How I Turn Food Wastes Such as Coconut Shells and Other Waste Materials Into Beautiful Products

Meet Miriam Mukami, Machakos based entrepreneur who makes luxurious skincare and grooming products out of fruit wastes.

MIRIUM MUKAMI is the founder of Touché Cosmetics an eco-conscious, African-rooted beauty and wellness brand whose products are made out of waste materials such as coconut shells, overripe fruits among others. City Biz reached out to her in Machakos to share her business story.

Please tell us about your enterprise Touché Beauty and how it all began?

At Touché Beauty, we create luxurious skincare and grooming products using natural, sustainably sourced ingredients, many of which are harvested in collaboration with smallholder farmers. Our brand is deeply committed to the circular economy—we upcycle waste materials like coconut shells, potato sacks, and pineapple extracts into high-performance beauty products and eco-friendly packaging. Whether it's our vibrant children's line Peek-a-boo Baby by Touché, our men's grooming line, or our skincare essentials. At Touché we are all about promoting wellness, sustainability, and African excellence.

We understand you make these value-added products from natural wastes such as overripe fruits, coconut shells etc, how did you get this idea?

The idea of using coconut shells and other natural wastes to make value-added products came from a mix of personal experience and an eye-opening conversation at home. I had been making cosmetic products for years, but I quickly realized how expensive raw oils and natural ingredients were and it kept getting worse over the years. It didn’t make sense—these were things grown locally, yet they were priced out of reach for many small producers like me.

At the same time, my husband, who has worked at Marikiti market for over 10 years, would come home almost every day frustrated about the amount of food wasted there. He would say, “We throw away so much—fruits, vegetables, even coconut shells—because by the next morning, it’s all considered unsellable, yet new truckloads are coming in.” That stuck with me.

One day, I decided to visit Marikiti myself, and it was a turning point. I saw farmers and vendors all complaining about the same problem—overproduction, losses, and waste. Yet, the very same fruits they were discarding—like pineapples, coconuts, and avocados—were the ones I had been struggling to afford for my formulations. That’s when the idea hit me: what if we could rescue this 'waste' and turn it into high-quality beauty and wellness products?

Today, at Touché Beauty, we do just that. We turn coconuts shells into packaging and even grind them to get coconut shell powder that we use to make body scrub as an exfoliant while the coconut oil goes into our skincare. We use overripe pineapples to create organic body wash, avocado turned to nourishing oils, and even potato sacks for packaging our soaps. What was once waste is now a beautiful, useful product—creating value, reducing loss, and supporting local communities. We make products for men, women and kids of all ages which include body butters, body splash/mist, body scrubs, massage oils, body oils, aftershaves, baby oils & creams, beauty soaps, hair oils, body wash, scented candles and so many other products.

Where exactly do you get the waste/overripe fruits and raw ingredients from?

I get my overripe that I use to make oils from farmers and vendors from marikiti market and mama bonga who are located around githurai area.

What does it take for a lady to build a business empire especially in your line of business?

Building a business empire as a woman especially in the beauty and manufacturing space takes resilience, passion, and a deep sense of purpose. As a lady, I’ve faced many challenges: juggling home responsibilities, figuring out complex formulations and how to get the fruits and vegetables from marikiti market in time so that they don’t rot and go to waste and constantly searching for funding to boost my business. But with consistency, creativity, and believing in my vision, I have been able to turn challenges into stepping stones.

How has your business journey been so far?

The journey has been full of amazing moments where I would sell products and Kenyans are truly loving the products and challenges especially when it comes to raising funds from building the company.

How do you think the government and stakeholders should support entrepreneurs and brands committed to circular economy?

The government can be a great help when it helps us with linkages and spread the word to the farmers and vendors on value addition and circular economy. Help us with resources like machines and platforms where we can turn this overripe into oil even in farms and reduce post-harvest losses. Help small SME with funds since for me I have had to close the company a few times due to lack of funds.

Your parting shot?

Believe in your ideas, start with what you have and stay rooted in your purpose. The journey may be tough but every small step builds something bigger especially when passion meets persistence.