From Pretty Flowers to Weird Plants for Awesome Miracles

As a child, did you believe that if you got caught by a stinging nettle, then if you rubbed it with a Doc leaf, it would stop hurting?  While there’s no definitive scientific proof of its efficacy, studies suggest it might offer some pain relief, potentially due to the dock leaf’s cooling effect or a placebo effect We may not think twice, but as humans, it seems likely that we began using plants and flowers for health and hygiene purposes thousands of years ago. This practice dates back to the Old Stone Age, utilising plants for wound care and sanitation.  The use of plants for hygiene was further supported by the discovery of the first soap in 3000 BC. From Pretty Flowers to Weird Plants for Awesome Miracles, find out more about why the power of plants, even as images, has a strong message.

Image left  Samantha Inman @rememberingtobreathe.  

Plants and flowers have been used for personal hygiene purposes throughout history, with examples including using herbs to wash clothing and using flowers to make perfumes.  It was the Babylonians who were credited with creating the world’s first soap. From scented soaps to perfumed pomades, our relationship with flora and fauna is never-ending. Not only do we use it to heal, to cleanse and to smell good, even the images of these natural phenomena can lift our spirits. So beautiful are they to look at, think of just how many artists through time have used them as a subject.

Yet there is a secondary thinking to the visual representation of plants when seen on packaging. In days when not all people could read, visuals helped many people navigate to find the correct item needed.

Granado the a traditional Brazilian perfumery and pharmaceutical brand, established in 1870 in Rio de Janeiro. It was originally a pharmacy, founded by José Antonio Coxito Granado, and was known for using natural ingredients, particularly those sourced from the Teresópolis region. Their packaging, even from the early days, had images of plants, flowers and seeds, as a way to let those who may not have been able to read complex information a direct route into understanding the cornerstones of the products they could buy

The brand emphasises, even now and in the early days, their use of natural ingredients, reflecting the house’s origins as a pharmacy that used locally sourced plants and herbs. 

The Granado Pharmácias story really began when this entrepreneur started selling his own natural remedies, created from the plants, herbs and flowers José found growing in his home of Teresópolis, a stunning, mountainous region of Rio.

From these humble beginnings, a whole business flourished, and several years ago the house was revitalised using the same values of its originator whilst creating new product lines including colognes and scented candles. All the products still have the distinctive celebratory packaging with flora and fauna.

Lake 1928 Tarila do Amaral- Royal Academy of Art

Recently, the House was a sponsor at an exhibition of Brazilian Art at the Royal Academy of Art in London. On show were an amazing cross-section of works from traditional to modernist Brazilian artists. Some of people, some of places and other parts of the beautiful country that is Brazil. For those who have never been to this towering South American land, the paintings caught the power, beauty and vibrancy of the country.

The synergy between Granado and the exhibition in many ways reflected the very essence of what Granado stands for: Colour, life, vitality and passion. And it is these values that are so closely utilised to wrap each item. The packaging, always so arresting and colourful, has its roots in the early days of the house.

 Sissi Freeman, the marketing and sales director of Granado, tells .Cent about this strong natural connection.

“We do work with local artists, local designers. But we have our archives, and the archives, if you look at the old apothecary designs, they were actually all handmade. So it’s very inspirational. We do go back. Many of the elements are from the archives, not drawings that we created, but were actually from the cover of an old almanack“.

She carries on saying

“When I think of why so much colour, I mean, in Brazil we love colour, it is really a very intrinsic thing. I think Brazilians are very joyful, very colourful, and I think when we started redesigning our packaging about 20 years ago, initially one of the strategies at the time was that I wanted to preserve these traditional elements”

She also explained that when it came to the packaging, she wondered how they could make the packaging stand out and look fresh and modern, brighter, cleaner, and fresher using contemporary
colours. That was one of the first things they did, and then the House started working with Brazilian designers as well.

Interestingly, the Christmas collections and often the Mother’s Day gifting are where Grando go all out. And each year they pick something different. So there was a year that they picked the Blue Toucan, which is called the arara. Also partnering with NGO, Instituto Arara Zoo, the Institute of the Bluebirds means a percentage of sales goes to the NGO. Part of the proceeds went to help them get these animals that had been captured illegally, and to reintroduce them into nature.

Also, other NGOS they have worked with included one that reforests the Atlantic rainforest, which is where the animals all live. She says,

“People think of the Amazon, but it’s really on the coastline where the leopards and the toucans live. That’s when we started inserting them in the drawings. What’s interesting is that we actually started doing this when we started selling outside of Brazil. When we were in Brazil, we didn’t realise it, almost like a cliche, but you go abroad, and you realise that that was one of the things that people outside of here were curious and intrigued about is our beautiful wildlife”.

The flora and fauna of Brazil are very evident in the latest launch, Citrus Brasilis. A bright, vibrant citrus perfume created with the nose Quentin Bisch, in celebration of the joy of these bright indigenous fruits. Interestingly, Quentin Bisch had an olfactory memory of his mother having an orange tree in her garden.

The owner of the apothecary, the Portuguese José Antonio Coxito Granado, produced remedies, cosmetics and other products made from plants, herbs native to the country, but he also planted a variety of citrus trees in his own farm orchard.

José Antonio Coxito Granado

Utilising them, he produced early products like aromatic Orange Water, Lemon spirit and Bitter Orange peel spirit. And it is these fruits that inspire this new fragrance.

Opening with a rush of effervescent, fresh, vibrant and sweet Mandarin, Lemon and Bergamot. An explosion of brightness like the Brazilian sun, that is followed up with more freshness, here with a compelling green tinge via Mint and sweet-sour Kumquat, mingled with the exquisite and grand flower that is Jasmine. To bring a full life to this explosive formula, the base brings an earthy warmth via Patchouli Musk and Violet leaves.

As fresh as it is bold, there is a sense of ‘clean’ from this elixir, and it’s important to understand that in Brazil, cleanliness is core to the way people live. With the searing temperatures, people may well shower three times a day. As well, Brazil is one of the world’s largest exporters of Oranges, so together the citrus spray is akin to Brazil in a bottle.

One of the most pleasing scents to most people is the smell of fruits and flowers, plants and bushes. Something we instinctively connect with. It’s a guttural experience, so even better when it’s bottled and ready for us to anoint ourselves with, come spring, summer, autumn or winter with a blast of Brazilian passion.

Citrus Brasilis from Grando.uk is available from May 2025.

If you enjoyed reading From Pretty Flowers to Weird Plants for Awesome Miracles, then why not read Explore Beautiful Land Art Here

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