120 Years of Family Heritage
For nearly 120 years, we have been making natural soap from the glossy oils pressed from the lovely ancient olive and laurel fruits. People of the region usually associate Alkassem family and Soap. We are fond of soap making, it is our heritage.
The heritage starts from our great-grandfather, Zeki, who started the soap business during the Ottoman era, to our grandfather, Fawzi, who built his factory in 1952, the factory that is still producing until now. Our father, Haitham, also built another factory and extended the product range, and added other products to the manufacturing practices during the time between the 1970s and 1990s
In 2011, Hasan, a fourth-generation member of our family, travelled to the UK to pursue a master’s degree in analytical chemistry at Warwick University, having completed his degree in applied chemistry. The goal was to leverage his knowledge and experience to enhance the quality control practices of our historic manufacturing business. Our father encouraged us—Qassem, Ahmad, and Hasan—to study complementary fields to advance the business from multiple perspectives. Qassem studied finance and economics, while Ahmad focused on marketing. We all shared the same passion: to grow our company into an internationally recognized ethical business.
The wars in the Levant, beginning in 2011, were like a prolonged tsunami, devastating the dreams of the youth. In 2013, our 78-year-old soap factory was seized, and its extension in the eastern suburb of Damascus was destroyed in a bombing. We were forced to abandon everything, including machinery, products, and raw materials—a significant setback.
Our father said, "We have lost our factory, but we will never lose our dream. We will build a better factory, and remember that everything happens for a reason." His words were a source of hope and encouragement. A few months later, we decided to establish a new factory from scratch with very limited resources. Hasan also chose to pursue a PhD in biochemical engineering at UCL (London) to strategically advance our business’s R&D and innovation. Six months later, our new factory, located west of Damascus, was ready to operate.
Recognizing the need to adapt, we registered Levant Soap in the UK to trade our soap across Europe, marking a new chapter for our family business.
Our mission is to send a message of peace from the Levant to the world through our simple, handmade soap. Crafted by local artisans using locally sourced olive and bay laurel trees, our soap embodies the essence of our region and its traditions. Our business is committed to reducing the carbon footprint by relying on sustainable resources like olive trees. Each olive tree can produce approximately 3.5 liters of oil annually, which is sufficient to create up to 30 bars of Olivant soap.
For nearly 120 years, we have been making natural soap from the glossy oils pressed from the lovely ancient olive and laurel fruits. People of the region usually associate Alkassem family and Soap. We are fond of soap making, it is our heritage.
The heritage starts from our great-grandfather, Zeki, who started the soap business during the Ottoman era, to our grandfather, Fawzi, who built his factory in 1952, the factory that is still producing until now. Our father, Haitham, also built another factory and extended the product range, and added other products to the manufacturing practices during the time between the 1970s and 1990s
In 2011, Hasan, a fourth-generation member of our family, traveled to the UK to pursue a master’s degree in analytical chemistry at Warwick University, having completed his degree in applied chemistry. The goal was to leverage his knowledge and experience to enhance the quality control practices of our historic manufacturing business. Our father encouraged us—Qassem, Ahmad, and Hasan—to study complementary fields to advance the business from multiple perspectives. Qassem studied finance and economics, while Ahmad focused on marketing. We all shared the same passion: to grow our company into an internationally recognized ethical business.
The wars in the Levant, beginning in 2011, were like a prolonged tsunami, devastating the dreams of the youth. In 2013, our 78-year-old soap factory was seized, and its extension in the eastern suburb of Damascus was destroyed in a bombing. We were forced to abandon everything, including machinery, products, and raw materials—a significant setback.
Our father said, "We have lost our factory, but we will never lose our dream. We will build a better factory, and remember that everything happens for a reason." His words were a source of hope and encouragement. A few months later, we decided to establish a new factory from scratch with very limited resources. Hasan also chose to pursue a PhD in biochemical engineering at UCL (London) to strategically advance our business’s R&D and innovation. Six months later, our new factory, located west of Damascus, was ready to operate.
Recognizing the need to adapt, we registered Levant Soap in the UK to trade our soap across Europe, marking a new chapter for our family business.
Our mission is to send a message of peace from the Levant to the world through our simple, handmade soap. Crafted by local artisans using locally sourced olive and bay laurel trees, our soap embodies the essence of our region and its traditions.
Our business is committed to reducing the carbon footprint by relying on sustainable resources like olive trees. Each olive tree can produce approximately 3.5 liters of oil annually, which is sufficient to create up to 30 bars of Olivant soap. By using 30 bars of Olivant soap a year, your family helps support a farmer in maintaining and caring for an olive tree throughout the year. Additionally, choosing Olivant bar soap over liquid soap helps reduce plastic waste, contributing to a healthier environment.
We also collaborated with ethical organisations such as “Ripple Africa” that plants trees on our behalf in Malawi and we are committed to planting a tree for every product purchased from our shop! so please help us to reforest !
We also collaborated with ethical organisations such as “Ripple Africa” that plants trees on our behalf in Malawi and we are committed to planting a tree for every product purchased from our shop! so please help us to reforest !