In April 2018, DAABON acquired Soapworks Ltd - the UK’s largest soap manufacturer. Soapworks was founded in 1988 and has around 100 employees.
Soapworks is a company with a similar DNA and ethical philosophy to DAABON, we know it has the feel of a family company and there are parallels between the social programmes in Glasgow and how we work in Colombia.
Soapworks’ relationship with DAABON goes back 10 years – we supply them with soap base. And importantly, Manuel Davila – President of DAABON, met their founder Dame Anita Roddick on several occasions. They both shared the same company values, philosophy and vision for sustainability.
In recent years, Soapworks has faced a difficult operating environment. It has faced a number of pressures, while at the same time, has been unable to raise private or public funding to steady and grow the business. As a result, it was clear that the business would need to change. The risk of not doing so would undoubtedly have resulted in the closure of Soapworks and the loss of approximately 100 jobs.
With DAABON’s investment, Soapworks is in a much stronger position. Not only is the business now financially secure, but also has added benefits such as access to soap base certified by RSPO Next, verified by POIG and certified Rain Forest Alliance.