Roseau, Dominica: Founded in 1962 in Dominica, DCP Successors (DCPS- Dominica Coconut Products Ltd) became the largest soap-manufacturing entity in the English-speaking Caribbean, exporting 98% of its production and installing Dominica as the soap-making capital of the region.
In the early 1990s, it supplied cruise ships with soap for their cabins and contract-manufactured international brands such as Protex, Palmolive, Dial, Tone, Jergens and Imperial Leather.
In 1995 Colgate Palmolive acquired the locally owned business and ran it until 2015, when Tropical Storm Erika caused severe damage to the factory, resulting in its closure and laying off all employees.
In early 2017, a group of investors acquired the shuttered plant, brought it back to life, rehabilitating the equipment and launching new brands, Real and Reddy bath soap and Betta Blu laundry bar soap. But, before the plant could reopen, Hurricane Maria struck in September 2017, caused further damage to the factory and delaying the company’s relaunch.
Yet, this didn’t deter the new owners. Today, DCPS’s brands are available throughout the Caribbean and it has re-employed 50 of the 200 workers laid off when the factory was closed. The DCPS story is one of the local soap artisans equal to the best in the world and the resilience of Dominica and its people.
In question-answer session, the following were the results:
How do they decide on products to make?
The market is a crowded one, with all the international soap brands on regional supermarket shelves, so we have focused on high-quality soaps that last a long time, do not crack, lather richly and moisturise the skin.
Additionally, they try to cater to niche markets that are under-served, such as their Reddy black soap: Reddy mosquito repellent; Reddy 2-in-1 soap and shampoo bar, Real Sensitive Skin soap, which is fragrance and colour free; and Real antibacterial soap with turmeric and tea tree oil.
How much better are natural products for the body?
Soaps can have chemicals that are harmful to the skin over time. Their soaps are free of such chemicals. For example, they rely on coconut oil for lathering rather than chemical enhancers, and they use natural oils for moisturizing rather than petroleum-derived additives.
What about their brand makes it a truly Caribbean product?
Many other bar soap producers import already-made soap in chip form from the Far East, add fragrance and colour and then extrude into bars. DCP’s soap is made from scratch using vegetable oils such as coconut from the region.
They make it the old-fashioned way, a process known as ‘saponification. This method takes 36-48 hours and requires skilled soap boilers who bring the soap mass to completion by using their sense of taste, smell and touch. Dominica, being the home of soap-making in the Caribbean, has, over the years developed a cadre of skilled soap boilers.
How do they give back to the community?
They are working on a soap brand tied to the history of the indigenous Kalinago; proceeds from the sale of which will go to supporting young entrepreneurs from that community.
