‘Pushing the boundaries of science’: Origins’s Youthtopia highlights powerful potential of upcycled beauty ingredients

Youthtopia is a new collection from natural beauty pioneer Origins that harnesses the preventative ageing potential of the apple – nature’s most iconic symbol of health.

The line launched with two products – the Peptide Plumping Apple Cream and the Refining Apple Peel.

The majority of the components are created from upcycled apples sourced from a 100-year-old family-run farm in Canada that makes products like applesauce.

“We are literally taking their waste that’s created as they make their applesauce. This is something that they would have probably used as fertiliser or something. We were able to take something that was going to be discarded and create something really powerful,” said Michael Marcano, Vice President, General Manager, International, Origins, the Estée Lauder Companies.

The firm developed four ingredients from the apple: apple stem cell extract, upcycled fermented apple peel, cold-pressed apple seed oil, and an apple cider vinegar complex.

“The apple stem cell extract is probably the most interesting. It promotes the regeneration of skin cells to delay visible ageing. And we have the apple seed oil which is rich in omegas from the linoleic acid. The apple peel ferment is rich in antioxidant potential to help us to fight against the environmental stresses, free radicals. Then we have the apple cider vinegar complex, which is exfoliating and helps to resurface the skin, but it’s very mild so we can use it every day,” explained Dr Justin He, Vice President of APAC R&D at the Estée Lauder Companies.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia at the brand’s regional launch of Youthtopia in Singapore, Marcano and He expressed excitement over the potential of upcycled beauty ingredients.

“It’s the most fulfilling moment, finding something extraordinary from something seemingly ordinary. As scientists, its very exciting for us to push the boundaries of science. For example, the apple peel, which we already discovered had pretty strong antioxidant potential. But we always want to push to deliver more efficacy to our consumers. At the same time, we want to deliver more superior efficacy with a lesser amount [of materials]. That goes back to our roots as a sustainable brand,” said He.

The brand confirmed to us that its lab is exploring more opportunities with upcycling.

“We have a portfolio of ingredients that are similar to this. We are using modern technology as the brand evolves and bringing that back to our biotech lab. We are trying to use scientific wats to enhance the potential like we did with Youthtopia, where we used fermentation to double the antioxidant potential of the apple peel. We plan to continue on this journey,” said He.

Marcano added: “There is a pipeline of things that we have planned. Our scientists are always exploring and experimenting to uncover the genius of nature and bring it to our consumers. There is definitely more to come.”

In addition to the upcycled applesauce waste, the brand also studied a special variety of apple from Switzerland, Uttwiler Spätlauber.

“This rare apple has the ability to maintain its plumpness without shrivelling or decomposing for a long period of time. We unlocked the stem cells from that apple for that proactive approach. I think that’s why Justin and his team are always excited because nature is genius and they are obsessed with studying these different ingredients to make it more powerful and safe,” said Marcano.

“We're going to continue to find ways to use sustainable ways and sources to create products that are efficacious and safe to use and that our consumers need and want.”

An important milestone for Origins

Established in 1990 by Leonard Lauder, son of Estée Lauder, Origins was the first prestige skin care brand to promote the use of natural ingredients in its products.

The brand philosophy is rooted in the power of plants and has taken inspiration from powerful botanicals such as the Rose of Jericho, ginseng, and reishi mushroom.

Youthtopia is its first major launch in recent years.

“This is an exciting milestone for us because it’s like a reintroduction [of Origins]. I feel like we’ve been pretty quiet the last few years,” said Marcano.

The brand has had a front row seat to how the market has evolved in the last decade, with the rise in demand for natural yet powerful ingredients – a space where it is undisputedly a pioneer.

At the same time, the market has grown increasingly crowded with the rise of independent beauty brands and the emergence of a new consumer, Generation Z.

“There’s been a rise of indie brands, local brands, that can release really good products and connect with consumers, especially the Gen Z consumer. The challenge we face is that we’re older – we’ve been around for over 30 years – but with that comes a lot of experience and knowledge. For instance, not a lot of indie brands have their own biotech lab that are dedicated to studying plants,” said Marcano.

It is these labs and scientists that have been hard at work researching the apple.

In this research, the brand saw a major opportunity to tap into Gen Z’s desire for preventative ageing solutions and major trends such as slow ageing.

“This line was created from us listening to our Gen Z consumers. They were telling us that they need something that addresses the early signs of ageing. We know that this consumer is starting much earlier with their preventative care, even going through procedures, to address how they want their skin to look like in the future,” said Marcano.

“Their approach to their lifestyle is very different. They do what they can so they can be their best self today for tomorrow. That’s the same for skin. And that’s the approach we took with Youthtopia. We wanted to create something that's going to make you skin better today for tomorrow.”

He highlighted that with Youthtopia and the concept behind it, the brand has an excellent opportunity to connect with newer consumers.

“I think what this line does is help us come across as being fresh and modern, especially when it comes to targeting the younger consumer. At the same time, we are still being true to who we are and not moving away from our values of the power of nature and science working together, and also our commitment to the planet,” said Marcano.