Onions harvested in early summer are stacked neatly.
Cho Ga-ram, a CEO of a cosmetics company based in Seoul who was born and raised in Iksan, turned her attention to discarded onion peels.
This is because onion peels are rich in "quercetin," a component known for its exceptional antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
However, securing a stable supply of the raw onion peels was not easy.
After traveling across the country to find onion processing businesses, she met partner farmers in her hometown of Iksan who shared her vision.
[Cho Ga-ram / Young Entrepreneur: I had contacted about 19 onion processing companies. When we first met, the president also thought it was such a waste to throw away these onion peels and gave me positive feedback, saying it was a great idea.]
The farming households are also welcoming the change as previously discarded waste turns into a new source of income.
[So Byeong-don / Onion Farmer: It felt such a waste to throw them away, but hearing that they will use this to make a product... The peels now create added value, and we supply the bulbs to the company as well. What could be better than that?]
CEO Cho Ga-ram has been developing cosmetics and facial cleansers utilizing onion peel extracts, with plans to launch them on the market around October.
[Cho Ga-ram / Young Entrepreneur: We have made mini-sized samples of the products to be officially launched. Our goal is to launch them by October. And next year, we aim to expand overseas as well.]
A young entrepreneur's idea of discovering the value in discarded onion peels is providing a new source of income for local farms and a stepping stone to global markets for the youth.
(Reported by Kim Min-ji of JTV | Produced by Lee Se-young | Camera reporting by Kang Kyung-jin of JTV | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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