Why Choose Local?

Choosing local is a choice for quality. Globalization and long supply chains have been wonderful for exposing consumers to new products from all over the world, and making them available all the time and at a consistent quality. Yet, compromises inevitably are made. This include: storage and transport occurring in unknown conditions and temperature, the length of time between production and consumption, and changes to the product to extend its shelf life. At Liven, we control the production and storage of our products until they reach the consumer. Our resellers are only in Cyprus, and we are able to maintain tight controls on the inventory to make sure every product is fresh, and handled properly. We run our social media and website ourselves, so we don't have to inflate the prices to cover a fancy or slick marketing effort.

Choosing local means more value for money. Buying locally means that the price you pay goes to the labor and raw materials, rather than to endless middlemen, storage and transportation costs. Either you are overpaying for an imported product, or the labor and raw material is underpaid to leave profit for the middle men and importer/local retailer. At Liven we pay a fair price for our raw materials, directly from the supplier or grower.

Choosing local can reduce labor and resource imbalances and exploitation. Unfortunately, the balance between producing and consuming countries currently means that labor in "developing" countries must be severely underpaid to ensure adequate "margin" for the middle men and resellers in a local market of a "developed" country. At Liven we do not employ any illegal labor or asylum seekers, and we pay above minimum wage.

Choosing local supports the community. Buying locally means that the money spent on the product remains in Cyprus. At Liven, more than half of the product retail price goes directly local labor and local growers and suppliers. The only materials we import are the bottles and labels, and some of our machinery. We are currently investing in a specialized bottle washer to allow us to reduce the bottles we purchase, by reusing/recycling bottles from our local customers.

Choosing local saves energy costs. As the current situation in the world illustrates, long supply chains are dependent on reliable and cheap sources of hydrocarbons. This energy is a finite resource and its unrestrained extraction produces much environmental disruption and disharmony. By choosing local, there is a reduction in the energy needed to transport and store products before they reach the consumer, both because of the reduced time from production to consumption and the reduced distance. Furthermore, in Cyprus we are blessed with over 300 solar days per year. We at Liven have just invested in solar panels, so that by 2026 most of the production and storage of our oils will be run from renewable energy.

Choosing local is an investment in the future. Buying local means any leftover profit can be invested in local capabilities. At Liven our intention is to reinvest our funds in building labor capacity, increasing our growing capacity, and eventually creating a location that serves as a hub for wellness practitioners in Cyprus, to serve the local community and visitors to Cyprus.

Supporting local is not just a slogan, it is the way forward.