There is no fancy way to put this. Recently, Sidi Yassine, the family owned company we have been working with in Morocco for around 15 years, has been forced to shut down their argan oil production enterprise, due to affordability.
The last couple of years have been really really tough, not just for them but for the argan oil industry as a whole, which you will have gathered if you’ve been following our journey. Of course these things hit the most ethical players the hardest.
Several times I found myself encouraging them to increase their prices saying ‘all of us who work with you would rather your business survive’. They did increase their prices gradually and somewhat reluctantly, but it wasn’t enough.
For the foreseeable, in terms of argan oil, this is it.
Even in the good old days when the argan oil industry was thriving, I didn’t feel as though we had any competition, not even close. What we have been doing with Sidi Yassine has always been several steps ahead of all the others in terms of quality. This is why we have longstanding loyal customers from all over the world. Why we’ve never really needed to invest in marketing.
Now, with it being even harder than ever to produce argan oil (due to some ‘interesting’ new regulations imposed on small businesses), I don’t believe we could match even close to the quality we have been selling by simply by working with an existing producer. As I hope is already crystal clear- I would never sell something compromised, it would go against my whole mission, part of which is to share the true power of nature.
If we start from scratch with some friends we have in Morocco or even with some of the Sidi Yassine family, it certainly isn’t a possibility anytime soon.
As to what happens next at Arganic, more information will be posted as it comes so please stick around. Please talk to us, share your thoughts, feel free to ask questions, give us your ideas. We are here!
Finally, I want to share a sentiment that I truly believe which I hope will be food for thought; That nothing good, really good lasts, because this modern world conspires against it. This is why I always stock up on what is good and natural when I spot it and integrate it into my life.
With love,
Dana and the Arganic Team x
