The most interesting business stories are still related to businesses that started from hobbies. You will probably agree that such companies in most cases achieve great success.
One of our program participants , Atelier de Savon/Soap Atelier, is a case in point, which was born out of a combination of family needs and a favorite hobby. The founder and soul of Soap Atelier is Mr. Zaza Boglotsishvili, a middle-aged man from Darbai.
It all started a few years ago. His children had age-related skin problems, and the father decided to create a natural product that would help them solve this problem. However, there was still a lot to learn, read, and learn. Therefore, Mr. Zaza spent several months researching all the information available about soap. During this time, he created all the equipment and templates that would be needed for production. He tried many recipes until he got the natural product that was needed. The soaps he created really solved his children's skin problems.
It seemed like everything should have ended there, but Mr. Zaza was so carried away by the process of making soap that he decided to continue his interesting activity. He collected various plants and flowers, tried different combinations. His inspiration even interested his family members, and they also got involved in the activity one by one. Meanwhile, the number of people wishing to purchase the product also increased significantly, and thus a small business called – Atelier de Savon – Soap Atelier was created.
Mr. Zaza says: “Soap making is an art in itself, an interesting creative process, including formulating a recipe considering the desired properties, selecting and preparing the ingredients, the process of creating the soap, final assembly, and preparation for meeting the customer.”
In general, there are many methods of making soap, however, Mr. Zaza produces his products entirely by hand, using the so-called “cold method”, which means preserving the properties of organic raw materials as much as possible during production. The prepared mass is poured into molds, and then cut into 100-gram pieces. After 3-4 weeks of curing, the product awaits its customer to fully share its properties and positive energy.
The pandemic period has certainly not been easy for the soap workshop, as for all small businesses. Product sales have decreased, and the head of the family has had to relocate to the region for a while.
However, Mr. Zaza used this period fruitfully: he developed new recipes and products, and began growing plants on his own land, which he uses in his soap.
She also had the unique idea of sharing her work with others and created soap-making master classes, where she diligently teaches others how to do it.
There are big plans ahead: opening a new showroom and laboratory, increasing the product range, expanding sales channels, diversifying the master class program, and much more.
BPN Georgia wishes Mr. Zaza every success! We are confident that with his vast technical knowledge and insatiable desire to constantly learn new things, Soap Atelier will be able to fulfill its short-term and long-term plans.
