Ingredient

Cupuaçu Butter

Theobroma grandiflorum

Benefits

Softening, Conditioning, Moisturizing

The cupuaçu tree (pronounced coo-poo-assoo) is native to the Amazon rainforest. It produces oil-rich seeds that can be transformed into a luxurious butter.

Where do we get it?

Lush UK* works directly with three producers for supply of our cupuaçu butter:

Our main supplier operates as a cooperative in the Amazon rainforest. It was founded by a Japanese community made up of 43 families who, fleeing the war, came to settle in Brazil in 1929. They soon began farming and decided to switch to an agroforestry system after a disease devastated their pepper plantation in 1970. Meet them in this 5-minute video.

We also purchase from a producer based in Brazil who works with over 23 member families growing cupuaçu under an agroforestry system. They process fruits such as cupuaçu, passion fruit, acerola, açaí, and cocoa, focusing on pulp production for commercialisation.

Our last supplier is based in Peru, focusing on creating sustainable income opportunities for local indigenous communities. They run agroforestry projects aiming to regenerate degraded land and conserve forests whilst creating employment in the region.

*With several manufacturing sites across the globe, this information may vary depending on where your Lush products were made.

What are the benefits of cupuaçu butter?

• An emollient, it softens and moisturises.
• It protects and conditions the skin and hair.
• It attracts and retains water, delivering it to the skin.
• It contains antioxidant polyphenols that are thought to help keep the skin firm.
• It has a low melting point and melts very easily.
• It’s an effective vegan alternative to lanolin.

A great deal of oil

The butter is made up of a variety of beneficial fatty acids (the building block of fats), including omega-9 oleic acid, which conditions the skin and hair. A combination of palmitic and stearic acids also serves as a natural emulsifier, which means that it allows water and oil-based ingredients to bind in a formula.

Who are you, cupuaçu?

The cupuaçu and the cacao tree are relatives (Theobroma genus) and cupuaçu butter is sometimes used to make white chocolate. The tree can grow to heights of 20 metres and produces large and heavy oval fruits. There is no waste from the fruit harvest: the sweet and sour pulp is edible, the shell is used to make compost, and the seeds are fermented, dried and pressed to obtain butter.