KOSHAA

from Goan Tycoon - August 2022 Issue

Puttul's Craft-Handmade gift store.

Koshaa is an organic and earth-friendly store located in Porvorim. Having begun its operations as Bliss Foods in November 2019, Koshaa specialises in healthy and environment-friendly products. The products they offer include organic food grains, cold pressed oils, desi ghee, natural cleansers, personal care products, etc. The food grains sold at Koshaa are procured from farmers who engage in organic farming.

This unique concept store is the brainchild of Mr. Siddesh Valvaikar. Siddesh, who holds an MBA degree from Goa University, has been in the field of sales and marketing for many years. Through the course of his career, he has worked for various multinational companies including Coca-Cola, and has assisted them in marketing their products and boosting their sales. His years of experience in this sector has aided him in getting strong insights into market and consumer behaviour.

The Idea Behind Koshaa

The idea of starting a store dealing in organic products first crossed Siddesh’s mind when he heard that one of his friends in his early 30s was diabetic, suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and advised to follow a rigorous diet for three months.

This news shocked Siddesh. It prompted him to start learning more about GERD and diabetes from medical practitioners and the internet. The more he researched about the disease, the more clear it became to him that people are fall sick because of sedentary lifestyles and consumption of edibles filled with harmful pesticides and preservatives. Siddesh then started looking out for healthy food options but could find very few.

On speaking to like-minded people, he realised that they too were facing the same problem. It was then that he decided to fill this void in the market. He started meeting farmers who practiced organic farming and began sourcing marketable organic produce from them to supply to end consumers.

Public Response

The response from consumers to the products offered by Koshaa was amazing. Their first-time customers liked the products they offered. They started off by buying a few products on a trial basis.

Once they experienced the products and liked them. they came back to try out the other products on offer at the store. A2 ghee, organic grains, unpolished dals, khapli wheat rava (semolina), shevai, and natural eco-friendly cleaners are fast-moving products at Koshaa.

Just like many other enterprises, the operations of Koshaa too were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. They stopped their operations for a while and started supplying stocks as and when conditions became feasible.

Due to the pandemic, many people started becoming more health-conscious, and there was always a constant demand from consumers to have a physical store where they could experience and buy products from Koshaa. Hence, the time seemed right to set up a physical store. And finally, on 5th June 2022, Koshaa opened its first retail outlet at Porvorim.

Challenges Faced

Finding organically farmed and eco-friendly products is a big challenge for Siddesh. For the past 2 years, he has been meeting and connecting with many farmers and environmentally-sustainable brands to source the best products for his customers. Once he finds products that meet certain standards and criteria, he searches for ways to procure and transport the products to his store.

Various organic food grains offered at Koshaa

Logistics still remains a big challenge for him as very often, products are procured from small farmers and small start-ups. Nonetheless, he has been expanding the product categories at Koshaa to provide a wider range of products to his customers. Collaboration with enterprises and individuals in the organic and eco-friendly category remains his area of focus.

Final Words

Siddesh requests people to do their part in reducing plastic waste. He informs that Koshaa provides steel utensils free of charge for use at small functions and events. All one has to do is collect the utensils from the Koshaa store, use them at their event, wash them after use, and return them to the store.

He says that consumers need to educate themselves about the food they consume and the household products that they use. He says that people need to ask themselves questions like “How is our food cultivated?, What are the ingredients in the products we use?, What are the effects of the products we use on our health and the environment?, etc.” He says that people must work together towards creating eco-conscious consumers so that we will be able to save our environment and our planet from further degradation and destruction.

For more information on Koshaa and the various products they offer, visit www.koshaa.in

You can also reach out to them via WhatsApp on +919922721500