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Catalina Trujillo is the co-founder of Souji, a company that transforms used cooking oil to help the hospitality industry turn a daily waste into value.
impact.info
Listen to the testimony of Catalina Trujillo, co-founder of Souji.
María Díaz Valderrama
impact.info journalist
Published on 11 August 2026
Photo credit — Souji
Transcript Audio in Español — text automatically translated· AI-generated transcript
0:00 What we do is put this device, which is very flexible and adaptable to any 0:04 establishment, so that establishments can do on-site circular economy and 0:08 transform their own waste to clean their own space. 0:12 Impact.info, another way to undertake. 0:19 Good morning. 0:20 Welcome to the podcast for entrepreneurs who want to change things, starting with 0:25 their own companies. 0:27 Companies like Souji, which transforms a common waste like olive oil into value. 0:33 My name is Catalina Trujillo, I am 40 years old, I was born in Colombia but I have lived in Spain for 0:34 a long time and I am the co-founder and CMO of Souji. 0:38 What is Souji? 0:43 Well, Souji is a chemical innovation, a magical mixture that when mixed with 0:44 used oil in different proportions and shaken quickly, transforms 0:53 into cleaning products. 0:59 How did this project come about? 1:01 What social problem did you want to address? 1:03 It all started with a problem at home, we didn't know what to do with used cooking oil, 1:07 it was a bit torturous to have to store it, take it to a recycling point, etc. 1:10 I met Sergio, the CEO and really the one who had the initial idea, and my partner Sergio Fernández, 1:15 he knew how soaps were traditionally made in villages, using animal 1:23 and vegetable fats, but they were usually mixed with very corrosive elements like caustic soda 1:28 in a somewhat traditional process, you had to use gloves, goggles, do it freely, let it 1:34 rest for a month, etc. 1:39 And what he thought was that we should be able to do the same in a much more updated 1:41 way adapted to the current pace of life. 1:46 From there, the first idea was born, the first formulation and from there it took more 1:48 than three years of research to achieve the same result, that transformation of 1:53 oil into cleaning products, but in a harmless way, without corrosives, without toxins, 1:58 in a few minutes, without heating and without having to wait. 2:04 Catalina, why is it so difficult to properly manage domestic oil? 2:07 And well, as a specialist in this, what happens when cooking oil, in this 2:13 case olive oil, is thrown down the sink? 2:19 Oil is ultimately an excessively contaminating element due to its own composition, 2:22 having that oily texture, it's dirty, let's say, the smell is not pleasant either, so 2:28 its handling, storage becomes quite complicated and then when it is disposed of 2:37 incorrectly, what it does is, one, clog pipes and cause a lot of damage 2:41 to infrastructures, when it reaches treatment plants it significantly increases its cost, it's very difficult 2:47 to separate oil from water and to clean it and when, unfortunately, it reaches water 2:52 resources it creates a surface layer that alters the entire ecosystem because it prevents. 2:59 3:03 the entry of oxygen, then it kills species and creates huge problems, we've seen it 3:10 on numerous occasions when oils have been spilled in the sea and in different water resources. 3:17 Management, we don't have good waste systems and then it's true that the alternatives 3:21 are not excessive, I mean, most of the used vegetable oil is destined for the production 3:26 of biodiesel which also brings many problems in terms of transportation, energy consumption, 3:32 and contaminating losses, and that means that many times we don't know what to 3:38 do with it at a general level. 3:41 And how does this process of transforming oil into soap work and how does it differ 3:47 from, let's say, more traditional methods? 3:50 In the end, it's a chemical reaction called saponification that converts those oily molecules, 3:53 let's say, into soap. 4:00 Our solution differs in, as I told you before, it's a much faster method, 4:04 it is achieved practically instantly in a few minutes, before it had to be left 4:08 to heat, rest, etc., it doesn't use any corrosive substances, we don't use caustic soda 4:13 or potash or any type of corrosive, it's manageable by anyone, that also 4:19 makes it different, it doesn't need heat input, meaning, the mixture doesn't have to be heated 4:23 like in other methods and it doesn't leave waste, absolutely everything is transformed. 4:28 So, well, what we achieve is that same reaction in a very instant and very safe way. 4:31 You all, well, offer a solution to transform used oil at home but you also recover 4:32 the oil you use, for example, from households, hospitality, companies, even 4:39 social entities. 4:46 Yes, of course, in fact that's where we're focusing right now, the home aspect 4:48 is very interesting but it's true that right now we're leaving it a bit dormant, 4:52 to put it one way, our focus right now is the hospitality market, 4:58 hotels, restaurants, cruises, cafes, where there is really a large volume of oil, 5:03 where the need is much more urgent, let's say, and what we've done is sophisticate 5:11 this formula in recent years so that, one, we have differentiated products, 5:17 we're no longer just a hub and multi-use but we have different ranges of products like 5:21 mechanical dishwashers, manual dishwashers, laundry detergent, multi-surface cleaner 5:26 and we also do it through a hardware device, a kind of appliance, 5:32 to put it one way, that facilitates operability within the restaurants themselves, 5:36 what we do is place this device that is very flexible and adaptable to any establishment 5:42 so that establishments can do on-site circular economy and transform 5:46 their own waste to clean their own space. 5:50 And what is the biggest challenge you find or have found when transforming 5:54 oil into a product with a second useful life? 5:58 Well, many challenges, in terms of innovation it has been many years of development because 6:03 transforming it in a way that has never been done before is very complicated, being able to make 6:09 this also profitable and that right now it is competitive in market prices. 6:14 6:18 it was also another challenge because the problem many times when you innovate is that 6:22 scaling becomes economically unfeasible, we have achieved it, now we are competitive, 6:29 killing the aroma of the oil has also been one of the big challenges, being able to smell good and 6:33 have effective cleaning products with a good aroma that clean under the same conditions 6:40 as the rest of the products on the market and then there is the issue of intellectual property, 6:44 we have patents in many countries, we have had to protect a lot of all the 6:50 bureaucratic part and the bureaucratic hurdles we have to face to start a business in the country we are in. 6:56 We are talking with Catalina Trujillo, co-founder of Souji, what is needed for more people 6:58 and more companies to recycle their oil? 7:04 I think in the end there is a lack of customer education, it is true that at the business level 7:07 there is already very strong legislation and they are forced to take measures but many 7:11 times they do not find the right alternative that fits their situation, in the end they are 7:15 very heterogeneous markets where their operations are very different, it is not the same a hotel in 7:20 the center of Madrid than a hotel on an island or in a mountainous area where getting to the 7:26 door-to-door collection is complex, that’s why our solution promotes 7:32 on-site recycling to minimize this transport, the impact, and the difficulty. 7:36 At the domestic level, there is a huge lack of customer education, there is a lot of personal awareness missing, 7:41 in the end there is no one to watch over you and no matter how many laws there are, well it depends 7:48 a lot on what you want to do in your privacy. 7:52 From what you tell me, I understand that you also work outside of Spain. 7:55 Yes, our base is here but it is true that we are lucky to have a formulation 7:59 and a product that is scalable and replicable in any country in the world, our formulation 8:07 can be manufactured in any country so we are already working with 8:12 foreign countries to replicate the model in other places either through 8:17 patent licensing or directly through us. 8:24 Impact.info, another way to start a business. 8:29 In Spain, 18 years is the legal age to create your own company, where did you 8:35 see yourself when you were 18? 8:40 Where did I see myself at 18? 8:42 Well, at 18 I was about to start university and I really 8:44 have always dreamed of creating something different and something that was mine. 8:48 My father was an entrepreneur, I have met different entrepreneurs around my circle and I always 8:54 dreamed of creating something new, I think that entrepreneurship sometimes comes from within 9:02 and I always started my degree thinking about being able to start a business, it is true that I had no 9:06 idea that I would end up in a company like this or in this sector, at first I 9:13 imagined many others, but I was clear that I wanted to work for myself 9:19 and do something different from what was being done. 9:24 Thanks to Catalina Trujillo, co-founder of SOGGI. 9:29 You can listen to this interview on the Impact.info website. 9:32 9:35 Have you heard of Impact.info, another way to start a business. 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