7 Years of Soapnut Republic

And here we are, celebrating 7 years of Soapnut Republic!

While we've been selling our non-toxic home care essentials for the past 7 years, our journey started a few years earlier. Let's recap on the story so far:

2012: The idea for Soapnut Republic was born around the same time as our first child, Tara. We did extensive research online and in stores to find products that would be safe enough to use around our baby girl. And, although we found many “ green” and “eco” options, very few brands were using ingredients that were safe for the people using their products. We were concerned about the environment too, but our first priority was finding products that would be safe for our growing family.

2013: We did some serious multi-tasking! Most memorably, we juggled life as new parents with the development of our core product range. My husband Bobby, whose background is in chemical engineering, formulates every product we make. The products are tested extensively in a laboratory and certified, but importantly, we test them in our family home and only release products that meet our own strict standards for safety and effectiveness.

2014: Our first sale! We launched with a few online grocery stores who are still our loyal customers today. We participated in hundreds of markets, fairs and other events, getting the word out into the community about our safe, allergen free, biodegradable cleaning products. We also welcomed our second child, Jade.

2015: Our products were accredited as Vegan & Cruelty Free by the American animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

We launched in Hong Kong, where we also won the 2015 Natural & Organics Products Asia Award for our entire product range.

2016: We won the 2016 Westpac AustCham Australia China Business Award - Business Excellence for Start Up Enterprises, and we were personally congratulated by the Australian Prime Minister for our achievements, and at the same time we welcomed our third child, Sienna.

2017: We launched in Singapore. We introduced a refill service in Shanghai, and our bulk products business for zero waste stores became extremely popular in Hong Kong and Singapore. We introduced bulk products in mainland China, and many customers started using these to refill their empty bottles at home.

2018: We won the That’s Shanghai Independent Lifestyle Brand of the Year Award (Editor’s Choice). We also won two major awards at the China Eco Design Fair - the Shining Star Award for Most Outstanding Eco Impact, and the Eco Product Trailblazer Award for Best Eco Product / Innovation.

2019: We won the That’s Shanghai Independent Lifestyle Brand of the Year Award (People’s Choice) and in September we sent our first shipment to Denmark covering Scandinavian countries

2020: We know a lot of customers have been waiting patiently for our personal care range. Well, it's finally coming! We'll have Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash available soon. It takes extensive testing and re-testing to develop products using natural ingredients. We've work diligently to perfect the formulations, with key priorities being both consumer safety and product performance. We're confident that you will love what we have in store.

Late 2020: We sent our first shipment of products to Malaysia and started e-commerce operations in early 2021

Big thanks to everyone who has followed us, used our products and shared in the Soapnut Republic journey. We love our community of Soapnut Republicans, and your support and feedback motivates us to continue developing premium products that are completely safe and just as effective. We assure you that the best is yet to come!