Sæbeværkstedet

Sæbeværkstedet, Danish for "the soap workshop," is a small family-run maker of handmade soaps and natural body-care products based in Karlslunde, Denmark. The company has produced cold-process soaps and related well-being products since 2004 [1], and remains active, selling through its own webshop and through retailers in Denmark, Norway and Germany [1].

The business is owned by the couple Lone Sarto Pedersen and Henrik Werenberg, with Lone responsible for soap production [5]. Its range extends beyond soap to bath salts, body and face oils, balms and creams, masks and scrubs, and bath accessories.

The company's origins lie in Sydney, Australia, where founder Lone learned soap-making during a couple of years the family spent there. She began selling at markets and exhibitions under the name Como Soaps, after Como, a suburb of Sydney [5]. On returning to Denmark in 2004, she set up the business with, in the company's words, "a couple of pots and a stick blender" [1], making the first sales to a handful of Danish craft shops. The venture that began as Como Soaps was later renamed Sæbeværkstedet [1].

By 2009 the brand had expanded considerably: local press reported distribution to roughly 170 Danish stores, along with retailers in Norway, Sweden and Germany [5]. That year the company opened a physical shop in Køge, in the historic Oluf I. Jensens Gård [5]. The Køge store later closed in 2019 [1], and the business has since centred on its Karlslunde workshop and online sales.

Sæbeværkstedet is privately held by its founding couple, Lone Sarto Pedersen and Henrik Werenberg. No parent company or acquisition history is recorded.

The company frames its work around four core principles it renders in Danish as Naturlighed (naturalness), Fairness, Enkelhed (simplicity) and Renhed (purity). It says it uses primarily natural, plant-derived materials and avoids synthetic fragrances, artificial dyes and parabens. On fairness, the company states that it supports products "made by people who work under proper conditions." The overall positioning is that of a small, indie natural-soap maker rather than a mass-market body-care brand.

The signature product is a handmade cold-process soap built on organic cold-pressed virgin olive oil, with organic coconut oil and natural essential oils among the main ingredients [3]. According to the company, the soaps contain no synthetically produced oils, dyes or preservatives, and it describes the cold-process method as "a simple process that protects environment and materials" [3]. The company also states that the soaps retain a high level of natural glycerin together with some unsaponified oil, which it says makes them less drying than many industrially produced soaps [3].

Production is split between two sites: some soap is made at the Karlslunde workshop, while the rest is produced in Greece by partner artisans said to follow the same handcrafted methods and recipes [3]. The primary olive oil is sourced from a producer in Spain [5] — a raw-material origin distinct from where the finished soap is made. Beyond soap, the catalogue includes oils and aromatherapy products, bath salts, balms and lip balms, clay masks and scrubs, gift sets and facial-yoga items.

Sæbeværkstedet remains active. Its webshop carries a full current product catalogue, and the family business has operated continuously since 2004. The most recent dated content on its blog is from October 2023 [4], while the storefront and retailer distribution remain in place.