Founded in 1949 by Vincent BOETTO, LE SERAIL soap factory has, for almost half a century, continued to traditionally manufacture Marseilles soap according to the very best practices.
  
Established in a former, isolated farm, LE SERAIL soap factory is now in the heart of an authentic district.
  
Endless concessions and hours of labour were required for this man, seconded by his wife, to eventually make the small family business a viable one.

Marseilles soap is renowned worldwide for its hygienic qualities. Yet the traditional production of the soap has now practically died out.

In fact, LE SERAIL soap factory is now the last factory in Marseilles.
  
It produces top-quality soap that is entirely natural. 
The bactericidal and hypoallergenic properties are recommended by paediatricians and dermatologists alike.

The first recipes for the soap were found in Gaule. PLINY the Elder (in the first century) in his famous work Natural History gave the composition of a paste made from beech ash and goat fat, used by our ancestors to dye their hair red.

For centuries, the recipe remained unchanged, and the soap was used in turn as ointment, cosmetics and remedy. It was not until the Middle Ages that the soap was used to wash clothes.

At that time, the soap was produced from an alkali with a fatty matter, probably brought to Europe by the Crusaders. The alkali (al-qâli=ash) refers to a maritime plant. This Arabic word was used until the end of the XVIIIth century.
  
The Arabs used animal fat, but this was replaced by olive oil in the VIIIth century, which, combined with a solution extracted from plants, gave a firm, pleasant smelling soap, that was extremely versatile.

It was in the XIVth century that the first official soap maker in Marseilles appeared going by the name of Crescas Davin (1371).

In the XVth century, the small-scale craft production catering for local needs was surpassed and the first industrial soap factories began to appear in Marseilles that were to produce for Rhodes, Alexandria and Geneva.

At the start of the XVIth century, techniques were perfected, particularly due to the arrival of specialists, come from around the Mediterranean, and who were more highly skilled than French labourers.
The producers from Marseilles copied the white soap of Alicante. In some factories, like Georges Prunemoyr’s in 1579, quarterly production reached 9 tonnes and was partially exported to Rouen or England.

It was during the XVIIth century that the Marseilles soap acquired the reputation that it has had ever since. Advances in medicine, clothing and hygiene led to a substantial rise in consumption.

During the Thirty Years War, traders were no longer able to buy supplies in Spain and the factories in Marseilles, of a very high quality, soon secured the loyalty not only of buyers from France but also from Amsterdam and Hamburg. 
  
Colbert, seeing the opportunity to make a profit on this product asked the soap makers for an outrageous "Favour".
  
The Marquis de Seignelay then launched a saving edict for the profession in 1688 which regulated the manufacture of Marseilles soap: working in June, July and August was forbidden and only pure olive oil was to be used (without any other fatty matter). This edict took Marseilles to the top of an industry that exported its products to Northern Europe, England and the vast Turkish Empire.

In 1709, the city’s prosperity reached its highest point, and Marseilles had 30 soap factories operating at full flow. But the port was closed in 1720 due to the plague and the economy was put on hold.

In 1730, production was resumed with 250,000 metric centners. There were two qualities of soap: marbled soap (used to scour wool, in households and for colonies) and white soap, that was purer, and much sought-after by professionals (silk manufacturers, hosiers, mill owners, cover makers, dyers, launderers or perfumers).

In 1801, the port re-opened to exports and there were 73 establishments and 331 boilers. But the import of raw materials was stopped by the English who blocked the port. Thus, the first factories were created using Nicolas Leblanc’s method by which one of the constituents of the soap was obtained with sea salt.

As a result of the embargo the prices of olive oils rose and the use of seed oils became more common. Walnut oil was used, then rapeseed oil, poppy seed and linseed oil.    On 5 September 1810 a commission was created in Marseilles to control the quality of the soap production, and factories were compelled to use a stamp guaranteeing the type of oil, and bearing the name and address of the maker.    The importance of the sector was such that in 1810, two soap makers were nominated by the Prefecture to the Home Secretary to join the Council of manufacturers.

Men had changed, and, unlike the past, it was no longer the wealthy citizens who paid their fees to the king but the tradespeople. They were to change the policy of their congregation by selling their products directly without going through the merchants.    Consumer habits also changed and soap produced using a mixture of poppy seed and olive oils was more popular than the pure olive oil soap. So factories sought to devise new recipes by adding Palm or coconut oil, but they only represented 10 to 20% of the total volume of oil used.    Science revived the industry in Marseilles with the publication of Michel Chevreul’s works providing the first accurate theory of saponification.    After 1826, all the soap makers in Marseilles used the Leblanc method and thus saved time; but the rise in the price of olive and poppy seed oils forced them to branch out. New firms were created to press the linseed and sesame in the outskirts of Marseilles. Others opted for palm oil, a method already used in England for many years. Then the factories began to turn towards groundnut oil.

Notions of basic hygiene began to spread in France and Europe. At the same time, technical advances, such as the use of steam to adjust the cooking and larger boilers, enabled the soap factories to extend their production capacities, and thus to stand up to new competitors.
	Once again, it was the port that saved the industry in Marseilles thanks to the oilseed that piled up on the quaysides. Furthermore, the method devised by JD Rougier, a native of Marseilles, enabled palm oil to be bleached and thus this technique was used on a large scale to obtain a
plain, white product. In 1855, during the Universal exposition, Marseilles soap was awarded a gold medal for the marbled soap. Despite the success, factories still continued to decline. In 1863 there were only 52 remaining in the city and very few were mechanised.    From 1880 onwards, the trend was reversed and factories began to spring up, like that of Charles Morel, capable of producing 12,500 tonnes a year. Other industrialists like H. Arnavon opened actual laboratories to monitor every step in the cooking process of the soap to avoid depending on practitioners who used to taste the neutrality of the product.

In the XXth century, soap was no longer used solely as a detergent or for washing but also as a pharmaceutical ingredient. It was used in clinics, hospitals and operating theatres. It was also used abundantly by wool and fabric industrialists.

However, it was at this time that the oil mills and soap factories merged to seek new opportunities. The emergence of new odourless oils reduced the importance of soap manufacturing as an industry that was soon dominated by industrial oil mills.
  
The work of François Merklen provided the physico- chemical explanation of the production of soap and, when his book was released, soap makers began to take more interest in new techniques. It was then that the famous indication EXTRA PURE 72% of fatty acid appeared. This was the Marseilles soap as we know it today.
  
Advertising started to push the product with simple slogans emphasizing the quality.
  
Consumer habits also changed. At the beginning of the century, new types of packaging emerged, containing all sorts of gifts such as ladles or spoons, boxes of chocolates or candles. In 1898, the surprise soap might contain, in its 5kg box, a tie, a shirt, a handkerchief, stockings, socks or even garters.
   
Then a citizen of Marseilles invented washing powder that he began to market under the brand name Persil. But this new product was unsuccessful with the French. However, the concept was copied throughout Europe and elsewhere in the world.
  
With 98 factories, the sector was booming and annual production reached 180,000 tonnes in 1913.