The State of Goa is a brand by itself. From holiday packages to gutka packets, the word Goa was being milked dry even by land brokers selling plots in neighbouring districts in Maharashtra. The government of Goa stepped in to stop all entities except the government of Goa from using it as the first name for their companies, firms, associations, societies, products etc. Those already in legal existence could not be changed easily. So now we have a Geographical Indication or GI for the ‘Goa cashewnut’ and the coconut tree is the ‘State tree of Goa’. One company has put all this together and brought the Konkani language expression ‘Tel lait gelo’ to life with branded virgin coconut oils!
Traditionally, oil was pressed in a mill from sun dried copra. This coconut oil is used for frying, cooking, for massaging babies and their mothers, as skin moisturiser in winter, as a massaging oil and painkiller, often in combination with kokum butter that is referred to as ‘Goa butter’. It is also used as a lubricant for man and machine and as hair oil. Now, manufacturers build up on these traditions and add value to the coconut oil. The extraction of virgin coconut oil has created more options for oral consumption and for various health applications. It is now being exported.
The ‘OldGoa Oils’ is a brand for products based on the coconut, Cocos nucifera. The oil is certified as ‘Organic’ by Lacon and India Organic and is made of coconuts grown organically. Thus, it promotes natural farming and organic products, both ideals of Goa and Goans as well as the focus of the government of Goa under the ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna’ (PMKY). The OldGoa Oils & Foods Pvt Ltd products were exhibited in the UAE, and are now exported to UK and Hong Kong (China) starting on Goa Statehood Day, 30 May, 2024. It now has its products in Hong Kong (China), UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), UK, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium and even in Chicago-USA besides the home country, India.
Building on the ‘Best Start-up Award’ in 2022 for the Western Zone by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the company was given the ‘Best Organic Brand’ award at the Growth Awards 2024. It has also received the ‘Best Innovative Product’ award from SIAL (Salon Internacional de l’Alimentacion), Paris, in 2019.
Headquartered at Panaji with its production unit at GIDC’s Verna industrial estate, OldGoa is a virgin coconut oil (VCO) going places! Paresh Shetgaonkar has provided the leadership to envision, create, guide, lead and reinvent its traditional products for modern application in Goa, India and overseas. He is a member of the GCCI Committee on Agriculture & Food Processing that is headed by Orlando Rodrigues, former director of Agriculture and managing director of Goa State Horticulture Corporation during 2023-25.
The company states its USP quite succinctly on its website – “OldGoa products are a combination of nature, wisdom, and science and are dedicated to local crops. OldGoa products were developed after strong Research & Development, to promote the Goan coastal heritage products for health, body and hair. All products are pure, organic, and natural, conforming to authentic prescriptions, with a blend of modern mechanisms. We have developed an exotic range of cold-pressed organic virgin coconut oil for face, hair, baby massage, body oils, super-food, and oil pulling products. We practice fair trade and reach up to 300 farmers' families across Goa. We have certified GMP, ISO22000:2005, Organic Certification from India, USDA and EU. It is a patented technique.”
There are other traditional and start-up producers of cold-pressed coconut oil, virgin coconut oil for oral consumption, hair oil and massaging oils as well as body soaps. Narla, based in Navelim, immediately comes to mind with its range of oils, balms and soaps besides vinegar with an option of online shopping and free delivery across India. It has not yet tapped the foreign markets or scaled up production for that kind of supply. The Nanu chain of industries, hotels and farms also has virgin coconut oil and other coconut products including unrefined sugar.
(The writer, former agricultural officer and a mentor to the GenNext organic farmers, is committed to nurturing young talent for a food-secure future)
