Amazonian Butters: Multi-functional Bioactive Ingredients
Interview with Fernanda Stefani,
Co-Founder & CEO of 100 % Amazonia
What makes the Amazon region so interesting for the cosmetics industry?
The Amazon serves as the ultimate, time-tested R&D laboratory. For centuries, the rainforest has held a wealth of botanical solutions, validated by ancestral knowledge. Traditional communities have long understood the healing, nourishing, and protective properties of these native plants.
But tradition alone is not enough. As a company, we intend to elevate it. By applying scientific validation to these native resources, we are looking to unlock pure, natural active compounds that deliver the exact same – if not superior – dermatological capabilities as synthetic ingredients. This means global formulators no longer have to choose between clinical efficacy and natural origin.
Furthermore, sourcing from the Amazon allows the industry to participate in a regenerative economic model. The biome provides us with an extraordinary wealth of possibilities, and our portfolio is designed to capture that complexity. By diversifying ingredients, we align our supply chain with the forest’s seasons and regenerative cycles, preventing the over-exploitation of any single species while providing the cosmetics industry with a spectrum of high-performance solutions.
What do you associate with you company name “100% Amazonia”?
The name “100% Amazonia” represents the commitment to delivering premium bioingredients by integrating the region’s rich socio-biodiversity.
“100%” reflects the rigor of our operations. By running a state-of-the-art industry 4.0 facility right in the Amazon, we strategically shorten the supply chain. This allows us to process native raw materials at their freshness, ensuring biochemical integrity, stability, and a higher concentration of active compounds in our oils, butters, and extracts. For global partners and formulators, this translates into high-performance ingredients that meet the most demanding technical and regulatory standards.
Our name assures the market that they are receiving functionally superior products without compromising on environmental or social responsibility.
You have many fatty oils from the Amazon region in your portfolio, such as cupuaçu butter, babaçu butter, bacuri butter, muru muru butter, tucuma butter, …
What special properties do these butters have?
Amazonian butters go far beyond basic moisturization. They are multi-functional bioactive complexes with unique dermatological and structural properties. What makes them special is their extraordinary synergy of specific fatty acids and highly concentrated unsaponifiable fractions, such as phytosterols, polyphenols, and tocopherols.
For instance, Cupuaçu Butter (Theobroma grandiflorum). It is much more than a traditional emollient. It is an advanced, multifunctional dermocosmetic active. What sets it apart is its complex biochemical synergy. Its fatty acid profile – rich in Oleic, Stearic, and Palmitic acids – allows it to form a protective barrier that drastically reduces Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL), providing deep and prolonged hydration. Furthermore, its lipophilic nature makes it a great vehicle for the penetration of other active ingredients.
Cupuaçu butter is exceptionally rich in phytosterols (like beta-sitosterol), which integrate into the skin’s lipidic layer to reinforce barrier function and improve elasticity. Combined with a high concentration of polyphenols and tocopherols (Vitamin E), it delivers potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action, actively protecting collagen and neutralizing free radicals. It is the ultimate solution for dry, sensitive, mature skin, and premium hair care treatments.
In comparison, Ucuuba butter is rich in myristic acid (over 70 per cent), which gives it a unique molecular structure that allows for rapid absorption and deep hydration with a surprisingly dry, light sensory touch. Furthermore, its natural lauric acid and trimyristin content offer excellent antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Structurally, these butters offer ideal melting points and emulsifying capabilities. They are natural substitutes for synthetic emollients, silicones and animal tallow, allowing formulators to achieve superior texture, stability, and clinical performance in clean, vegan cosmetic lines.
You also have açai, annatto, brazil nut oils in your portfolio. What are the special features?
What makes these oils special is how they align with the most profitable segments of the modern skincare market. Instead of generic hydration, each oil delivers a targeted, high-performance solution.
For premium anti-aging and brightening lines, Açaí oil is the go-to ingredient, offering thermal stability and free-radical neutralization. For sun care, after-sun, or ‘glow’ products, Annatto oil is unrivaled. Its massive concentration of carotenoids provides deep photoprotection support with a highly desirable, light sensory feel. And for intensive repair and sensitive skin formulations, Brazil Nut oil acts as a profound barrier-reinforcement agent, clinically proven to lock in moisture and reduce water loss.
Together, they allow brands to formulate highly effective, natural product lines that cover everything from daily anti-aging to intensive dermatological repair.
Where do you source your raw materials?
Our raw materials are sourced from traditional and riverside communities throughout the Amazon respecting the seasonality. This approach not only preserves the biome’s natural regenerative cycles, but it also ensures that the industry receives bioingredients at their absolute peak of biochemical quality and freshness. But we also work with large forest restoration projects, like in the case of annato (urucum).
To deal with traditional communities, we established the Ariyamuru program. The program checks local infrastructure, organizational capacity of the group, land ownership regularity among other important aspects that gives us the tools to understand each group needs and opportunities for social development. After the evaluation made in agreement with the group itself, we create a plan of action to enhance the community capacity to increase volumes and/or introduce another species that is abundant but not collected due to lack of commercial opportunities.
How important is the European market for you?
Europe is a critical market for us because it operates with a high level of environmental and technical maturity. Buyers there actively select partners based on solid ESG frameworks, valuing Amazon-based ingredients both for their biochemical efficacy and their direct role in conservation.
The German initiative Import Promotion Desk (IPD) plays a fundamental role in this dynamic. It helps us by translating the socio-environmental impact into commercial opportunities, streamlining our entry into a highly regulated landscape. The IPD team has already helped us significantly by facilitating direct access to key European decision-makers who are specifically looking for the intersection of scientifically proved performance ingredients and sustainable sourcing.
https://100amazonia.com/en/
www.importpromotiondesk.de/en/
