Desserto

Desserto is a Mexican cactus-based vegan leather material. To produce the material, cactus leaves are cut, mashed, and dried, after which the powdered cactus leaves are blended with a biobased polyurethane to produce the leather. The company claims that three cactus leaves can produce one linear meter of Desserto material. Following two years of R&D, Founders Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez showcased Desserto in Italy in October 2019. The material can be produced in a range of colors, thicknesses, and textures and can be used across the handbag, footwear, apparel, and furniture industries. 

In March 2021, Desserto claimed that it could produce up to 25 million square meters of material per year. The founders have also developed “Deserttex,” a cactus-based material targeting the automotive industry. Further, the company’s R&D team was working on replacing the biobased polyurethane with plant-based and fully biodegradable resins. In March 2021, Desserto was awarded for its cruelty-free vegan leather by PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world. During mid-2023, the company also introduced Desserto Agave , a limited edition alternative leather made from agave fibers, a waste product of Mexico's tequila industry.

The company expanded the reach of Desserto material by securing partnerships with leading brands such as H&M (for its “Science Story” clothing collection), Karl Lagerfield (for its “K/Kushion” vegan handbag and its ready-to-wear garments and accessories collection), Dominic Dempsey (for leather boots for toddlers), Fossil (for its “Kier Tote” handbag), Sanabul (to create cactus-leather boxing gloves and footwear), Givenchy (to develop a cactus-based case for its “Couture Rose Perfecto” lip balm), and Everlane (for its new handbag collection). For Dessertex, the company has partnered with BMW to replace animal-based car interiors.