Cleaning up – soap bars make comeback in our bathrooms
FOR years it has been shunned as a dated, dowdy and verging on dirty method of washing one’s hands.
But now for the first time in a century, soap bars are making a comeback in British bathrooms, emerging as a luxurious, and altogether classier alternative to liquid soaps.
Following decades of decline, sales of barred soap have risen by nearly 3 per cent over the past year, data collected by Kantar Worldpanel revealed.
In the year to September 2018, supermarket shoppers in Britain spent £68.3million on barred soaps, up by 2.9 per cent from £66.4million in the previous year, the data showed.
Sales of bars grew faster than both liquid soaps and shower gel products over the period, suggesting shoppers are once again warming to them.
It comes amid a major consumer backlash against unnecessary plastic waste, as households are searching for more eco-friendly versions of everyday items, such as bags for life, reusable coffee cups, loose fruit and vegetables, and now bars of soap.
Bottled soap became popular in the mass market in the late Nineties, as it was seen as a more hygienic alternative to bars, which were viewed as potentially harbouring germs and dirt.
Since then multiple scientific studies have proved this is a myth.
Much of the increased demand for barred soap is coming from the higher end of the market, as luxury toiletry brands are expanding their ranges.
A spokesman for Jo Malone said the company had recently grown its range to include new scented Bath Soaps, which retail at £24 for a 180g bar. They are described as “generous in size and designed with an easy-to-hold rounded shape, perfect for a luxurious bathtime, or daily indulgence.”
Chanel also does a range of barred soaps including a Coco bath soap at £21 for 150g.
Tim Nancholas, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “For the first time this century barred soap is making a return. After a long-term decline due to the rise of squirty hand soaps and gels, bar soap is now outperforming the market.
“It could be the start of a trend and toiletries are becoming more natural and eco-friendly, barred soap uses less plastic.
“It could also be slightly more indulgent than in the past as there here is now a bigger opportunity for a more premium offering.”