BENGALURU: Most of our memories with Mysore Sandal Soap date back to our childhood. Our days would start with the pleasent fragrance of pure sandalwood oil. The green-and-sandal wrapping of the soap has not changed much in 98 years.
While the iconic brand is two years shy of a century, the company Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited, which was called Government Soap Factory till 1980, turned 100 on May 10, 2016. “It was set up with the Maharajas’ keen interest in extracting sandalwood oil from the locally grown sandalwood trees,” informs Arun Prasad, historian and researcher.
The comapany will be hosting its centenary celebrations on July 30 and their new initiatives will be announced on that day. The initiatives are planned under the guidance of RV Deshpande, Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development.
To promote indegenous products Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1894 to 1940) and Sir M Visvesvaraya (Indian engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918), started an industrial revolution in the erstwhile Mysore state.
As part of that, the maharaja wanted to use the raw material available in Mysore state. “Their rule was considered the golden era in the history of Mysore State and the soap factory was a part of that legacy,” informs Arun.
Factory’s Initial Days
A Ravi Shankar, assistant general manager, export and marketing, dates it to the start of the First World War. “Sandalwood was exported to other countries. But with the war in 1914, all exports had stopped. So sandalwood logs came to be available in abundance, and they did not know what to do with it. Under that circumstances the then Maharaja of Mysore Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, with the help of Sir M Visvesvaraya, planned to extract the oil in India itself. They planned established sandalwood oil division in 1916 in Mysuru,” he says.
“Mortar and Madras RCC were used to build the unit, which contains machines for splitting, chipping, powdering and distillation,” says K P Nagendra, Assistant General Manager (Materials).
The soap stands out for its sillage and won the title of Fragrance Ambassador of India. Arun adds that an experiment was conducted at IISc Bangalore by Prof. Suddourough and Prof. Watson, who were successful in extracting a high quality oil. The oil was marketed in India as well as abroad, primarily in the UK.
How the Soap Evolved
No one thought of making a soap till the maharaja was gifted a pack of sandal soaps, from a foreign guest. “This inspired the maharaja to think of indigenous soaps. He wanted indepth research done into this, and experiments were carried out at the IISc again,” says Arun Prasad. Industrial chemist Sir SG Shastry was sent to London to learn the art of soap making.
With his return, the era of Mysore Sandal Soap began. A small factory was been set up in a building right opposite the Century Club near K R Circle.
Prasad also tells us that the soap found a wide market in India as well in London and New York. “The advertisements by the company would speak of the purity of their soap. People were also invited to check the content of the soap in Mysore Industrial and Chemical Laboratory in Malleswaram and verify the content by themselves,” he says.
Modern machinery was imported from John Scott and Sons in England and was installed at the premises in 1918. “Sir Shastry was fondly called Soap Shastry due to his association with the soap since in its inception,” he says.
The first soap hit the market in Nov 1918. “For the first time in India, soaps carried the fragrance of sandal and they were a hit from the beginning. It was better than foreign-made cakes because it was not adulterated,” he says.
New Building
With the opening of Rajajinagar Industrial Suburb, 36 acres at the beginning of the suburb was allocated for the factory.
The foundation stone was laid in 1954 by Sir M Visvesvaraya. The factory shifted to the place three years later, in 1957, after it was inaugurated by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Maharaja of Mysore who ruled from 1940 to 1950.
“The building is ideally located, very next to the 30-feet high monument that marks the beginning of the Rajaji Nagar industrial area,” says Prasad. “It is built as a typical factory with enough ventilation,” he says.
Growth of Brand
Ravi Shankar says that Government Soap Factory was started with the capacity of producing 112 metric tonnes per annum in 1918. As the sales increased, the capacity was raised to 750 metric ton in 1932.
The division in Mysuru could not meet the growing demand. So, a second oil-extraction plant was set up in Shivamogga in 1944.
Arun Prasad says that the place might have been chosen for the availability of trees in the region. Now, with fewer trees, the oil extraction there has stopped.
In 1970, the production capacity was increased to 6,000 metric tonnes. In 1975, the company saw another addition in its product line – a detergent soap with Italian technology. In 1980, the Government Soap Factory was converted to a public sector enterprise and the company was renamed as Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited.
In 1984, the production capacity was again expanded to 26,000 metric tonnes. The company now has 38 different varieties of products. The total volume they produce now is 13,000 metric tonnes.
Ravi Shankar says the soap wrapper, as a stamp of authenticity, helps its sales. Their customers are mostly 35 years and above. “This is when they have the maturity to differentiate good from bad,” says Shankar. “They understand that this soap is beneficial to their health after 35.” The soap brand once, 15 to 20 years ago, tried to capture the younger generation by changing the packaging. “But the sales dropped,” says Shankar, “as our regular customers thought that it was a duplicate.”
Sandalwood trees are dwindling. “It might be due to urbanisation and pollution,” says Shankar. “Most of the trees have also been smuggled by bandit Veerappan,” he adds.
To make up for the loss, the company came up with Grow More Sandal project in 2000, through which they encourage farmers and locals to grow sandalwood trees by selling them saplings at `12. “In 2006, it got its Geographical Indication tag,” says Arun Prasad.