I am delighted to announce that The English Soap Company has been awarded the Wealden Hero Award this week.
The English Soap Company is based in the heart of Wealden countryside, in Waldron. Its story began in 2000, when founders Bob and Juliet Butts discovered a number of vintage soap moulds in a machinery workshop farm in Kent. Bob and Juliet spent many years perfecting the art of soap making and perfumery to make the perfect soap.
The company is currently managed by Bob and Juliet’s son Oliver and his wife Ailsa. All of their products are made on the farm site, by a family of 35 staff members. The business has been growing from strength to strength as demand for their soaps increased. The English Soap Company products are sold through major UK and international retailers, hotel and gift suppliers and exported to over 40 countries around the world. In 2017 the production expanded to include hand creams, shower gels and perfumes. The company is currently one of just four companies shortlisted in the Family Business category of the 2020 Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Earlier this spring, the company kindly donated thousands of their beautiful soap bars to the local community. Nus Ghani, her team and a team of volunteers have distributed soaps to foodbanks across Wealden, midwife-led Crowborough Birthing Unit, local care homes, local churches, and other organisations and groups that were helping to distribute sanitising products to people during the outset of the pandemic.
Soap and hand cream are the perfect combination. While soap sanitises, it washes away natural oils. Hand cream then restores the moisture of the skin. With Covid-19, the demand for soap as well as hand sanitisers has increased. The business has naturally evolved to expand on its existing range of hand products and to include production of hand sanitisers – a soap substitute when there is no running water available. The hand sanitiser is made on site using locally sourced raw materials and is lightly fragranced to avoid a typical scent of alcohol.
To shop for soap, hand sanitiser and other products, please visit www.theenglishsoapcompany.com.
The English Soap Company is an exceptional local family business. Their beautiful products, inspired by the Sussex countryside, are very popular across the UK and worldwide. They have been incredibly generous and donated thousands of their products to communities across Wealden, which I was proud to distribute at the beginning of the pandemic. They have helped thousands of people across the constituency and I cannot thank them enough for their generosity and kindness. They are our true Wealden Heroes and I wish them all the best of luck for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
The Wealden Hero Awards are kindly supported by Uckfield FM, Kent and Sussex Courier, Sussex Express and Hailsham FM.