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I can never forget the day I made my first batch of soap — in September 2011.
For 15 years, we’ve been perfecting the art of cold process handmade soap in South Africa.
What started as a passion for creating something simple and honest has grown into a craft we know inside out — from raw ingredients to the final bar. Along the way, there has been a lot of learning, mistakes, and successes. I truly look at the past 15 years as an incredible gift.
I taught myself to make cold process handmade soap in my kitchen — with nothing but a few natural oils, my curiosity, and a real eagerness to learn.
It all began out of a mother's desperate need.
I was trying to help my very young daughter at the time, who was struggling with eczema. After searching for solutions and not finding anything that truly worked, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I wanted to create soaps made with pure, natural ingredients to help soothe her skin.
I had no idea what it would become.
What started as making just a few bars at a time soon grew into something much bigger.
Today:
We are proud to be a South African manufacturer of cold process private label handmade soap, supplying both small start-ups and growing brands.
Our cold process private label handmade soaps are ready to sell, fully packaged, and available in low minimums — making it easy to start or grow your brand.
Soapmaking WorkshopsFor over 10 years, we’ve shared our knowledge through our Soapmaking Workshops — teaching people from all walks of life how to make cold process handmade soap from scratch.
We’ve shared our tried-and-tested recipes, techniques, and insights with people starting at every level, helping them build confidence and skill in their own soapmaking journeys.
From local entrepreneurs to international visitors, hundreds of students have come through our doors — each one leaving more informed, more confident, and empowered to create something of their own.
Over the years, we’ve also worked behind the scenes creating private label soap for a wide range of businesses in South Africa — from beauty brands to wine and olive oil estates, gift stores, and even rooibos farms.
Each project has involved developing soaps that reflect the identity of the brand — often using customised ingredients that connect to their story, their environment, or their product offering.
This experience has given us a deep understanding of what it takes to create not just a beautiful soap, but a product that feels aligned, intentional, and ready for market.
As a result of many years of planning and talking about this, and the past 8 months of focused development (making sample batches, essential oil blends, even talking and quizzing anyone who would listen and borrowing their noses for a sniff here and there) we’ve officially launched our private label handmade soap range, made right here in Cape Town, South Africa.
This is designed for anyone who’s ever wanted to create their own soap brand without having to start from scratch (the way we did). Because the truth is, building a product from the ground up takes time, experience, and a fair amount of trial and error. We’ve already done that part.
Every bar in this range is made using the traditional cold process method, the same way we've always made it — from scratch, by hand, with care. No pre-made bases (aka melt-and-pour, aka glycerine soaps).
Every single bar has been thoughtfully designed and crafted using a blend of natural oils, with high amounts of extra virgin olive oil and unrefined shea butter as the stars of the base recipe. This formulation creates a rich, creamy, and luxurious lather, while producing hard, long-lasting bars that won’t dry out your skin.
These bars are enriched with skin-loving additives and botanicals such as pure carrot oil, unrefined avocado oil, coffee grounds, kojic acid, calamine powder, and beautiful blends of pure essential oils. Each bar has its own unique properties and brings something your skin will love.
All the ingredients we use — from olive oil to essential oils — are available through our online store.
All our private label soaps come fully packaged in high-quality kraft paper boxes — clean, simple, and retail-ready.
All you need to do is add your label.
We’ve quite literally done all the work for you.
One of the biggest barriers to starting a soap brand is getting started. But now you don't have to.
Our private label cold processed handmade soaps are available in South Africa:
This means you can start small, test your market, and grow at your own pace — without committing to large quantities upfront.
It’s a low minimum, value-driven offering designed to make it easy for:
You get a professionally made product — without having to invest in equipment, training, or production.
If you’d prefer to make your own cold process handmade soaps instead, you can shop all your quality raw materials - from extra virgin olive oil to pure essential oils directly from our store.
Each bar is:
You’re not just buying soap — you are accessing an artisanal product that’s already been formulated and refined, tested and proven. You are accessing my personal experience. You are accessing 15 years worth of experience and skill.
"Because the truth is, building a product from the ground up takes time, experience, and a fair amount of trial and error. We’ve already done that part."
If you’re ready to scale further:
For bulk orders (minimum of 50 bars) or fully customised private label / custom bulk/wholesale soap production, please contact our sister company:
O’live Handmade Soaps - this is where all our cold process handmade soaps get made.
Bulk orders offer even better value — making them a more cost-effective option as your brand grows and helping you save even more.
Please note: As all soaps are handmade in batches, lead times apply.
Us. We are the difference.
Our values, our experience, and our deep-rooted commitment to the craft of soapmaking.
We know soap — cold processed handmade soap.
We understand its temperament, its behaviour, and the little nuances that only come with years of working with it every single day.
There are things about soap you can’t learn from a book — you learn them by doing, batch after batch.
Since that September day in 2011, when I — Zikhona Tefu, founder of both Isivuno Naturals and O’live Handmade Soaps — made my very first batch of soap using simple ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter, I’ve immersed myself fully in this craft. Creating cold-process soap from scratch sparked something in me and I've never looked back.
Over the years, we’ve not only built two businesses through soapmaking, but we’ve also helped others do the same — through both private label partnerships and our cold process handmade soapmaking workshops. In other words, soapmaking is the OG and the foundation on which both Isivuno Naturals and O'live Handmade Soaps are built.
As a family-run business, we’ve poured our heart and soul into everything we do. We are committed to making good, natural handmade soap — and to sharing it with others.
We are humbled by our journey. Having started from nothing - just a mother making soap for her child with eczema - to what we do now. Our journey has taken us across the world — from Italy to Paris, the UAE, Australia, and many more countries — showcasing our soaps in different markets and cultures.
And one thing remains true everywhere we go:
Our soaps are truly loved the world over - and I say this with utmost humility!
Whether you’re starting a new brand or adding to an existing range, our private label handmade soap range gives you a simple, low-risk way to begin.
If you’re looking for private label handmade soap in South Africa, our range offers a simple, cost-effective way to start or grow your brand with cold processed, ready-to-sell soaps.
Your brand starts here — with high-quality, cold process private label handmade soap, proudly made in South Africa.
Traditional cold process handmade soap
Made with quality raw ingredients
Available in low minimum quantities
Fully packaged and ready to sell
Proven formulations developed over 15 years
Trusted supplier of bulk, wholesale and private label cold process soap in South Africa
Private label handmade soap is soap that is professionally made and supplied to you, ready for your own branding. You can sell it under your brand name without having to manufacture it yourself.
Not at all. Our range is designed so you can start your soap brand without any formulation, equipment, or production knowledge.
We offer low minimums to make it easy to get started:
For bulk or custom production, minimums start from 50 bars.
Yes. All our soaps are:
All you need to do is add your label
Yes. For custom formulations or larger orders, please contact our sister company, O’live Handmade Soaps for bespoke private label production
Yes. We supply customers across South Africa and internationally.
Browse our range online, select your products, and purchase directly through our store — it’s that simple.
No, we do not provide custom packaging. Each soap comes fully packaged in a simple, high-quality kraft box — ready for your label and your brand.
Zikhona Tefu
Zikhona Tefu is the founder and formulator at O'live Handmade Soaps and Isivuno Naturals.
