Marseille Soap Museum offers a unique tour within Savonnerie du Midi’s factory, founded in 1894, and traces the traditional Marseille Soap’s history.
Steeped in history, Marseille soap has always been lauded for its many virtues: it is natural, effective and environmentally friendly – and is made in France in Marseille. It can be used for body care as well as for household cleaning.
The Savonnerie du Midi is one of the last remaining soap factories in Marseille that still uses the traditional expertise of a Maître Savonnier – a Master Soap Maker. The Savonnerie has been perpetuating time-honoured methods for 120 years and continues to make traditional Marseille soaps, boiled in a cauldron, with a passion.
Enter inside the Savonnerie du Midi backstage! You will discovered our marseille’s know-how since 1894.
A cosmetic range, with soaps from Marseille, Provençal soaps and liquid soaps, as well as a range of products for the house and for washing clothes (most of which bear the Ecocert label). Available in large stores.
A body-care line inspired by the East: soaps from Aleppo made from argan oil, scented massage oils, etc. Available in large stores.
The historic Savonnerie du Midi brand, which has been in existence since 1894, offers products made of 100% vegetable oil. Available in chemists.
Marseille has been the home of natural soap made from olive oil for more than 800 years. The town had several manufacturers as far back as the 12th century, with the soap being made using oil extracted from olives harvested in Provence and natural ash derived from plants grown in saline environments in the Camargue. With its hot weather and its famous wind, the Mistral, Marseille’s particular climate is also conducive to drying soaps.
Crescas Davin was Marseille’s first official soap maker in 1371. The earliest industrial factories appeared in the 15th century, and soon began to export their products to Europe and across the Mediterranean region thanks to the city’s geographical location and its historic activities as a port. Marseille soap was sold in the form of green bars weighing 5 kg or more.
There were seven soap factories in the city of Marseille in 1660. Louis XIV decided to support the development of the industry by publishing an edict in 1688 (via his Minister, Colbert) regulating the manufacture of soap and its constituents: ‘When manufacturing soap with saltwort, soda or ash, no fat, butter or other materials may be used, but only pure olive oils, and without mixing in fat, under penalty of confiscation of goods.’ In addition, to ensure optimal quality levels, production had to be halted during the three summer months due to the intense heat.
The number of soap factories in Marseille had risen to 62 by 1812. Napoleon, aware of the benefits of traditional Marseille soap, adopted a decree in December 1812 that established a special trademark for the now-famous bars of soap ‘in the shape of a pentagon, in the middle of which shall be inscribed the words “Olive oil”, followed by the name of the manufacturer and the city of Marseille.’ The decree ended with a warning: ‘Any citizen residing in a town other than Marseille who shall partake in the selling of soaps bearing the registered trademark shall be punished by a fine. The soaps, moreover, shall be confiscated.’
The early 20th century was a period of great prosperity for the Marseille soap industry, which boasted 90 factories at the time, before experiencing an initial downturn during the First World War. Marseille soap was redefined as a product made exclusively from vegetable oil (72 % minimum) in 1927 by the Court of Appeal of Aix en Provence, and in 1928 by the Court of Cassation. Production recovered after the war, reaching 120,000 tonnes in 1938, driven mainly by advances in mechanisation. Following a new dip in business during the Second World War, the soap industry in Marseille suffered a sharp decline as it was hit hard by the competition from synthetic detergents.
Marseille soap has undergone a genuine revival since the 1980s in response to increasing consumer demand for natural and authentic products. The Savonnerie du Midi is particularly proud to have been carrying on this tradition for 120 years.
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