Sacra: Following the trail of Omani Frankincense

Sacra Soap and Body, an organic beauty product, is sourced from the ancient secrets of Arabia. Founded by Robert and Rebecca Fowler, the Oman-based business Sacra makes handcrafted self-care products using locally and sustainably sourced indigenous ingredients such as camel milk, frankincense, myrrh, sidr leaves, Omani sea salt, and other herbs and plants. The brand name ‘sacra’ originates from the Latin word ‘Boswellia sacra’, the highest-grade frankincense in the world. Frankincense has been known from ancient times for its hypnotic perfume and uses in aromatherapy and thus it finds its way into many of Sacra’s products.  

Besides the use of frankincense, the benefits of camel milk also intrigued them. Fowlers realised that camel milk is not only a superfood but also a ‘liquid gold’ as it contains Lanolin in addition to other natural moisturising properties. It provides a calming and soothing effect, which enhances the beauty of the skin. And in their search for a toxin-free lifestyle, they found like-minded people seeking safer alternatives, and Sacra Soap and Body was born.

Read on their interesting journey to create an organic beauty product in Oman.

How did your brand get started? What was your idea behind Sacra?

We are originally from America, and, while we were still living in the United States, we began to have several medical issues. After traditional doctors prescribed western medications, we started researching more natural alternatives like plants, herbs, and essential oils. One of the first essential oils we tried was frankincense from Oman. We were amazed at the results and were able to quit taking our prescription medications by using frankincense instead. We began researching the idea of having a more holistic lifestyle and realised your skin is your largest organ and rapidly absorbs everything you put on it. We knew that changing what we put on our skin was a key component in our non-toxic journey. To reduce our toxin intake, we began making our soap and body care products. It wasn’t long before our friends, families, neighbours, and co-workers wanted to get their hands on these unique, toxic-free, organic cosmetic products. Our production workshop is in Salalah so we can be close to the farms we work with. We also have a distribution office in Muscat, along with distributors in France, England, and the USA.

Why Oman? What was it that convinced you to start Sacra here using Omani materials?

Many people don’t realise Oman has a free-trade agreement with America, making it is very easy to set up a business as Americans in Oman. We had friends of ours in Oman who had an already established business and asked us to consider coming to help them with the logistics of the existing business (Robert has a background in logistics) as well as pursue our dream of working with Omani frankincense. Since we already had experience with Omani frankincense and were learning more about other indigenous Omani ingredients, we knew how special Oman was and what an exciting opportunity this was. We also had a growing passion for the importance of sustainably and ethically sourcing ingredients for products. We knew joining our friends, and being close to the ingredients we had grown to love, was a great opportunity. Our family has always loved adventures and learning about other cultures, so we thought we would give it a two-year trial period. We have been here for over five years now and have no plans to leave any time soon! We have fallen in love with the culture and beauty of Oman and the Omani people.

What do you believe was the greatest difficulty or obstacle you faced in your journey to establish Sacra? How did you overcome it?

The greatest difficulty was sourcing essential supplies that cannot be found in Oman, such as containers, jars, shipping materials, or other ingredients needed for our products that aren’t available locally. We had to order these things from outside Oman. We source whatever we can locally, even if it means paying more. But certain things aren’t just available here. The other main obstacle has been logistics and shipping. It is quite difficult to ship internationally and is very expensive. This has held our business back quite a bit. We have been working with DHL for the necessary approvals and discounted shipping, but it’s quite a long process. The high temperatures here in the region are also a big challenge as many of our organic cosmetic products are temperature sensitive. We have also had to educate the consumers in Oman about the dangers of toxic ingredients found in everyday products and why our products are different.

What procedures do you have in place to ensure that all ingredients used are 100% natural, ethically and sustainably sourced, and 100% toxin-free?

One of the primary reasons we recently moved our business from Muscat to Salalah was to ensure the utmost quality of our ingredients while maintaining relationships with the farms we work with. It’s very difficult to know exactly what goes on around the world in terms of how companies source their ingredients without being on the ground nearby. We are literally able to drive down the street to visit the camels, the frankincense trees, watch the camels being milked, watch the harvesting of frankincense in Oman, and verify the farmers have ethical and sustainable practices. The fact we are so close to the source of our ingredients also lessens our carbon footprint by leaps and bounds. We make every single product ourselves, so we know exactly what goes in them  ̶ which means we can ensure they are of utmost quality and can guarantee they are 100% natural and toxic-free.

What is it that you feel truly sets your brand apart?

The main thing that sets us apart is our personal story and the amazing results we have personally had by incorporating frankincense into our everyday lives. We have been able to resolve a multitude of health issues simply by using frankincense. Because of this, we are passionate about the healing benefits of the ingredients we use. Another aspect that sets us apart is that we use the whole frankincense resin in our organic cosmetic products in Oman, not just the essential oil like most companies who use frankincense. The actual resin is where the majority of the boswellic acid is found. Boswellic acid has been studied quite a bit by labs in Oman (and elsewhere) and has been scientifically proven to be anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, reduces anxiety, lightens dark spots, reduces scarring, and so much more! We are also unique from other brands because we are located near the farms we work. We also feel it is very important to be completely open and honest when it comes to disclosing the ingredients. We have noticed a lot of brands who advertise their brands as “natural” or “non-toxic”, but still use toxic ingredients – such as artificial fragrance or colourants. Sadly, there is a lot of “greenwashing” in this industry, where brands advertise that they are natural or non-toxic and they may use natural-looking packaging, yet when you read the ingredients  ̶ it’s obvious they are using toxic ingredients such as parabens, sulfates, artificial fillers, dyes, or artificial fragrance (among many other things). It’s important to be a smart consumer and always read labels!

What are some of your most popular products?

Our camel milk soaps have consistently been our best sellers, along with our frankincense skin butter, skin serum, under-eye serum, and our newest release  ̶ our sacred salve which contains both frankincense and myrrh. We have also had a great response to our aromatherapy line which includes six signature essential oil blends which all contain Omani frankincense essential oil.

How has the current pandemic affected your sourcing of these materials, as well as the overall demand for your products?

Thankfully, since most of our ingredients are locally sourced, we have still been able to maintain our supply chain. I think the biggest impact has been the higher shipping prices for the things we have had to import that we are unable to source locally, along with longer shipping times, prices overall have increased, while logistics quality has decreased. Several of the shipments for supplies we ordered never showed up. Since we make soap and other personal care products that are regularly consumed, we have been able to continue to grow despite the pandemic. We also have fantastic customers who have stayed loyal in supporting our brand (and other local businesses). Most of our wholesale customers who sell our products have been able to stay open throughout the pandemic because they also supply groceries or other necessary items. Sadly, we did end up losing several wholesale accounts including a few spas/gyms/yoga studios that couldn’t stay open with all the closures.

What do you feel is the way forward for you from here for your brand?

We certainly plan to introduce new beauty products in Oman shortly, but I think moving forward the most important thing for us is to stay true to our vision and passion for Sacra. We want to continue telling our story and for the world to experience these sacred ingredients found here in ancient Arabia. It would be easy to start introducing different ingredients from elsewhere, but we want to continue supporting our local farmers and work with other Omani-owned businesses. We love Oman and want to play a small part in supporting our local community, which has welcomed us and treated us like a part of their family. As more people become aware of our brand, we also hope to export more of our organic cosmetic products to other countries.

Where can our readers readily purchase your organic beauty products in Oman?

In Oman, we are available at GoGreenOman, Oasis of Hope, Drewel (for delivery), Junoon Kanga, Flourish, and the new spa at Alila Hinu Bay in Mirbat. You can also purchase through our website sacrasoapandbody.com for free delivery within Muscat or Salalah. We are also available in Europe from Nuqa Naturals in France and Pink Jinn Souq in London. Our US distributor is Frankly Naturals.