Smashed avocado: French firm develops eye care active from by-product

Marking the sixth avocado by-product ingredient in its portfolio, the ‘Number 6’ active like the rest of its avocado ingredients was made from downgraded fruits no longer exportable or sellable on the food market. The ingredient – a concentrate of avocado polyphenols – worked to make eyes appear brighter, acting on microcirculation, pigmentation and swelling and could be used in creams, serums and solid cosmetics, according to Laboratoires Expanscience.

Armelle Le Peniec, director of cosmetic active ingredients at Laboratoires Expanscience, said the ingredient, like any typical active the company developed, took around four years to develop – from research and clinical studies through to final marketing.

Guacamole, animal feed and cosmetics​

Le Peniec said the company’s use of avocado by-product fitted into its wider goal of securing “responsible plant supply chains” –​ developing active and quality ingredients without impacting the security or sustainability of supply.

“We use downgraded avocados; it means these are avocados with ‘aesthetic defects’ that can’t be sold in supermarkets, but they can be used for producing guacamole, for example, or for animal feed. They are totally safe to use. We just save them from wastage and that’s the first step of our upcycling process,”​ she said.

The company sourced its avocadoes from “hard to reach valleys”​ in Peru in order to help boost local economies, she said, facilitated through its subsidiary in the country.

“Research, production, sourcing or the use of by-products: for each stage, we seek the lowest possible impact on the environment, but we also seek to create positive impacts on health, the local economy and society etc.”​

Asked how important by-product derived ingredients were for a sustainable cosmetics future, Le Peniec said: “This responsible approach is important to us and seems extremely crucial for the future. It is an essential and now unavoidable approach in the beauty industry.”​

Avocados and zero waste ​

Laboratoires Expanscience developed a demonstration formula using its latest avocado ingredient – a solid bar for eye contouring that contained 1-3% of the active. The company also designed two other solid products as part of its ‘zero waste/avocado’ box: a solid shampoo bar and bar for refreshed skin.