sector under constant consumer scrutiny, Byre is proving that farming can play a part in creating the sustainable future that everyone is working towards.
He says: "I was inspired by my late grandfather, who was a tenant dairy farmer in Yorkshire. We were brought up on the adage of ‘waste not, want not' and I know that for most dairy farmers, whey is a waste product."
