Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves!
C!rcly: Hello Munich! We, (Oliver, 33 years old, and Max, 31 years old) are the founders of Foodignity Labs GmbH, the company behind the skincare brand C!rcly. With C!ircly, yes, you read that right with an “!”, we combine the concepts of upcycling and premium skincare.
In our profession as business consultants, we realized that many everyday products are not completely sustainable yet. For example, many current skincare products have great ingredients, but the use of unnecessary packaging that is purely visual means they aren’t actually good for the environment. Many products also still contain microplastics and other ingredients that really shouldn’t be on the skin.
Munich Startup: What problem does your startup solve?
C!rcly: During the manufacturing process of many products, such as coffee or fruit juice, large amounts of residual products are generated, which are then thrown away before their full potential is exhausted. The mission of our startup is to use these valuable residual products in premium quality skincare products. C!ircly is the brand for sustainable skincare without a guilty conscience that is 100 percent good for you and the environment.
Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!
C!rcly: Of course there are already established natural cosmetic companies. But even these established companies haven’t managed to become completely sustainable in terms of both ingredients and packaging. C!rcly aims to offer an alternative that is both good for people and good for the environment.
C!rcly wants to establish itself as the leading sustainable skincare startup
Munich Startup: Was there a point when you nearly failed?
C!rcly: In the beginning, it was difficult for us to identify and bring together the right parties to be able to manufacture our product. For example, very few manufacturers were willing to collaborate with us because they couldn’t readily integrate our raw materials into their process.
Munich Startup: Where do you see your business in one year, and where in five years?
C!rcly: In one year, we want our first products to be known on the market: a skin serum made of upcycled coffee oil, lip balms with coffee oil and soap made of residual products from coffee and oranges. In five years, we want to have established C!rcly as the leading sustainable skincare startup. We’re also planning to get further activities up and running in the field of sustainability with other partners, for instance, the research and development of new products under the umbrella of Foodignity Labs.
Munich Startup: What do you think about Munich as a startup location?
C!rcly: Munich keeps getting stronger as a startup location because it is extremely attractive and gives access to skilled professionals and investors. We also think Munich can hold its own as a startup city when compared to Berlin and Hamburg. There are also lots of startup events in Munich that encourage good networking.
Munich Startup: Tea or coffee?
C!rcly: Because upcycled coffee is one of the key ingredients in our products, the answer is clear.