PAPOUTSANIS

PAPOUTSANIS is a Greek manufacturer of soap and liquid cosmetics, headquartered in Nea Kifissia, north of Athens. It traces its origins to a soap and olive oil works founded on the island of Lesvos in the 19th century, and today operates both as a consumer-brand owner and as a large contract manufacturer and hotel-amenities supplier. The company is listed on the Athens Exchange and reported turnover of €66.2 million for 2024 [8].

The dedicated company history dates the founding to 1870, when the entrepreneur Dimitris Papoutsanis established what it describes as the first steam-engine olive oil and soap factory in the region [2]. The brand's homepage frames this more loosely as "150 years of experience," which read literally points to around 1876 [1]; the specific 1870 date given on the history page is the more precise of the two.

According to the company, Dimitris Papoutsanis set up his olive oil and soap works on Lesvos in 1870, using pure vegetable oils to produce a green olive oil soap [2]. The venture grew from that single island factory into a national soap producer over the following decades.

In 1913 the business moved its operations from Lesvos to the port of Piraeus, where it built one of the earliest soap factories in Greece. The Piraeus plant turned to mass-market production from 1917, making green laundry soap and Marseilles soap cubes, and in 1936 introduced Lavender Soap and Flora Soap, described as the first packaged soap in gelatin sold on the Greek market.

The company's best-known consumer product arrived in the early 1950s, when rising living standards in Greece created a market for the aromatic bar soap Karavaki, which the company still markets today. In 1967 the firm relocated to South Kifissia and broadened its activities into fatty acid-glycerine, cosmetics and edible oils and fats, and in 1970 it produced its first branded glycerine soap. It joined the Athens Stock Exchange in 1972.

A further expansion came in February 2001, when the company opened new factory facilities at Ritsona, in Evia [2], which it describes as among the largest and most modern soap and hotel-amenities plants in Europe.

PAPOUTSANIS is a publicly listed company, trading on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) since 1972 [2]. No parent company or acquisitions are documented.

The company presents itself as a heritage soap-maker that pairs a long production tradition with large-scale, modern manufacturing, calling itself one of the largest producers of soap and liquid cosmetics in Europe. Its business is organised around several strands: its own consumer brands, notably Karavaki, Natura and Aromatics, alongside the selective-distribution line OLIVIA [5]. Beyond its own labels, PAPOUTSANIS works as a contract and private-label manufacturer and supplies the hotel-amenities market. The 2024 turnover split illustrates this dual role: the company reported that 30% came from its own branded products, 17% from hotel-market sales, 36% from third-party manufacturing and 17% from specialty soap bases [8]. Its stated theme for a 2025 investor day was "Honoring our Heritage, Powering our Future" [9].

The company's signature product is Karavaki, an aromatic bar soap that has been sold in Greece since the 1950s. A more recent Karavaki collection is described by the company as made with 95% ingredients of natural origin and enriched with Greek botanical extracts. The wider own-brand range is built on the company's soap heritage, including its green olive oil soap and glycerine soaps.

PAPOUTSANIS states that it holds several certifications for its products. It offers certified natural cosmetics under ECOCERT (COSMOS Certified) and certified organic cosmetics under ECOCERT (COSMOS Organic) [6], and says its qualifying products are free from parabens, mineral oil, artificial colours and ingredients of animal origin [7]. The company also describes part of its range as certified vegan. Manufacturing is carried out in Greece, at plants including Halkida (Vathi Avlidos) and Ritsona in Evia.

PAPOUTSANIS states that it is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) international sustainability programme and is certified to the RSPO standard [4]. Its own materials list certifications including ISO 9001, ISO 22716, Green Palm, SEDEX and Ecocert. The company publishes sustainability reporting, though its pages set out certification badges and section headings rather than detailed environmental targets.

Coverage of the company has centred on its financial performance as a listed manufacturer. Athens Times reported that PAPOUTSANIS turnover rose to €66.2 million in 2024, up from €62.3 million the previous year, with exports making up 55% of the total.

PAPOUTSANIS is an active company. It is listed on the Athens Exchange, reported turnover of €66.2 million for 2024, and states that it exports to more than 25 countries [8]. Its most recent recorded activity includes the announcement of its 2024 results and an investor day held in Athens in 2025 [10].