The Kochi Shopping Edit

*Kochi is a paradise for knick-knacks, spices and textiles*

I’ve literally shopped till I dropped in Kochi. I was lucky to have picked up the spices and tea in Munnar on an earlier trip, so in Kochi, the airport spice store came to the rescue. Shopping in Munnar or Thekkady is preferable for the edibles—I picked up litres of freshly pressed coconut oil, got tonnes of spices and lots of honey.

But for textiles, there is no place better than Kochi. This is our shopping list.

Aambal: Tucked in a corner of napier Street of Fort kochi is Aambal, an eco clothing store. Cute eco-friendly, organic and sustainable separates and dresses lined the racks, along with other eco-goodies like soaps and coasters.

Cinnamon-The Store: The stark white store is part of a complex with an attached gallery and a café. Cinnamon stocks designers such as Akaaro, White Champa and Kora, and a bunch of décor, accessories and design brands.

*This Cinnamon is stark white and imminently shoppable*

John’s Umbrella Mart: Every time a family member goes to Kochi, they return with at least two umbrellas bought from this tiny airport shop. You can order online now, but there is nothing more delightful than snapping open an umbrella in a shop. Though an aunty beat me to buy the last adorable Disney umbrella by just a few seconds, I managed to pick up a military green and a dull plum with just minutes left to board.

KasavuKada: Another handloom enterprise, the boutique we wandered into specialised in only expensive silk mundus and matching silk shirts, which I honestly was tempted to buy, but wisely refrained. Their other stores stock saris, mundus and the ilk too.

Pepper House: The Pepper House in Fort Kochi is another venue for the Kochi Biennale. But it also has a charming alfresco café on the premises, apart from a library and a lovely little design shop, which stocks labels like ROUKA by Sreejith Jeevan, the contemporary fashion label, whose etymological origins are touch fabric (blouse in Malayalam) and space (Corridor in Japanese.)

Ramachandran Handlooms: You cannot leave the city without a buying the local Kasavu saris, soft mal dhotis and the mundus and nerythus, and other dreamy textiles that are either as soft as or as comforting as butter. The brand has been around since the 1980s, and if you visit the bigger stores, youll be able to buy shoes, bags and other accessories too. (Church Landing Road, Pallimukku, Ernakulam – 682016)

Seematti: Christened as the Queen of Silks on its website, once you get past the garish façade of Seematti’s shiny glass showroom, you’re thrown into a magical universe of textiles, spread over many, many floors. There is so much to see and shop that you need to stay focused, otherwise you will drown in a world of fabric. I picked up a couple of saris and lovely lace petticoats here. I suggest you do too.

The Neemrana Shop: Located in The Tower House in Kochi, the store has some lovely dresses, tunics and typical knick-knacks, including small, colourful peacocks. You need to dig a little, but we did find some clothes to buy. You can rummage through table linen, accessories, candles, pottery, and even porcelain, and more.

Dispatch from Kochi

Salvation in god’s city, one spoon at a time

Neeti Mehra is an award-winning, multidimensional communications professional and brand consultant with 20+ years of experience in bringing stories to life. She works as an independent storyteller at the intersection of sustainability, ecology and people, shaping the voice of homegrown and international brands. In 2007, she founded Beejliving, a multi-disciplinary platform that records our living traditions, making them accessible and relevant to a young, curious audience. Through the lens of modernity, she interprets ancient practices, showing there is an alternate, viable path to living a fast-paced, burnt-out life. In 2024, she was featured on the cover of The Week magazine's health supplement for being the leading voice in advocating slow living in India. In February, she launched the #BeejLivingPowerCircle a B2B platform targeted to help conscious businesses in India scale.

Neeti has partnered on projects with leading global brands such as Marriott International, Jaipur Rugs, AB InBev, South African Tourism and the India Wine Awards. She is a former editor with FICCI’s India Travel, LuxeBook, and Indian Express Newspapers.
She has been published in over 60 global publications such as Lonely Planet, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveller, GQ, The Hindu, Business Traveller UK, The Spruce, Treehugger and The Times of India, writing about responsible luxury and sustainable living.
A Technical Accountant, Neeti has a Post Graduate Certificate in Yoga & Tantra and Indian Aesthetics from Jnanapravaha. She has completed a CSR workshop with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. A student of Vedic studies since the past six years, she has also been studying Sanskrit. She has studied traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, Jyotish and Tantra with world-renowned Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr Robert Svoboda. A wine lover, she finished her WSET Level 1 award in wine with a perfect score.