A small Tasmanian soap company has expanded its wholesale business, launching a range of natural products to the trade market.
Darren West, owner of The Tasmanian Soap Company, began making soap in 2006 after researching the industry and developing an interest in health and wellness. “At this time natural personal care products were starting to gain a lot of momentum in the marketplace because consumers were becoming more aware of what ingredients were in their products,” he says.
Six years later West decided to rebrand and take the business in a new direction, creating The Tasmanian Soap Company. Today, all the brand’s products are designed and made in a workshop in Launceston, Tasmania using raw ingredients including olive oil, goat’s milk, honey and pure essential oils.
“Our ethos is to make high quality natural skincare products that are affordable for consumers,” says West. “Our skin is the largest organ of the human body and it should be everybody’s vested interest to look after it.”
While consumers have become more appreciative of natural products, West says it has been a challenge informing the public about the many ways soap can be manufactured. “Once we tell them how we make it and what fine ingredients we use, they’re usually willing to give it a go and hopefully they become one of those customers who can’t go back to using any other soap.”
This is especially true of eczema and psoriasis sufferers who have found the company’s best seller, the goat’s milk soap, helps dry skin. “The feedback we get is amazing,” says West. “It’s heart-warming knowing you make a product that people appreciate.”
The company, which had its trade fair debut at the Home & Giving fair recently, also produces a popular range of body and lip balms using pure Tasmanian beeswax, with many new products planned for release in 2016.
“We decided to exhibit at the fair to start reaching a bigger clientele as our business is ready to expand,” West says. “This was our first trade show and we were really pleased with the amount of orders taken during the show and after.”
To assist retailers, The Tasmanian Soap Company provides printed point of sale display boxes, and aims to get orders out as quickly as possible. A user friendly wholesale website also makes reordering simple.
By Ruth Cooper
