Judges Choice: re:model | Turning the "ugly" food into beauty products.

Project Team:

Hannah Yin , Jeslyn Lee , Hiya Shah , Faith Nguyen , Emily Ly , Jerith Rassou

Status:

New Idea

Social Purpose

Responsible Consumption & Production

Connect:

What is the problem you found?

Under the umbrella of food waste, we found that a lot of farmers, grocery stores, and consumers throw away a large proportion of their food due to the food's undesirable appearance (bruising, browning, scabs). 7.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in industrial waste streams every year which we found unacceptable. Moreover, a large portion of fruit grown doesn't even reach the consumer markets as they are considered 'ugly'. Despite their appearance, these fruits have been proven to contain higher levels of antioxidants, and valuable nutrients. We determined that this excessive food waste could be harnessed rather than discarded.

What is your opportunity?

How might we repurpose excess food (food marked to be discarded due to their appearance) for consumers?

Who is your audience?

Our customer is mainly teenagers to young adults however due to the timeless nature of our products our target audience is quite diverse. We expect high sales as within this age group there is a high demand for skincare products; for individuals or for others as gifts and environmentally conscious products. By having an emphasis on organic fruit ingredients, we can tailor these products to become hypoallergic. Moreover, we are assisting the sources of our food i.e. local grocery stores and farms as we are purchasing food that would otherwise be left.

What Is Your Solution?

Re:model, gathers food that would otherwise be discarded from local grocery stores, all-purpose stores, and farms, and converts them into aesthetic, nutritional facial scrubs. The products have several benefits with statistics showing that certain foods that have qualities deeming it unacceptable for purchase are healthier for the skin. For instance, scabbed apples containing 20% more antioxidant components than apples without. These could be easily utilised by combining a range of nutrient-dense varieties into an all-purpose, or problem-focused product, like a face mask.

In our research, we found that the two concerns of using organic material are that they decompose quickly and that they may cause irritations for sensitive skin. To combat the issue of preservation, we found that Vitamin E in Grapefruit extract is commonly used as an organic preservative, which is not only easily sourceable but also contains anti-inflammatory properties, meaning it is gentle on all skin types.  Regarding sensitive skin, we also found that apples and blueberries are hypoallergenic fruits that contain numerous facial care properties, meaning that designing a hypoallergenic, organic skincare mask would be a successful measure. The packaging which is made out of cardboard is bio-degradable and pleasing to the eye. Because we target local farms and grocery stores, transport costs are low. The products are distributed within the all-purpose stores as this gives them an incentive to provide us with the materials. We try our best to use all of the food waste. These include citrus fruits with hydraulic acid for hydrating purposes and vitamin e for skin rejuvenation. We aim to diversify the skin-care products in the future.

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Challenge

Environmental Impact Challenge

Challenge Partners


Program

AEG Hurlstone Agricultural High School

Location

New South Wales

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