The gorgeous Mindil Markets up in Darwin, NT are where Good Riddance Insect Repellent was born.

Living up in Darwin with two young boys, we were applying insect repellents every day. Of course, I initially followed the advice to use a DEET-based repellent but I quickly found the DEET was melting plastic, our thongs and damaging the trim on our car. If that's what it was doing to plastics, it was scary to think what it was doing to our boys. I decided needed a mosquito repellent that actually works, without the nasty chemicals. 

After trying almost every natural repellent on the market, I decided it was time to try making my own.

As a qualified cosmetic chemist, I could see there was plenty of research about natural ingredients that repel mozzies - the challenge was that most were essential oils which evaporate very quickly when formulated in a spray. That is one of the reasons why Good Riddance Insect Repellent is a cream - the cream holds the oils on your skin for longer, offering longer lasting protection. The cream also has the added bonus of creating a physical barrier against those pesky midges and sandflies which are extremely common at the Mindil Markets and in the tropics in general. 

We quickly became THE insect repellent at Mindil Markets

Good Riddance quickly built a name for itself in Darwin with locals and travellers. We were selling at Mindil, Nightcliff and Parap markets each week and loving all the positive feedback we were getting. 

But, anecdotes don't guarantee a product works. So, we took things one step further and had our products clinically tested and registered with the APVMA.

From Mindil Markets to the rest of Australia

Of course, we couldn't lose our roots so when we relocated our business to Melbourne so we could expand our manufacturing facilities and be closer to our suppliers, we passed the Mindil baton onto Anita from Natural Territory. Anita is still stocking our full insect repellent range at Mindil, Parap and Nightcliff markets each week. 

But if you've left Darwin or can't make it to the markets, not to worry. 

Good Riddance is now stocked in a range of health food stores, pharmacies, resorts, visitor centres and nurseries around Australia. All of our products are also available online right here on our website!

A big thank you to everyone who supported us at Mindil Markets and has helped expand our little handmade insect repellent brand into what it is today.