We’d love to hear the Kelsey back story, could you share the motivation behind starting the brand? What inspires the Kelsey team?
The KELSEY Farm lies in the very heart of Kent, the Garden of England. Paul, our founder is the fourth generation of family farmers at Kelsey, his son will be the fifth. Each generation has chosen to listen to their heart, to listen to the land and to develop the Kelsey family farm by enhancing nature with crops of their choice. Paul chose berries. Raspberries particularly are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Frustrated by the wastage on farm, a common cause of fruit wastage is poor visual appearance, with consumers deeming a product undesirable if imperfect. UK on-farm food waste is estimated to be circa 3 million tonnes per year. (WWF & Tesco 2022)
From this problem KELSEY was born, any fruit which is not good enough to retail is sent away to be processed into puree so there is no waste. We also harvest and upcycle the leaves and seeds to harness the full power of the raspberry plant and reduce our waste to a minimum.
Through cutting-edge scientific research, we have discovered and developed the benefits of our raspberries for the outside – our skin. Working with hand-picked experts, we have formulated an exclusive ‘raspberry first’ skincare range.
Being ‘sustainable’ or ‘ecologically responsible’ is not a catch phrase to us. It’s key to everything we do and central to our beliefs as people who have worked the land for generations. Our mission is to find beauty in the unwanted. We continue to look for new ways to use the raspberry plant and develop our range further.
At Circular HQ, we love ethical, gorgeous, quality self-care products! How do you go about creating new products and adding to your beautiful range?
We listen to our customers and what they’re asking for. We want to make a range that appeals to all ages and allows you to supplement your existing range with a few KELSEY skincare products or go the whole way and follow the KELSEY regime.
Efficacy is our top priority. It’s great to be using upcycled ingredients but only if they truly are beneficial to the skin. We worked with leading scientists to activate our raspberry seed oil to make it more bioavailable and ultimately better. Combining our potent, upcycled ingredients with other clinically proven ingredients makes KELSEY both sustainable and effective. We’re continuing to work with our scientist to create something using more of the raspberry plant so that we can truly say we are upcycling the whole plant and providing glow-giving results.
Circular Design is a driving force behind our brand and our product. We know you are also driven by sustainable principles. How are you building those principals into your business model?
Our philosophy stems from our love of the land and everything that comes from it. We like to think that on our farm in the heart of Kent, we are as ecologically responsible as we can be.
The waste fruit that we don’t turn into active ingredients is taken away to be processed into puree. It goes without saying that all our cardboard and plastic waste on the farm is recycled, but our own punnets are made from recycled PET and are themselves fully recyclable, even that little pad at the bottom that cushions your fruit! Our plants are currently grown in coconut coir, a by-product of the coconut industry, and our future season’s crop will be grown in a coir which is a waste product from the strawberry industry.
It doesn’t stop once the plants have stopped growing and the season comes to an end. Each of the 300,000 pots which have housed the plants are removed, washed and reused in future years. The polythene tunnels stretching across the 130 acres of the KELSEY farm are carefully removed and fastidiously packed away to be unfurled the following year. They’re used for 5-6 seasons and are then also recycled. The canes that have borne the fruit also find a new life too. Once the pots have been removed the plants are laid on the ground and a machine, fondly known as the pulveriser, munches them up into golden brown, nutrient rich mulch which is used on local Kent farms as soil conditioner.
Where we can, we also harness the power of the elements, capturing rainwater from our tunnel structures to supplement our irrigation requirements and using solar power to help run our coldstores.
What have been the biggest challenges you have faced growing the brand and business?
Getting the story of our brand and products is a challenge. Making noise in a saturated market, gaining trust from customers and getting the product into their hands is the big hurdle. We know from feedback that once a consumer tries KELSEY and sees the results their hooked!
Our big dream for the future is to be using the whole plant to create efficacious and wonderful skincare, becoming a go-to brand for many customers in the upcycled skincare.
From a daily habits perspective, do you have any advice on living a more circular or sustainable lifestyle?
We think it comes down to actually really thinking about what you’re doing and becoming more aware on a daily basis. Is there something you could do differently or a small change you could make which helps a more sustainable life?
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