Creative Isles CAN Market success stories: Moringa – backyard secrets of the tree of life

Ceylon Herberries Managing Director Nalaka Gunesekara with wife Shirani Priyanka and Chief Guest Muttiah Muralitharan at the CAN market launch at the Colombo City Centre

Amidst much of the devastation caused by the pandemic in 2020, there were some noteworthy inspirational entrepreneur stories from the CAN weekend market at the Colombo City Centre such as that of Nalaka Gunesekara, engineer by profession who used all the time under lockdown to pursue his creative passion for manufacturing handmade soaps and cosmetics.

A childhood passion become a reality; Nalaka has within the last year released more than 25 new products to the market. Predominantly moringa-based, his soaps range from an exciting and exotic range from lemongrass, cinnamon, papaya, cucumber, coffee, honey, goat milk, activated charcoal to moringa shampoo and conditioners and face wash, body wash and lotions; essential oils being a new addition. The CAN weekend market opened the door for Ceylon Herberries to feature the entire range of cosmetic products every weekend Friday to Sunday at Colombo City Centre lobby. 

When asked what made him take the interest towards soaping? Nalaka said he served in the capacity of an engineer for more than 20 years in well-known construction establishments, but he always had an avid interest towards soaps and fragrances from childhood. “Even when I travel abroad on business tours, I used to keenly observe the varieties available in different brands of soaps, shampoos, lotions and my bags were full of such souvenirs from around the world.”

So why moringa? “We have a moringa tree in our backyard and used it only for food purposes. One evening over sipping a cup of tea with my wife in our backyard, we chatted about the goodness of the moringa tree and its many uses which led us to research heavily. My wife comes from a research background, so her research skills helped to unearth the wonders of this moringa tree which is termed the tree of life due to its many advantages and rich medicinal properties.

Moringa is enriched with iron, it has 26 times more iron than in spinach and 10 times more vitamins than in carrot and 17 times more calcium than in milk. Common in the foothills of the Himalayas, moringa is better known as the tree of life for its bountiful nutrients. 

“Having learnt the many benefits of moringa we started exploring its alternate uses and we were struck with the thought of using it in cosmetic products. With this idea, we pursued the option of a unique skin loving product with less chemicals. From there onwards there was no looking back; we gathered information, searching google and other reliable sources and started doing research and experiments on making such a soap. After several trials, we finally came out with a successful certified product says,” said Nalaka. 

“We made the soap using the moringa powder/extract, glycerine and essential oil which is free from petroleum products, heavy metals and paraben. Currently we are experimenting to make our products free of sulphate as well. It nearly took us about two months to develop the first batch of Moringa Soap with the goodness of moringa infused with the fragrance of lavender.”

Once the Moringa Soap was a success, they craved to innovate further. For the moment having developed approximately 25 types of soaps and a range of shampoos, conditioner, body baths and lotions. The products are fully certified by the ITI, SLSI and obtained GMP from NMRA.

Each one of us have different skin types and this variety helps to select what is best suited for personal skin types. Nalaka says he always wants the user to feel happy, healthy and hydrated after using our soaps and cosmetics which gives them value for money, in return. 

“The CAN weekend market was our first point of sale and we are very thankful for the opportunities created by Creative Isle and the CCC in supporting micro entrepreneurs to get back on their feet.”

The CAN weekend market is an excellent platform for B2B and B2C opportunities, which made Nalaka meet many prospective clients whom he now serves regularly. They have started exporting to many countries in small volumes and invite other Lankans to visit the CAN market every weekend in support of the many home-grown brands relying on local consumption for their survival and growth. 

The CAN weekend market earned the support of Philanthropist Muttiah Muralitharan’s Foundation of Goodness and Dilith Jayaweera who endorsed the initiative as being a novel platform that could create opportunities for micro entrepreneurs throughout the island. This initiative is a collaboration between the Creative Isle and CCC further supported by Derana, Scope cinemas, Antyra, Foundation of Goodness, NEDA and UNDP. 

Let us unite and support local businesses during these challenging times. 

CAN looks forward to hearing from those who are keen to participate and support this initiative. For all inquiries contact the CAN market web/social media: [email protected].

Canmarket.thecreativeisle.com