In 2021, I shifted home to Goa. I have been tracking the growth of conscious beauty brands since 2014, and was keen to see what was brewing in my home state.
A few weeks back, I headed to Popsicle, a pop-up bazaar marketplace, where I was happy to discover a number of fledgling businesses, with a conscious DNA.
Having engaged with so many national-level brands, it was time to see how Goan entrepreneurs were reimagining this space. But first things first.
What is a conscious brand?
Over the last few decades there has been a value shift among consumers. More folks are concerned with the impact of their consumption on health, the environment, and all stakeholders in the supply chain. This can include workers, animals and communities that are impacted.
Traditional businesses consider themselves to be answerable to only one entity – their shareholders, while conscious businesses equally prioritise profits, people and the planet. Here’s an official definition of a ‘conscious brand’.
Today, this category encompasses a whole spectrum of products and services – from conscious health and wellness brands to conscious beauty brands, and more entrepreneurs are entering the business world, with these values.
At Popsicle, I was excited to discovered some homegrown Goan conscious brands. Hosted at the pretty Green Amaze lawns, the bazaar turned out to be a labour of love curated by co-founders Dr Karla Faleiro and Anushka. Here’s a glimpse of some conscious businesses with promise.
Agathos Essentials – Aromatherapy at work
The Agathos Essentials kiosk immediately caught my attention. Rows of shampoo bars, soaps for adults and kids, body butters, lip balms, and gels, were laid out with perfect symmetry.
The positioning of the brand is organic, with locally grown and ethically sourced ingredients from certified organic farms. Essential oils, which are the foundation of aromatherapy, are a core ingredient.
The founder Gloria Alphonsus, is an aromatherapist and clinical psychologist by profession, who understands the importance of personal care in our health and wellness journeys. The products feature ingredients that have healing effects on the human body.
I curated a gift hamper of soaps for a friends’ anniversary, with the tagline “a couple that showers together, stays together” 😊 I also picked up their bunny soap for my friend’s 7-year old, who is excited to further enhance her bath time ritual with her bunny soap.
A few weeks later, I picked up an aloe vera gel, which uses seaweed as a preservative. This is a great choice as seaweed is considered to be one of the most sustainable food sources, one that thrives in many climates, absorbs more CO2 than trees, and improves water quality by absorbing toxic elements.
Aloe vera gel has a healing effect, especially in humid summers in Goa, and I use it for everything from bug bites to heat rashes and cuts that are not too deep.
Bhooki Murgi – Focused on nutrition
Another kiosk that caught my attention was Bhooki Murgi ( hungry chicken). This nutrition-conscious brand was marketing a range of dips, pickles, and butters that are low on sodium content.
“We don’t use any refined sugar and chemical preservatives in our products, “co-founder Chrisha informed me.
Most commercial brands use sugar and salt to enhance flavour, with little attention to the health ramifications of such shortcuts.
In fact, the world’s largest FMCG and fast food brands have spent billions of dollars on research to arrive at this practice; it is what makes food addictive, and triggers chaos in the human body and mind.
The Goan diet is rich and irresistible, and anything in excess, can lead to a range of lifestyle conditions. Brands like Bhooki Murgi, with a pulse on this trend, can encourage people to make better choices.
I picked up a garlic mayo dip with herbs, and the flavour just pops. The products are made in small batches with zero preservatives. I’d encourage more Goans to try out this brand. However, please refrigerate the product and consume within 30 days, once opened.
The Butter Works – Harnessing Ayurveda
The third kiosk that caught my attention was The Butter Works by an energetic lady named Chhaya. She is a wealth of knowledge on Ayurveda and seems very passionate about its potential of to positively impact one’s health.
She understands the therapeutic benefits, and also creates and packages products for ayurvedic doctors.
An informative conversation with Chhaya, nudged me to buy a soap formulated with herbs and essentials oils.
The Butter Works also offers some innovative products such as the powder face wash. You sprinkle a little in your palm, add a dash of water and it builds into a liquid face wash. I say innovative, because, any liquid product needs at least food grade preservatives to keep it from spoiling.
With a powder-based replacement, the number of chemical preservatives and plastic packaging, plummets to zero, and this trend is good for people, the planet and profits.
The bazaar also featured some more conscious brands like Barva Skin Therapie, and Merak. But unfortunately, I had to zip off to my friends’ anniversary celebration.
It’s difficult to predict how these brands will perform over time. But I’ve seen many conscious brands start off small, and grow into credible, scalable enterprises. So, I wish them luck in their journey, and hope they continue to keep their focus on point, as they scale!
Before I sign off, I’ll do a brief shoutout to Carmen Vaz from Home Minister’s Kitchen who makes the most mouth-watering quiches. I liked that they are not too salty but have great flavour and texture.
The Concious Way 
Hi Merril! Loved this article – the vibrance, the verbal imagery…just draws one in. Thank you for educating us on conscious choices and taking us along on these wonderful excursions. This article also does a fabulous job of bringing the spotlight on the emerging conscious brands in Goa!
I also love how creatively these brands have been named 🙂 esp Bhooki Murgi