The Handmade Soap Co. Stretches To Switzerland As It Slowly Makes Its Way Around The World

Irish brand The Handmade Soap Co. has extended literally and figuratively far beyond the farmers’ markets where it got started.

The purveyor of natural beauty and lifestyle products has entered luxury department store Globus and high-street retailer Coop in Switzerland, pushing its global reach to six markets. In 2018, The Handmade Soap Co. is on pace for its export business to match the business it does in its home country and, next year, it expects export sales to surpass domestic turnover.

“There are many roads to Rome. It all depends on your business and cash flow. For us, growing slow and steady, and filling in the cracks before moving on has been our recipe for success,” says Donagh Quigley, who began The Handmade Soap Co. with wife Gemma in 2010.

The Handmade Soap Co.’s origins are in the couple’s kitchen, where the Quigleys perfected their formulas for soaps with natural essential oil blends such as grape fruit and Irish moss, and lemongrass and cedarwood. Farmers’ markets provided an early distribution outlet for the brand, but it wasn’t long until it was stocked by local retailers.

“There are many roads to Rome. It all depends on your business and cash flow. For us, growing slow and steady, and filling in the cracks before moving on has been our recipe for success.”

After a few years selling in Ireland, Quigley decided The Handmade Soap Co. should travel outside of the country. The U.K. made sense because it was close and English-speaking – and remaining in Ireland alone had its limitations given that the nation’s population is under 5 million people. The Handmade Soap Co. entered the department store Fenwick in 2013.

“It was at this point that we realized there was a big opportunity to sell overseas, and we needed to reposition ourselves as an international brand. It was a steep learning curve, and we started receiving several distribution offers, which we had to say no to,” says Quigley. “We knew it was important to stick to our roots, grow slowly and stay a cottage industry business. The consumer is more educated today, and provenance is key.”

Quigley describes selling in the U.K. as a “hard slog.” He explains it’s an extremely competitive market and is relieved The Handmade Soap Co. overcame mistakes in its home market prior to exporting to the U.K. because he doesn’t think U.K. retailers and consumers are as forgiving as Irish retailers and consumers. Quigley feels The Handmade Soap Co. has finally deciphered the U.K. market this year, when it began rolling out to department store Debenhams.

“We needed to reposition ourselves as an international brand. It was a steep learning curve, and we started receiving several distribution offers, which we had to say no to. We knew it was important to stick to our roots, grow slowly and stay a cottage industry business. The consumer is more educated today, and provenance is key.”

The Handmade Soap Co. currently produces 60 stockkeeping units in a converted linen factory. As well as its namesake soaps, customers can purchase the brand’s candles, bath oils, lotions, and haircare products packaged in Forest Stewardship Council-approved recycled card decorated with vegetable-based inks. The Handmade Soap Co.’s tight-knit team of 25 people includes three sets of siblings and plenty of old friends, and it regularly gets together to have big barbeques on the river neighboring the factory.

In addition to Sweden, Ireland and the U.K., The Handmade Soap Company is available in Germany and the U.S. It launched on Anthropologie’s online store in March. The brand connected with Anthropologie while exhibiting at Indie Beauty Expo New York last year.

“We’re not ready for the U.S. yet, but IBE New York was a great way to test the waters, and we know there is a huge opportunity for us there,” says Quigley. “For now, though, we’re going to focus on one market at a time, which at the moment is the U.K., but we continue to plant a few seeds in other places, the latest being Switzerland.”