Woman The engineer who treats the skin with technology: "The cosmetics of natural oils is not effective"
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Estefanía Ferrer has always been 'crazy' about cosmetics -as she calls herself-. She graduated in Chemical Engineering, it was not until last year that she decided to dedicate herself exclusively to this world that she is so passionate about creating LICO Cosmetics. In a few months she went from working in a multinational dedicated to aeronautics and making cosmetic products as a hobby, to having her own company, with which she has billed four times more than in the previous period.
"I saw that there was no cosmetics that combined in the same formula very powerful active cosmetics that were green chemistry, that applied sustainable engineering but did not compromise the rest of the formula's ingredients at a toxic level," explains Ferrer, co-founder and CEO of LICO Cosmetics.
With the broad base of knowledge that she had acquired for the pure love of cosmetics and her work for years analyzing toxics, she began to create her own products in a small laboratory in Seville. She was sharing them with family and friends and her "word of mouth" did the rest of her.
"I was making larger runs, I had to change laboratories and I was improving the image of the company. The first quarter of 2020 had reached such a volume of orders and demands that it made sense, that I saw that there was this gap in the market. It was there when I ventured, I spoke with my company, we organized my departure with a horizon of three months ahead and with great enthusiasm I started full time with LICO".
LICO Cosmetics has a very clear goal: to create effective cosmetics, based on science, but also respectful of nature and, of course, the skin. "What we saw is that there are currently two trend lines: the first is the very 'laboratory' one. They have very patented active cosmetics but they do not take care of the rest of the ingredients and there are some that are problematic and are not highly recommended. Then There is another cosmetic that is very popular and is based on natural extracts and oils, but the reality is that it is not effective," she explains.
Products from the African Essence line.
The difference with LICO is that they are based on natural elements but create chemical formulas that enhance their effects and are beneficial for the skin. To do this, they carry out a complex -and sometimes long- process of R&D and search for the best natural ingredients.
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"At the formulation level, we always do it with the following premises: we have a part of active cosmetics that have a green chemistry. For example, we have a microencapsulated vitamin C serum. It is sustainable engineering because we apply an ingredient derived from vitamin C , that is, it is not harmful. We microencapsulate it in a cellulose polymer to multiply its effectiveness by five and thus obtain a very powerful active ingredient. We do all of this under synergy studies in which we provide natural raw material, but that is focused in enhancing the results of this part of engineering".
Resources from around the world
The entire process of formulating and subsequent manufacturing of the product is done in Spain, but some of these compounds are sought in different parts of the world. They have, for example, the African Essence treatment, awarded at the Beauty Shortlist Awards 2020, for which they use that vitamin C together with vitamin E. "We thought, where is the most important source of vitamin E? Well, we found it in the desert of the Kalahari."
Always aware of all the details, at LICO they make sure that these natural resources are worked by regulated companies, Fair Trade and with Certificates of Conformity; and at the same time that your purchase enriches the area.
"In the case of our Amazonian line, we bring buriti oil from the Amazon, which is the one with the highest content of vitamin A on the planet. With this we get the value of buriti oil and thus combat the felling of the tree of the buriti, which is like the tree of life in the Amazon. We baptize these treatments with the origin of the raw material and we also work a lot on the perfume to experience that journey through the skin and textures."
The clients, the first
The main goal of the all-female team at LICO is that their products truly improve skin. Therefore, despite the fact that its main sales channel is online, its way of working is very "customer-centric". Why? Because Ferrer is fully sure that its products work.
"We have a lot of feedback from them and we ask them every so often about the state of their skin. This is not a marketing claim, but rather it offers results. If it doesn't work, we change the product and if none of it works, we replace it. return the money", he states emphatically.
"One of our premises is not to overprescribe. We have clients who suddenly buy the 360 routine and the eye contour and we tell them that they have to go little by little. It is not about selling, but about the client really noticing the results ".
Shuttle Program
Thanks to this innovative business model, LICO entered the Lanzadera program promoted by Juan Roig, and has reached the Growth phase, made up of only 30 companies. "We entered Lanzadera in September and thanks to them we are a little where we are, they have been part of the success of LICO"
Lanzadera is a program that helps with the growth of companies and has four phases, with Growth being the third. "When I joined, I didn't know how to distinguish unicommerce from a market place, which is like something basic. In the end, here they give you training, we have a project manager... In the end, it helps us to ensure that all departments are aligned in favor of the client and also in matters of planning, organization and tools. More technical aspects that in the end are necessary to set up a company and make it work".
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