Material designer Paula Nerlich and industrial designer Thibault Lerailler created a concept for cosmetic packaging made of a material made of cocoa bean shells, a by-product of chocolate industry.

Called Kusk, the concepts aims to rethink cosmetic packaging using food waste from the local chocolate industry. Kusk is made of Cocoa, a material created by Nerlich (you can find it in our collection here). The material is made of 50 per cent cocoa bean shells, a main by-product of cocoa that is separated from the bean during the roasting process.

For every metric ton of dry cocoa beans produced, 10 tons of cocoa bean shells remain as a waste material. This surplus is sometimes used for gardening, feedstock and tea, but more often just left to rot, producing greenhouse gasses and other environmental problems.

The Cocoa material is vegan, biodegradable, water-repellent, and remouldable several times. The material still smells like cocoa shells and has the same colour.

As consumers are starting to call for more sustainability in the cosmetics industry, Kusk offers a set of reusable containers made of Cocoa. The containers come in three sizes and come with a tray. The containers have lids, are washable, and fit into each other. The design aims for the containers to be refilled.

Kusk was nominated for the Green Concept Award 2021.

Photos: Paula Nerlich