True Stories
“Natural potentials are the success of dedicated skin products”: meet Nenna Manufactory
Lindita Vrushi, CEO of Esencial and Co-founder of Nenna Manufactory
My name is Lindita Vrushi, CEO of Esencial company and CO founder of Nenna Manufactory. For years, I have obtained extracts from organic plants in their native state with a green SC-CO2 technique -Green Technology in the field of dry extract production-, which guarantees 0 microbial residues, 0 environmental pollutions, and no traces of organic solvents. At this moment, I thought of becoming a part of natural cosmetics. It was beautiful but unclear from the starting point. The idea crystallized when I came across the NATRUE logo. This is where the beautiful journey began, and NATRUE-certified products were finalized.
NATRUE: Why and when was Esencial created?
Lindita Vrushi: Esencial was born in a start-up laboratory for research purposes in 2009. I realized that natural potentials are the success of dedicated skin products. This is how Esencial started the production of raw materials, specifically flax, to get the best of it and embodied it in botanical extracts. Their properties and values are the main assets for these extracts to become raw materials used in producing natural cosmetic products.
NATRUE: How do you produce your extracts?
Lindita Vrushi: Our extracts, unlike those produced from dried plants according to standards, have a moisture content of less than 6%. They pass through the extractor, where the green SCF method is applied with an organic digester. This extracts the good world through the dedication of the team employees, where each objective is in better view. It starts with the cultivation of the plants and continues with the process of drying, selection, grinding, green extraction, and laboratory testing. The last step is to store the product. We do all this thanks to our technical team and their dedication and knowledge.
NATRUE: What makes your products “different”?
Lindita Vrushi: Our extracts are synergistic – a method that includes different elements to work together and produce an effect more significant than the sum of the individual agents – and carry all the phytochemical compounds inherited from the DNA of plant cells. I am giving an example: on the label of some natural cosmetic products we can see the ingredients listed from the largest to the smallest. Usually, the first is water. In our products, the list of ingredients lacks water, so all ingredients are produced by us, with the technology I mentioned above. Those ingredients have the function of active principles and do not just supplement the formula in quantity. This is precisely what differentiates our dry extracts. They provide a final product with maximum effects. Our skin is the first that thanks it and approves of its brilliance and vitality.
I also say with conviction that two strong pillars that make our raw materials special are:
- SCFE CO2 green technology without chemical residues, preservatives, water, and other additives. The SCFE CO2 is a process applied to separate various components from a plant by using a dense gas (carbon dioxide – CO2) as a solvent for extraction.
- That our ingredients are certified by NATRUE.
NATRUE: Tell us more about your projects, for example, “the Cistus incanus project of 2022”?
Lindita Vrushi: In Esencial, we will build between 3 and 4 projects with specific plants during the year. First, we will organize an expedition in the cultivation zones, and then the R&D group will start the study phase to go to the final skin care products.
Exciting projects for 2022 were for Cistus incanus as well as Narcissus Poeticus. Their extracts -with significant flavonoid content- have regenerating, nourishing, and protective properties of epithelial cells, i.e.: the cells that cover the inside and outside of the surfaces of our body. Unique in these two extracts are the pleasing aromas that natural cosmetic products need.
NATRUE: You have recently joined NATRUE. Why did you take this decision, and what would you say to brands that want to join NATRUE?
Lindita Vrushi: The experience of these years raised me and gave me confidence in the beautiful field of natural cosmetics. So Esencial, in 2022, created another company dedicated only to finished products called Nenna Manufactory. Here began the beautiful journey with the NATRUE certification-
The finalization came with the first 100% natural Albanian brand without water and without unnatural preservatives or flavorings, which was called DAMAR. This brand is called “the care brand for the whole family.”
Natural is prestige and safety. It’s the peace found by every producer who chooses to produce natural and organic cosmetic products. Only with NATRUE, natural and organic cosmetic products are genuinely natural and organic, so we can protect the skin, but more importantly, save the planet, our incredible home.
For more information about Esencial visit www.esencial.al
For more information about Nenna Manufactory, visit www.nenna.al
Download this interview here.