Soapnut: washing power from nature!

Soap nut competence since 2006

Company founder Rudolf Bund at our long-standing raw material partner in India.

The soap nut is a small miracle of nature and in our eyes there is currently no other natural detergent raw material that combines so many advantages.

The saponin contained in the soap nut shells:

is a natural washing-active substance with convincing washing and cleaning power
is gentle on colors and fibers
has a natural softening effect and makes laundry cuddly soft
smoothes textile fibers and thus facilitates ironing
is 100% of natural origin
reduces the amount of soap and surfactants in the product
is particularly gentle on the skin
enables liquid detergents to achieve excellent washing performance at temperatures as low as 20 °C -

Soap nuts on the bush — The soap nut fruits ripen in autumn and winter.

Image of hilly mountainous India, where soapnut trees grow — Soap nut trees grow wild and numerous in the mountain regions.

Rudolf Bund and an employee collect soap nuts from the ground — The ripe fruits fall from the tree and are picked up by hand.

Hands holding ripe soap nuts — The valuable saponin is found in the shell of the fruit.

Young woman spreads out soap nuts to dry — The soap nut shells are dried and then crushed.

From fruit to detergent

The valuable saponin for our products comes from soap nut shells from northern India. In the mountain regions, the soap nut tree grows wild and in large numbers on the mountain slopes and is freely accessible to everyone. Rudolf Bund, our owner, wanted to know exactly and travelled to the region in 2013 for the soap nut harvest to see for himself:

The ripe fruits fall to the ground and only need to be collected and dried. Collecting the fruits means an additional source of income for the local farming families and supports their economic autonomy. At the same time, the natural vegetation is preserved. The trees are not cleared, but valued. This is good for climate protection and prevents soil erosion. In addition, plantations do not have to be established to meet demand. All these are important aspects for us, which is why we have been working with our supplier in a trusting partnership for years.

We at AlmaWin also experimented with pure soap nut shells at the beginning. However, it quickly became clear that the pure shells neither met our requirements nor those of our consumers in terms of ease of use and reliable cleaning performance. The actually good cleaning power of the soap nut needs support, because soap nut shells do not have a water-softening function, which leads to poor washing results with high water hardness. They also cannot bleach, which is especially important for stains and white laundry.

So we rather put some more time into research and finally came up with the solution: soap nut extract!

soapnut shells and soapnut extract, a brown liquid, in a screw-top jar on a laboratory bench — soap nuts and soap nut extract

Soapnut-Saponin - directly from India

When developing our soapnut products, it was important to us that the saponin be extracted directly from the soap nuts in India. This means that it is not the entire quantity of soapnut shells that is transported to Germany, but rather the concentrated extract. This helps to reduce transport volumes.

To implement this locally, we have established a process for extracting the saponin in collaboration with an experienced partner. The extraction takes place in India and is certified accordingly. It is carried out at our partner’s facility in India and supports local value creation.

We combine the extracted soapnut saponine with our formulations. This enables us to specifically combine the use of soapnut saponin with other washing and cleaning active ingredients.

Soapnut saponin is extracted from the fruits of the soapnut tree and is therefore a plant-based, renewable raw material. In our soapnut products, we use the extract as an ingredient in the formulation.

Our soapnut products are dermatologically tested for skin compatibility. The relevant products have passed the dermatological tests carried out. Furthermore, the certified products meet the requirements of the respective eco-certification schemes: Ecogarantie and ECOCERT.

Products containing soapnut extract have been part of our range since 2006 – starting with our first product, KLAR Liquid Soapnut. We continue to refine these formulations to this day.