Cascades Shopping Centre to welcome Goly Natural in Portsmouth City Council pop-up shop scheme

As previously reported, the Portsmouth Pop Up Shop initiative comes as a collaborative effort between Portsmouth City Council, Cascades Shopping Centre, and Flude Property Consultants to support local entrepreneurs.

The first Portsmouth Pop Up shop will open on Wednesday, February 21 as Cascades welcomes local business Goly Natural - which produces and sells natural organic skin care products.

Goly Natural owner Stef Dogan has been creating skin care products for thirteen years and trading online and at markets for the last three. The business has has over 5000 followers on Instagram. Stef now wants to grow the business by having a workspace away from the home where she can meet and interact with her customers and grow.

Stef Dogan said: "I am so passionate about what I do, this business is my baby and my soul. The Portsmouth Pop Up shop to me will be a means to reach out to those who haven't found me yet. To have a space for people to come, chat, and learn more about what truly troubles their skin, and how to resolve those issues. I love doing markets, it's my natural habitat, so having a shop, just means it's market day every day. I am truly excited to be part of this project, and to be given the opportunity to take my business to the next stage. "

Councillor Steve Pitt, leader of the council with responsibility for Economic Development, added: "I am delighted to welcome Goly Natural as our first local business to the Portsmouth Pop Up. We want to support our local businesses to grow and flourish. Our pop-up scheme will provide opportunities to trial new business concepts in a low-risk environment as well as creating new retail offers in the high street."

Stef, originally from Portugal, has been living and working in Portsmouth for the past 9 years. She created Goly Natural with the aim of creating natural skin care that is completely free of harsh chemicals. Most of her products are vegan. She grows some of her botanical ingredients in her allotment and uses a local beekeeper for honey and beeswax.  

The Portsmouth Pop Up shop scheme was set up in response to growing demand for business premises in the city by the council working in partnership with Cascades and Flude.

The scheme enables local entrepreneurs and small businesses to trade in a high street location without the commitment or cost of a longer-term lease. As part of the scheme, businesses can apply to rent the pop-up shop in Cascades, in Portsmouth's city centre for a minimum of six weeks giving them a chance to engage with customers and launch products and services.

For more information about the Portsmouth Pop Up shop scheme, visit portsmouth.gov.uk/pop-up.