LAOUTA

LAOUTA is a Greek natural-cosmetics brand built around extra-virgin olive oil and wild herbs gathered on the island of Karpathos. It makes handmade skincare, body oils, soaps and sun care, and runs two physical stores in Greece alongside an online shop and a wholesale business that reaches Cyprus, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The brand remains active, with current retail and social-media presence.

The company presents itself in plain terms as a maker of "natural cosmetics" devoted to the wild herbs of the Greek land, aiming to bring out their "beautifying and beneficial properties through pure and effective formulas." It positions itself around ethical, small-batch production and affordable plant-based care rather than around any single hero product.

Accounts of who started LAOUTA differ. The brand's own about page credits unnamed "experts with extensive knowledge and years of experience in the fields of cosmetology and botanical care," giving no founder names or launch year [1]. Greek editorial coverage is more specific: a 2015 profile in Living Postcards identifies the brand as the work of a mother and daughter from Karpathos — Karin Lachana, a chemical engineer of German descent, and Evi Lachana, described as a young horticulturalist [6]. The two are reported to gather raw materials from the family's farm on the island and to work together on production. Later brand material refers to a husband joining the work, suggesting the founding pair grew over time.

The herbs and plants are cultivated and collected on Karpathos, a small island in the southern Aegean, then distilled into essential oils that give the products their scent. According to the company, ingredients such as orange peel, grapefruit, petitgrain and geranium come from these fields.

No founding year is documented. The brand left no explicit launch date on its own site or in any editorial source, but the July 2015 Living Postcards article confirms it already existed and was producing soaps by then [6]; its origins are therefore undated rather than disputed to a particular year.

In 2017 LAOUTA took part in Carved to Flow, a circular-economy art project by the Nigerian-Belgian artist Otobong Nkanga staged at documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel. The project's documentation describes LAOUTA and a second producer, Vis Olivae, as "bespoke Greek soap makers" creating "handmade cold process soaps from locally sourced extra virgin olive oil," with Evi Lachana serving as a consultant and overseer of soap production [7]. The brand has also said it taught botany and soap-making workshops at cultural institutions including Matera 2019, ar/ge kunst in Bolzano and the Gropius Bau in Berlin [1].

LAOUTA's range spans face and body oils, skin and hair hydration oils, cleansers, lip care, sun care, and solid bars, along with candles and essential oils. Cold-process soaps made from locally sourced extra-virgin olive oil are part of its origins as a soap maker [7].

Two collaborations are documented. With BuyaBoo — the e-shop of the Greek presenter and entrepreneur Mary Synatsaki — the brand created the "Mermaid Happy Tears" oil, a pink luminous body and face oil sold exclusively through BuyaBoo and LAOUTA's own store [3]. For the Nkanga project it produced the "O8" Black Stone soap, described as made from water, charcoal, lye and assorted butters and oils sourced across the Mediterranean, Middle East and North and West Africa [3].

The company frames its work around ethical production, a cruelty-free philosophy and "affordable, high-quality care" [1]. Its stated formulation approach is plant-based and small-batch: LAOUTA says it uses GMO-free, plant-derived raw materials and excludes mineral oils, parabens, synthetic glycerin and silicones. The products are described as handmade and certified vegan, carrying V-Label International vegan certification, and the brand says it favours biodegradable or recyclable packaging [1]. Production is described as taking place in a "certified and fully equipped laboratory" in Greece.

LAOUTA is an active, family-run independent brand with a regional footprint. It operates two physical stores — in Piraeus and central Athens — and an e-commerce site shipping within Greece and Cyprus, and it distributes through wholesale partners in markets including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Cyprus [4]. Documented activity runs from at least 2015 through to the present, alongside an ongoing social-media presence.