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Le Serail
Discover the history and know-how of the soap factory Le Serail
The “Le Serail” soap factory is the last artisanal and traditional soap factory in Marseille based in the Phocaean city.
In the 1900s, Marseille, a large city in Provence, saw its soap factories – around a hundred at the time – close one after the other due to the massive arrival of detergents. A man, back from deportation in Germany, Vincent BOETTO, bet on creating the Savonnerie le Sérail in 1949, in order to perpetuate the know-how and tradition of real Marseille soap.
He then took over a farm located inside the city, and installed there the equipment necessary for the manufacture of the traditional Marseille soap cube, and in particular the cauldrons in which the soap paste is made. Today, it is his son, Daniel, proud of this heritage, who took over the reins of the soap factory in 2009 and who perpetuates the know-how left by his father.
Thus, all the equipment is period, and has been preserved as well as all the steps necessary for the manufacture of traditional Marseille soap, which has also allowed to obtain the label “Living Heritage Company” awarded by the CCI of Marseille.