Locally-Made Soap, Diwatang Maria Reaching Wider, Distant Markets

Big and small businesses were greatly affected by the pandemic. Several companies needed to shut down leaving their employees jobless up to now. Other companies decided to continue to operate but had to let go of other employees. Some remain standing despite these challenges.

Sometime in June, at the height of the pandemic I received a package full of locally made soap from a friend who introduced me to the product, Diwatang Maria. From the brand name alone, I have a hint that the products are great. Diwatang Maria is a Philippine brand of high quality, cold-pressed soaps that are made with natural and premium ingredients inspired by the diwatas, the pre-colonial Philippine goddesses. Of course, I got more interested with the product ingredients - cacao, shea butter and aloe vera.

You know that I am an advocate of anything made from all-natural ingredients, without the use of chemicals. I immediately put it to the test. The first one I used was the Diwatang Maria Cacao variant made with cacao, sheabutter and aloe vera. Diwata Maria Cacao soap provides anti-aging and moisturizes the skin. It’s suitable for sensitive skin.

Other Diwatang Maria soap are the Diwatang Maria Sinukuan with oatmeal papaya, gluta kojic soap and the Diwatang Maria Makiling with Papaya. Both are made from coconut oil and aloe vera. These two variants helps lighten uneven skin. The three variants provide anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin.

Just a few days ago, Diwatang Maria invited me to their virtual launch. President and CEO Ma. Concepcion ‘Macon’ Macalintal shared the little triumphs of the company over the past months. Macalintal, who is a passionate supporter of Filipino products and Filipino culture aims to encourage more Filipino consumers to patronize locally-made products especially during this global economic crisis.

Currently, Diwatang Maria premium organic soaps are available in Shopee, Lazada, All Day Supermarket, SM Kultura, Sesou and other online stores and social media platforms; however, the company is looking at bigger distribution channels since the demands from consumers nationwide are also getting bigger.

Aside from this, Diwatang Maria will also be launching new product line that is also organic and eco-friendly and will surely follow the same branding – carrying Filipino names.

More so, the young CEO also stressed that with all the achievements of the brand this year, she hopes to inspire other entrepreneurs not to give up and to persevere more. “I know it is hard, actually really hard to see if whatever we are doing will eventually lead us to success, there will be days that we want to give up and there will be days that things look okay. We just need to focus on our goal, and that is to succeed,” she quipped.

You can get the Diwatang Maria Christmas set for only P500. It’s packed in a tiny bayong, an eco-friendly packaging. To order, just visit their page at www.diwatangmaria.com or like FB/IG: diwatangmariaph. 

This holiday season, make sure to treat yourself to a relaxing bath with Diwatang Maria. I've used it several times; gifted some of my friends and family as well. I find it gentle to the skin, lathers easily and has a very mild scent.