There's something sacred about the moments you carve out for yourself each day. You curate them with care, intention, and a touch of ceremony. Why? Because you deserve it. And it all begins with your five senses…especially smell, which can instantly shape how you feel.

The morning when you sweep your favourite all-natural lip balm across your lips, the subtle fragrance awakens your senses. The evening when a calming room spray drifts through the air, the scent wrapping around you as you slowly sink into rest. The bath salts that transform a soak into a deliberate retreat, releasing soothing aromas that quiet the mind, and the massage oil that melts into your skin, its fragrance grounding you as it eases tension.

These are more than routines-they are your personal safe spaces, moments designed for you to feel steady, cared for, and fully present.

In these moments, trust is everything. A product you don't trust can feel like a stranger in your sanctuary…awkward, out of place, even unsettling. But when you know it's made with care, intention, and integrity, you invite it in. You welcome it into your home, your rituals, your life. It becomes a companion in your daily rhythms, a small but powerful source of presence, calm, and quiet joy.

This is why, at Essentially Natural, we seek out local crafters whose work feels alive. Whose products carry honesty, care, and intention. That's exactly what we found in Pure Indigenous, a South African brand that brings the land, its stories, and its healing energy directly into your home.

How It All Began

Every story has a spark, a quiet moment that sets everything in motion. For Pure Indigenous, it began not with grand plans, but with curiosity, intuition, and a deep love for nature. A humble beginning with just one product, an open heart, and a woman named Tahnia, whose life has been intertwined with the natural world for decades and whose vision would one day grow into a beloved South African brand.

The company behind the brand, Indigo Trading, first emerged from a former partnership. Founder Tahnia recalls:

"We joined forces around 2007, marketing a variety of herbal combination products, but then went our separate ways in 2012."

"I kept the company with a single product, unsure what the future might look like or what to do with the rest of my life."

Change came unexpectedly in 2015, in a noisy coffee shop in Melville, Johannesburg. Tahnia shares:

"I came across a university project in the Eastern Cape where indigenous essential oils were being cultivated and harvested. I was intrigued, as I had heard about farmers experimenting with growing fynbos plants for essential oils at least a decade before. I guess it's a typical case of when the seed lands in fertile soil. Right time, right intention."

Her journey from curiosity to passion was immediate.

"I researched extensively and ordered 10ml sample bottles from all over South Africa," Tahnia says, chuckling. "I thought the fragrances were too 'bossie,' too medicinal to be fragrant… yet I was hooked! The motley selection of little bottles stood on the corner of my desk for a while, making them impossible to ignore."

"The plants and their oils are so potent and have such remarkable healing properties that one would have to be numb not to connect with them. I was blown away by their potency and loved their healing properties. Yet marketing them on this basis is tricky, so I opted for blends that target specific ails - such as a relaxing sedative blend called Night and a mood-lifting blend called Happy. There was no turning back. I was on a trajectory that combined many of my passions into one remarkable opportunity."

Tahnia's recollection proves that the smallest beginnings can grow into something remarkable. From a single product and a moment of inspiration in a coffee shop, her journey blossomed into a brand that blends passion, intuition, indigenous knowledge and the healing power of our land.

A Eureka Moment

Have you ever had a moment of clarity that reshaped everything? For Tahnia, it came suddenly, like a spark igniting a long-held curiosity. She describes:

"I suddenly realise that what I was doing was way beyond creating products, but the culmination of many passions rolled into one - my love of fragrance, my love of natural healing and my deep love for our land, while at the same time giving the product manager in me the opportunity to create new products and fragrance blends. Everything I had pursued in my colourful career in Marketing since the early 1990s had led to creating my own brands that are beneficial and that add value to people's lives."

Her work is inseparable from her love of South Africa: "I love our land, our people, and our breathtaking wealth of fauna and flora. Creating something from our earth, honouring the knowledge of healers and ancestors, leaves me in deep awe and gratitude."

When we think about what makes our land so beautiful, Tahnia perfectly captures the essence of local. By sourcing indigenous plants and oils directly from those who know the land best, the company not only preserves the integrity of its products but also supports the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, respects traditional knowledge, and strengthens the connection between people and place. Each blend, each oil, becomes a celebration of South Africa's rich biodiversity. An awe-inspiring testament to what can flourish when passion, care, and local commitment converge.

With her vision clear, Tahnia returned to a principle at the heart of her work: trust.

"Every brand or range has a unique value proposition, and the vast array of essential oils creates endless possibilities. I didn't want to create just another multi-fragranced brand with nice smells. For me, it's about authenticity-something that resonates within my heart and the hearts of our customers."

Her philosophy, shaped by decades of experience and study in Natural Medicine, reflects a deep respect for the wisdom of the land:

"Plants and foods from your immediate geographic region are far more potent healers than those from afar."

Her vision and philosophy underpin the company's relationships with local growers, which are more than business; they are partnerships rooted in shared values.

"Our suppliers have become like family. We have such personal heartfelt relationships with them all as we have a shared passion - the local land, plants and essences. When a grower manages to successfully cultivate, harvest and distil a new oil, we sample it and bring it into our range.

Our relationships are strong and more personal than just swapping Purchase Orders and Bills. We primarily buy from farmers directly and favour the plants that grow in the fynbos belt. The majority of the growers apply organic growing principles.

To build trust is all about relationships, and for that, we are blessed with many remarkable people doing remarkable work, and the shared appreciation for this field is what unites us."

Of course, every journey has its challenges. Moments that test patience, perseverance, and faith. Working so closely with nature means that not every season yields success. Yet Tahnia's approach remains grounded and optimistic. She says,

"There have been a few that we invested in, but where subsequent crops failed and sustained supply dried up, so we focus on the essential oils that we know are more successful with more reliable yields."

Maintaining quality and consistency in the world of natural ingredients is no small feat. Essential oils can vary in fragrance and potency depending on soil, climate, and harvest conditions. Naturally, this raises a critical question for anyone who relies on them in their products: how does Pure Indigenous ensure that their signature scents remain consistent, despite variations in essential oil sources?

"Some of the essential oils smell quite different when they grow in certain temperate zones, so we stick to a specific zone for specific fragrances to retain fragrance integrity. That said, often different batches vary depending on weather or soil conditions."

Integrity in Every Detail

For Tahnia, purity is principle and practice.

"It's about integrity-doing what we do with our hearts and with good intent. We source only natural ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging, hence the use of glass. When we buy essential oils, we require COAs, which ensure that our suppliers have a certain standard of manufacturing practice. We endeavour that our manufacturing facility follows GMP standards."

This attention to detail shows up in every product, from bath soaks to essential oils. But for Tahnia, quality is about more than just ingredients and processes; it's also about the energy that goes into them.

"For us, energy is core, as we are working with plant frequencies, we ensure that we do not manufacture unless we are in a good 'space'. We do say that we put love into our products, and we make sure that we are true to that promise. There are days when we realise that our energetic or emotional state will not enhance our value offering, and then rather abstain from working with the raw materials. We also prefer to manufacture in the mornings when we are full of energy."

Just as plants carry life force and healing properties, the intention and energy behind every product become part of its effect. When we think about the purity of principle and purpose for Tahnia, it is not just in what you see. It's in what you feel.

Fragrance as a Tool For Healing

Her belief in fragrance as a healing tool runs deep:

"The gift of our African essential oils is that they are all healing substances in their herbal form-and even more so as concentrated oils. Our ranges deliver pure olfactory fragrance along with real healing benefits, whether in a bath salt, mist, vapour, or oil."

Every product is designed to do more than smell good. They heal, soothe, protect, and inspire, empowering new self-care routines.

The Story Behind the Brands

If you've ever wondered what goes into creating a brand that feels both authentic and alive, Tahnia's journey offers a perfect window. One that is transparent and honest to all. As for the distinctions between her brands and names, she explains:

"The obvious brand name was Pure Indigenous as these are 100% essential oils and whatever we combined them with, be it carrier oils, salts or balms, we kept the ingredients earth-friendly... thus pure. Our first few years saw us market only a handful of 100% essential oils and 7 blends. As new fragrances became available, more blends and applications came to the fore… and so did new oils from Southern Africa, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe.

We created the Pure Afro brand to have more international appeal and to put Africa on the map. 'Gogga', the name for a small insect in Afrikaans, was an obvious name for our insect repellent."

• Indigo Trading is the company name (with a blue Cape Water Lily as its logo, which aptly symbolises Thich Nhat Hanh's saying 'no mud, no lotus')
• Pure Indigenous (local) is our brand of products that contain Southern African raw materials and indigenous essential oils.
• Pure Afro (short for Pure African) is our brand of products that are a little more adventurous and appeal to a broader community and international market.
• Gogga (little insect) is our local range of products that contain ingredients that combine local indigenous essential oils with more popular essential oils such as Lavender. We do, however, endeavour to use only locally grown natural ingredients. The range consists of insect repellents and an anti-itch range.

We asked Tahnia what she hopes people experience when they encounter her products, and her answer captures her heart:

"Our products are often less traditional and call users to respond to them viscerally, the fragrances are evocative, and the applications often require interventions, be it as a massage oil or steam vapour. The earthiness of the blends is unusual and not traditionally 'sweet' or 'spicy', so from the first sniff, a user engages with the product and develops a relationship with the effect that the fragrance has on their wellbeing. You just have to smell our Happy Spray to know that you will stay in love with its wonderful feel-good factor."

Truly, this is amazing! Every detail-from scent to texture, from intention to effect-is designed to draw you in, invite connection, and make you feel genuinely cherished each time you use it.

The Heart Behind the Brand

Now that we understand the purity and integrity of the ingredients and the mission behind the brand, the next question naturally arises: what about the heart of the company itself? How is it run, and what principles guide it?

"From the hearts of women is more than a phrase," Tahnia says.

"I come from the heart; logic has its place, but love and happiness are my superpowers. We cultivate that in our working environment. Our team feels like family: my right-hand helper, whom I've known since she was a child, now heads production, choosing fulfilment over corporate power. Our team is very close, and my heart fills with such gratitude when I observe the relationships and loving respect that flow through each member of the team. In truth, it feels like a family business. Our heart-based caring and kind environment is very feminine, but also a place where we work really hard and are all super all-rounders."

When we consider this, we picture a workplace where laughter is as important as deadlines, where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities, and where each person's passion and creativity are celebrated and not seen as less than. This is an environment where empathy meets business. An environment Essentially Natural hopes to always be. An environment that we are inspired by.

Just as the ingredients are sourced thoughtfully from local growers and handled with respect, the people behind the products are supported and valued, creating a harmony that flows from the heart of the company into every bottle.