Vasse Virgin

Every soap starts with a fat or an oil. Vasse Virgin's starts with extra virgin olive oil, the same ingredient that anchors the food side of the business, and it has done since Louis and Edwina Scherini first began experimenting with cold-process soap in their own kitchen.

The business has grown in steps, and the founders have kept a clear record of them. By 1998, demand for the soap was strong enough that the range widened into moisturising lotions, skin balms, and bath and massage oils. By 2001 they were making skincare for other brands under contract and for wholesale customers across Australia, and later for customers overseas. In 2006 they opened a first retail store in Margaret River, trading at the time as The Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory, a name that told customers exactly what was made there.

The name Vasse Virgin arrived in 2009, and so did the food. Working with a specialist chef, the business developed a gourmet line of olives, extra virgin olive oils, balsamic vinegars and fruit vinaigrettes. The olives are estate-grown and Western Australian. A second store opened in the township of Margaret River in 2013, and the company now has stores in South Australia as well.

What has not changed is the way the soap and skincare are put together. Extra virgin olive oil is the base. Teas, clays, flowers, herbs and spices are added for texture and colour. Scent comes from pure essential oils and plant extracts. A bar of spearmint and green tea soap sums up the method: an olive oil base, a tea for character, an essential oil for scent.

Scent has become a line of its own. Vasse Virgin makes a series of named perfumes, and runs perfumery workshops in person, where customers can create a scent of their own.

The stores are open to visitors. Check the maker's site before visiting.