Transforming an Amazonian seed into an innovative product, generating income for communities, and encouraging environmental preservation: these were the achievements of Natura in bringing new Ucuuba-based products to market. The new line, launched in April, is the result of a long research process and the company's commitment to nature and local communities.
The potential of Ucuuba was identified in 2004 during the mapping of various species for the development of oils and butters from raw materials found in the Amazon. The great differentiator of the product is the dry touch that the butter provides, accompanied by hydration lasting up to 48 hours, a consequence of the high concentration of compounds that promote this prolonged effect.
To prove the power of Ucuuba butter, soaps were made with different concentrations, and it was observed that when used in smaller amounts, the product does not provide the same moisturizing power. The Ucuuba line soaps offer up to 8 hours of hydration, which, according to the researchers involved in its development, represents much more than other products available on the market can provide.
Several internal and external partners are involved in this process. Within Natura, the areas of ingredient technologies, sustainable technologies, and cosmetic technologies worked on the development of the new active ingredient. To ensure the success of this mission, they relied on external support, from machinery adjustments to process the seed while ensuring productive efficiency without degrading its components, to logistics to maintain its quality and the effectiveness of its components after processing.
Cintia Ferrari, Scientific Manager of the Ingredient Technology area and specialist in oils and fats, explains that a project like this brings a series of challenges, one of which relates to the variability of characteristics of the raw material from natural origins. “You can be the greatest expert on the subject, but when you go to nature, it is usually she who dictates the rules. If the weather is dry, the characteristics change; if it rains more, the characteristics change. The work is long because we have to try to capture the maximum yield and variables from these harvests to have a more robust specification,” she clarifies.
For this reason, it is essential to ensure the quality of the seed, and to do so, it is necessary to raise awareness among small producers from cooperatives, who are supply partners, about their importance in the production chain. “We need to show how the quality of the seed impacts the product. There is no bad oil; there is bad seed. We have to engage and train these communities to show their importance in the production chain and the importance of standardizing the quality of the raw material to maintain the quality of the final product. One thing is a small batch; another is working on a large scale, with raw material supply from 13 communities located in different regions,” emphasizes Cintia.
For Aurora Furtado, who works at Natura developing body formulas, “another challenge is to develop formulas that are susceptible to the specificities of the raw material.” The researcher comments that maintaining the structure and composition of the butter is very important to provide the sensory experience of the product. “In this way, we work with raw butter. Although it is not as simple as working with refined butter, it avoids increasing environmental impacts and the loss of the butter's properties,” she concludes.
For her, the great lesson for future innovation projects is the opportunity to once again work with the production chain and transform a raw material into a product developed on a large scale. “This is the greatest challenge of all projects that involve biodiversity,” she assesses.
