Why we created the Ultimate Soap Lover’s Prize Pack.

If you’ve been following our journey for a while, you’ll know that The Australian Natural Soap Company has never been just about the bars on the shelf. There’s always been another layer to what we do — something most people outside the industry don’t see.

Even while we were building ANSC, growing our range, figuring out packaging, navigating retail, and trying to make natural skincare accessible for everyone… we were also working quietly behind the scenes making soaps for other people. Contract manufacturing has been woven through our story from the beginning. Small businesses, hobby makers, people with a dream and a scent idea — they’d come to us with an idea, and we’d help turn it into something real.

And honestly? I loved it.

Because concocting scent combinations is one of the reasons we started making soap at all. It never gets old. There’s a little thrill in blending essential oils, tweaking ratios, and suddenly finding the scent that just clicks. Those moments kept us playful and creative. They reminded us that soapmaking isn’t just production — it’s craft.

But lately, the landscape has changed.

With the economy the way it is, fewer people are taking the leap to start a small business. Fewer are experimenting with new ideas. Fewer are coming to us with the kind of projects that used to spark long conversations about scent families, ingredients, and “what if we try this?”

And we’ve missed that energy more than we realised.

So this year for Black Friday, we wanted to do something different — something that brings back a little of that joy, that creativity, that sense of play. Not commercially. Not for a business launch. Not for someone trying to enter the market.

Something purely for personal delight.

For one genuine soap lover.

For someone who just revels in scent, ritual, and the simple pleasure of a beautiful bar.

And that’s why we created the Ultimate Soap Lover’s Prize Pack.

Here’s the full prize — exactly as it is, with no frills or imagined extras:

We’ll work with your favourite essential oils to create a bar that feels distinctly you.

It’s not for commercial use. It’s for your bathroom, your home, your everyday ritual.

Your custom scent continues in liquid form, so you get to enjoy it everywhere — by the sink, in the shower, wherever your soap loyalties lie.

These gift packs aren’t an afterthought.

They’re beautifully curated bundles featuring a bar of your signature soap plus a selection of our most-loved bars.

It’s a chance to share something personal with the people who matter most.

This is genuinely the most generous, thoughtful prize we’ve ever put together — because it’s rooted in creativity and connection, not just retail.

There are a few reasons, and all of them feel equally true:

Because we miss the creative part of soapmaking.

The scent-blending. The experimenting. The moment someone says, “I’ve always wanted a soap that smells like…” and we make it happen.

Because contract manufacturing has been a quiet but meaningful part of our business.

We didn’t stop doing it when ANSC grew — it evolved alongside us. It kept us inspired and connected to makers and dreamers.

Because we know fewer people are starting small businesses right now.

And while we can’t fix the economy, we can bring back a little of the magic that used to come through our doors.

Because this feels like the right way to celebrate Black Friday.

Not with noise or gimmicks or endless discounting, but with something kind, generous, and genuinely exciting.

The Ultimate Soap Lover’s Prize Pack is bigger than the prize items themselves. It captures a part of our story, a part of our creativity, and a part of our heart that’s been quieter lately.

It’s a chance to create something beautifully personal.

A chance to share it with the people you love.

And a chance for us to reconnect with the very thing that made us fall in love with soapmaking in the first place.

And I truly can’t wait to see the scent our winner chooses.

— Emma xx