History

I’m Fernando Bascuñán D. General Manager of ELICINA Cosmetics Ltd. Having celebrated our 15 anniversary since we broke news with our discovery, ELICINA snail cream, we give you our warmest welcome and invite you to share the history of this incredible finding. How we discovered that the Chilean earth snail slime had beneficial properties for the human skin and how we finally manufactured ELICINA Snail Cream. Most important is that today we’re a proud family business that exports to over 45 countries worldwide our beloved and prestigious product ELICINA.

The idea to export snails to Europe for gastronomic purpose was born in my family back in 1980; hence we opened up a snail farm where the main workers were my wife, my children and I. We all suffered many minor cuts and abrasions on our hands while handling tools and nails as we were making snail cages and at the same time manipulating the snails. We’d notice that these small wounds, far from being infected, would quickly heal scar-free.

In a short time we knew that the gastronomic snail business would never prosper but my wife always wondered what was in the snail secretion, that made our skin’s react so amazingly well, reason why she asked our oldest son Fernando Bascuñán Ygualt, today a medical physician from the University of Chile and at that time an undergraduate medical student, to conduct an investigation regarding this subject. He managed to determine that the snail secretion contained Allantoin (a cellular regenerator) in a natural state. This was a great surprise for all of us!

We needed to know what else this secretion could contain that had left our hands so soft and scar-free. Therefore, we asked a laboratory in Chile to perform a wide investigation on this matter. After 9 years of research, and a considerable amount of financial money, the Chilean Snail Helix Aspersa Muller secretion was confirmed and quantified as having in a natural state; Allantoin, Collagen, Elastin and Glycolic Acid, widely renowned elements in the Cosmetic and Dermatologic field.

Having confirmed the analysis, and with our accumulated empirical experience, we decided to elaborate a handcrafted cream composed of 80% snail extract and 20% excipients. Once we had our first home-made cream in our hands we had to come up with a proper name for it. Once again my wife remembered having read in one of the few books we had on Heliciculture that was purchased for our snail farm, which talked about a drug that was used in Europe back in the 17th Century and was called ELICINA. In honor of this product, we decided to give this cream the same name.

Since we didn’t have any previous experience in the field of cosmetics or creams and fearing that our findings could be copied, we decided to extend our efforts in search for some degree of protection so we opted for the unknown path of obtaining an invention patent. Once applied, we waited 3 very long years until the year 1993 when the World Organization of Industrial Patents in Geneva Switzerland, through the Chilean Government finally issued our long awaited patent of invention N* 38.615.

Once we were protected, we continued with the necessary steps in order to obtain with the national authorities the proper permits to fabricate and commercialize as well as to seek the qualified laboratory and that could meet our needs, that’s how we came upon LACOFAR Cosmetic Laboratory, the only one up to this date who is authorized to produce our snail cream ELICINA.

ELICINA was launched officially into the market in Santiago in January of 1995, with a massive national television, radio and press coverage as well as foreign media agencies. At noon of that January 19 and for the first time you could hear; “ELICINA, Snail Cream, Chilean world-wide invention.”

We were news in and beyond our frontiers and from that day on we have never stopped producing our beloved cream that has performed wonders for thousands of people in many parts of the world.

Because we are a family business, true and transparent, this is why I’ve decided to share our story with all of you. Unfortunately, as it always happens when a product is successful, there will always be imitations!

To our distinguished clients we sincerely thank you for your support for over these 15 years and to our newcomers our warmest welcome to the great ELICINA family.

Sincerely yours.

Fernando Bascuñán Dockendorff
General Manager Elicina Cosmetics Ltd.

Disclaimer. Elicina is not a Pharmaceutical or a Drug product. Elicina is just a natural cosmetic product intended to beautify the skin's appearance.