A company born of friendship and a love for fragrances. Stadjers Sharon Breemer (30) and Desiree Delger (26) are marketing sustainable soap with Dutch Soap Sisters. In their ‘lab’ on Travertine Street, the duo produces a range of aromas.
It soon became clear to Breemer and Delger a year ago that making soaps requires a lot of care. At home in the kitchen there was plenty of experimentation with colors and scents. At that time, the attempts still regularly ended up in the bin. The go-getters have now mastered the craft well and are receiving one order after another.
“We make our soap from coconut oil. You have to ‘saponify’ it in the right way with lye, otherwise it will not harden. In addition, the temperature must be just right. So it’s a chemical process,” says Breemer.
From citrus to cedar wood
The kitchen has been exchanged for some time for an old classroom on Travertijnstraat, where the Backbone050 Foundation is located. Entrepreneurs can rent a workplace in the former school building. This way the friends can have their ‘scent lab’ at their disposal. Everything you need is here ready to make their five kinds of soap. And now a sixth variant is being brooded. This time, eucalyptus and lavender should pamper the nose.
The Dutch Soap Sisters love to immerse themselves in the fragrance families. What are successful combinations? ,, Among the types of wood you have, for example, cedar wood and sambal wood. Where one goes very well with citrus, for example, and the other does not. We love to find that out,” she says. “We both have our house full of scent sticks and amber cubes. We also love nice perfumes, which we then use together.”
men too
The products can be ordered online, or for sale at Kokotoko, in the Oosterstraat. Sporadically, the duo reports to a market with the soap boxes. Provided they have time. Because both work full time. “But we like to come there. It’s nice to talk to the people who buy your products. Usually these are women, but men are also interested. They often go for the heavier and spicy soaps.”
It’s not always just about the smell for the customers. The fact that the soap is made in a natural way, i.e. without chemical products, is a plus for many, or even a condition. “We are genuinely happy when we meet other entrepreneurs who make something similar. They are not competitors for us. The more people who do this, the better. It is a nice alternative to the bottles of shower gel and shampoo.”
Pep talk during setback
Before Breemer and Delger could taste the success, there were a few obstacles ahead of them. Before the two could offer the goods, they had to prepare a complete report of each raw material used. Everything was first meticulously tested in a lab, and an extensive list of ingredients for each soap turned out to be a must. All in all a big job, which they had little appetite for. ,,If we had known this in advance, I don’t think we would have started it,’ laughs Breemer. ,,But that’s an advantage of doing it together. If one person doesn’t like it for a while, the other gives a pep talk and we happily continue.”
,,It is also really nice to set this up as friends. Because we both have a full agenda, it is sometimes difficult to meet. But fortunately, because of our company, we have to come together,” she says. “Then we can catch up and make soap together.”