Ingredient

Cupuaçu Butter

Theobroma grandiflorum

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?

The cupuaçu fruits used to make the butter in Lush products are farmed by 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. 

Agroforestry is the integration of trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes, enabling farmers to improve biodiversity, water, soil and community health. Thanks to this model, our suppliers have diversified and improved their production while participating in the regeneration of the forest. To this day, the motto of the community is 'Stay sustainable! Support biodiversity.'

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.

Did you know?

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.