As you well know by now, we absolutely LOVE supporting local brands. It’s everything we’re about; supporting locally owned Aus + NZ brands that have an aligned vision of improving people’s lives in one way or another - whether that be through sustainability, high quality ingredients, removing nasties from their products, or creating things that will just better your life.
We love that we can connect you with businesses who are just doing GOOD too. We want nothing more than for you to find products and brands that you truly connect with, that actually offer products that improve your quality of life.
And you know what? It’s more important now, than ever before, to support local. The last few years have been TOUGH (to say the least) so to put your money towards businesses that have been homegrown by people just like you and me, is what we need to do to help our fellow Aussies and Kiwis.
The thing I find coolest, and one of my favourite parts about running this business, is finding out about the stories behind the brands. How did they start? What are their values, their ethics, their vision? Just hearing their stories of where they’ve come from is so inspiring and heartwarming.
So I wanted to take a moment to celebrate each of the brands featured inside, and tell you a little more about their story, the people behind them and what their brand is about.
I love how hearing these stories humanises these brands, and makes us understand that they’ve been started by good-doing humans who just wanted to make a change in the world.
I hope you enjoy!
Kate, Founder of Retreat Yourself
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Nutra Organics
Nutra Organics was founded in 1998 by an Australian family who were on a mission to transform beauty & wellbeing with pure, potent and proven formulations that provide results.
After experiencing the energy, vitality and good health from switching to an organic wholefood diet, Mark and Darlene Powell founded Nutra Organics to provide real, honest nutrition that not only tastes good, but genuinely improves the health and wellbeing of families.
What began as a passion project in the garage, quickly grew to become one of Australia’s most loved health & wellbeing brands.
Combining the purity of nature with the precision of science, Nutra Organics creates high performance skin care & nutritional products to provide deep nourishment, support optimum wellbeing and give you results that you can see and feel.
They’re also big on supporting sustainability - with a mission to tread as lightly as possible, by transitioning their entire range to either home compostable or sustainable packaging, ensuring all ingredients are sustainably sourced, operating sustainably, and actively giving back to our environment and community.
Read more about Nutra Organics here.
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Biologi
Australian owned, Biologi is more than a clean beauty brand, but a skincare range crafting a new category “Clean Cosmeceuticals” - which are stable, 100% active plant phyto-nutrients.
Founded by Ross Macdougald, who has had a long history in developing products and formulating active ingredients. Ross became frustrated at the low levels of plant actives that were added to products (and often only for marketing and labelling claims). Brands were increasingly diminishing the levels of active ingredients meaning that what was found on the shelves was largely synthetic ingredients rendering the natural extracts useless.
Wanting to change the game, Ross launched Biologi in 2017, the world’s first-ever 100% active single ingredient, pure plant serum. Using his revolutionary extraction system (CLECS II) which mimics the plant’s internal closed process to extract serums that work in the bottle as they do in their unique cellular environment.
The full Biologi range is the first in the world that is undiluted, free from fragrance and contains zero synthetic activating agents
They’re also the only brand in the world that is responsible for every step of the process - from selecting the plants and farmers, to bottling the liquid, to providing consumers with transformative skincare that works without compromising the cells.
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Aurelia Alchemy
What began as little girls hiding in the hedges, mixing flowers and water to make magick in film canisters has turned into a life long passion that has fuelled years of study, research, work and soul searching that has resulted in the Aurelia Alchemy product range.
Australian owned and founded by kinesiologist, Hannah, who has dedicated the last decade to working, studying and going within. All of the skills she’s developed have enabled her to create products and work with women in the most incredible, life-changing ways.
Each of the Aurelia Alchemy products are crafted by aromatherapists with the most high quality ingredients, vibrational medicine and earth medicine.
Aurelia Alchemy is a blend of the logical, science mind and the esoteric medicine woman. This plays out in every step of the crafting process from ingredients right down to how each item is packaged up.
Read more about Aurelia Alchemy
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Essano
Essano is a New Zealand brand on a mission to create quality and natural products that are accessible for all.
In 2000 two Kiwi boys, Shane Young and Anthony ‘AJ’ Gadsdon (just 24 and 26 years old), started making hair products together with nothing but a washing machine pump and a credit card. After years of making different products and brands, they launched Essano in 2013. Their mission was (and still is) to create quality, natural products that are accessible for all.
Their journey has been steep (now stocked in over 6000 stores!), but despite now being stocked all around the world, they are still based in beautiful New Zealand.
They’ve grown from a partnership of two Kiwi innovators, to a team of fun loving experts.
Their products are free from any harsh chemicals, they do not test on animals, they have the largest percentage of organic products by any leading skincare brand in NZ, and they are huge on putting sustainability first - making a commitment to have all of their packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
Their story, their products, their ethics and values are all top notch.
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Tilley soaps
Tilley Soaps is Australia’s oldest manufacturer of soap, scented soy candles and home fragrance products - they’ve been around for over 150 years!
Founded in 1856 by Arthur Tilley, he conspired a plan to use his creative talent to create a soap and perfumery works - Tilley Soaps.
The brand has existed through two world wars, a great depression, a GFC and many more challenges, yet still managed to survive and continue to thrive and create incredible products.
Tilley soaps has changed hands a couple of times since the beginning, which has broadened and grown their product offering. They’re now located in state-of-the-art premises in Bayswater, Melbourne, with a wonderful staff base.
They’re on a mission to create beautiful, high quality products for the home.
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Proper crisps
Founded in 2007 in New Zealand, and now owned by Ned and Mina, who became the Head Potatoes in 2010. Proper Crisps only used the finest of ingredients - starting with NZ Agria Potatoes, which are sourced from Simon (yep, they’re on first name basis with the farmers they work with), the same third-generation South Island Temuka farmer that they’ve worked with since the beginning. They also work with a whole range of other farmers who they work closely with to ensure their farming practices meet their standards.
Proper Crisps only use the highest of quality ingredients:, the crisps are cooked in the best quality High Oleic Sunflower Oil, using both Canterbury-grown, Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil and High Quality Imported Sunflower Oil when necessary - which is high in unsaturated fat, low in saturated fat, and has no trans fat!
Proper Crisps are always 100% Natural. They are Gluten, Dairy, GMO-Free and Vegan Friendly, with no added MSG.
Want to know something else cool? Over 10 of their products are now featured in home-compostable packaging, which means you can pop them into your compost at home and they’ll break down within 6-12 months. This is just the beginning of their home-compost packaging journey. They also have lots of other sustainability goals!
If you’re not already in love with them, let me also tell you that they are also the crunchiest and most delicious chip you’ll ever buy!
Read more about Proper Crisps here.
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Kez’s Kitchen
Founded in 1991 by Kez herself, Kez’s Kitchen is a proud Australian family business. Together with her mum Helen, Kez had a vision to build something special. In 1994 her brother Michael joined them, and together they put their hearts and souls into developing delicious baked snacks.
They’ve been baking to suit their family and all of their different tastes (or diets) for a very long time, so they understand how important it is to be included, regardless of diet or taste, and are passionate about making snacks that can be enjoyed by everyone.
Their mantra? That everyone deserves to enjoy delicious nourishing snacks from the finest ingredients. Their passion is around creating exceptional quality, better for you, gluten free snacks that are a little bit fancy, so that you don’t have to.
(and let us tell you - all of their snacks are DELICIOUS).
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Chai spice
Melbourne founded and made, Chai Spice love making completely natural, heart warming and irresistible products, for all to enjoy! They searched high and low for only the best ingredients to create authentic recipe blends.
All products are free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. All natural ingredients, vegan options and all are gluten/dairy free.
The thing we love most about Chai Spice is that they hope to enlighten you with life's simplest pleasures. You can relax and enjoy drinking their hot beverages that are all natural, nourishing and delicious tasting, all day - every day!
The Vedic Golden Milk (that we included in the Glow retreat) is from their Vedic range, which has been developed using ancient recipes and philosophies.
Read more about Chai Spice here.
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Nexba
Founded in 2010, by Drew, a young Aussie on a mission to create delicious beverages, without the sugar.
The inspiration came from an iced tea, drunk on the Mexican Nexpa beach, where he thought about how much sugar was in his small glass and how there needed to be something just as delicious, but without the sugar!
Drew then turned to his brother-in-law, Troy, to help turn this idea into a reality.
They started by selling their first drinks from the back of a van on Bondi beach, sometimes engaging the help of their grandparents!
Six years later they had the sweetener perfected, tasting just as good as sugar but free of anything artificial which was a first of its kind.
In 2021 Nexba is proud to be Australia’s favourite Naturally Sugar Free brand, creating delicious, sugar-free beverages for all to enjoy!
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Grace cosmetics
Grace Cosmetics is a family owned Australian company with 37 years of experience in the industry. All of their unique skincare is made on the Gold Coast in a facility licensed by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) & Australian Certified Organic (ACO).
All of their products are cruelty free, made in recyclable packaging, and are free of sulphates and parabens.
And if that’s not enough to make you fall in love with them, Grace Cosmetics also has a charity arm of their business - Light Of Hope, whose mission is to bring hope to desperate, disadvantaged communities by providing them with what they need the most. Whether it’s nutritious meals and clean water for orphans, medical supplies for families or schooling facilities in countries that need it most.
Read more about Grace Cosmetics here.
