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Clean business! Mehak Srivastava speaks to Stevi Lowmass and Dave Esmonde-White of The Camel Soap Factory, discovering the art and their passion behind handmade soaps
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ontented work environments are a rarity slowly getting lost in the corporate rush of Dubai. However, step into The Camel Soap Factory, and you will soon be whistling a happy tune as you swing about in the relaxed ambience, amid scents like lavender and oud. But don’t mistake the laidback atmosphere for a simple business; bubbling beneath is a clockwork set of procedures, determined to deliver the perfect product every time. The soaps are handmade by the lot through the cold process technique, and from their humble beginnings in a home kitchen, have today
36 | Logistics News ME | August 2018
evolved into the result of a large-scale production line process. “I have always been fascinated with natural soaps,” remarks founder and owner, Stevi Lowmass. “My daughter has sensitive skin, and it seemed like the right testing ground for creating natural soaps. I thought it would be a nice idea to see if I could try and create something that utilised the local ingredients — and I thought camel milk would be wonderful.” Deriving their name from the core ingredient, camel milk, the factory today uses up nearly a tonne of fresh milk every week,
sourced from Al Ain Dairy farms. The milk is stored in the freezer, with batches taken out as per the production requirements. Other key ingredients include lye, olive oil, shea butter, and essential aromatic oils. Lowmass began selling small batches of the soaps in 2012, starting out from a Christmas market where sales exceeded expectations. It was then that she decided to get into licensed trade and to launch a dedicated soap making factory. “We firstly got a general trade license, followed by an industrial license in 2014. Our
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