Mad About Nature

Mad About Nature: handmade natural soap from a Leicester family workshop

Mad About Nature is a small family business based in Leicester that makes natural, handmade skincare. The company states that it began in 2006 in the family kitchen, after a daughter's eczema led the family to look more closely at what was being applied to their skin. What started as a response to a family need became a business that still produces its soaps and other products in small batches using traditional methods and carefully chosen ingredients.

The workshop is referred to on the site as The Soap Shack. The brand presents itself as UK-based and says its products are handcrafted in the UK.

Soap made without palm oil, SLS or parabens

The company describes its soap as all natural and packed with natural glycerine. Its formulation rules exclude palm oil, SLS, EDTA, parabens, artificial ingredients and what it calls unnecessary chemicals. The soap is presented as cruelty free and the packaging as plastic free. The site summarises the approach as keeping things simple, with minimal packaging wherever possible, and describes the ingredients as luxurious, skin-loving and ethical. The proposition is that users moisturise as they wash.

Product range: soaps, bath treats, skincare and gifts

The online catalogue is organised into several families of products, each with a stated number of items at the time of writing:

• Handmade Natural Soap: 24 products.
• Gifts Under £15: 20 products.
• Gifts £15–£30: 10 products.
• Gifts Over £30: 3 products.
• Handmade Soap Gift Boxes: 18 products.
• Natural Bath & Pamper Treats: 14 products.
• Hair and Skin Care – Nourish Naturally: 13 products.
• Eco Living: 23 products.
• Handmade Gifts for Men: 3 products.
• Odds & Suds – Soap Off-Cuts Box: 1 product.

Among the bestsellers listed were a Handmade Luxury Soap Selection Gift Box, described as all natural and vegan and vegetarian friendly, priced from £17.00; Winter Warming Bath Salts at £8.95; a Self-Care & Pampering Gift Box containing soap, bath bomb, face mask and moisturiser, from £19.95; a Beautiful Natural Handmade 3 Soap Gift Box, from £8.50; a Handmade Natural Luxury Decorated Soap Gift Box available in seven scents at £6.50; a Hand, Body & Face moisturiser with shea butter, evening primrose oil and jojoba oil at £9.95; a Natural Soap Gift Box of four handmade soaps with botanical decoration, from £11.00; and a Handmade Soap Selection Box with olive wood soap dish and sisal scrub sponge, described as palm free, from £17.95.

Gift boxes and the Odds & Suds box

Gift packaging is a substantial part of the offer: the site lists 18 soap gift boxes and divides gifts by price band. The range includes decorated soaps and sets that combine soap with accessories such as the olive wood dish and sisal sponge. A separate Odds & Suds box groups soap off-cuts, a format the company sells as its own category.

Purchasing, delivery and rewards

Sales run through an online shop priced in pounds sterling. The site advertises free UK delivery on orders over £50 and, at the time of writing, a free Himalayan salt bar on orders of £30 or more. It also operates a rewards programme called Soap Suds Rewards and maintains a wholesale section. Payment methods displayed include American Express, Apple Pay, Diners Club, Discover, Google Pay, Klarna, Maestro, Mastercard, PayPal, Shop Pay, Union Pay and Visa.

Customer feedback and background

The site states that the business is 5-star rated on Trustpilot and displays the label Rated Excellent on Trustpilot. It also publishes individual customer comments, including remarks on the soap being creamy and non-drying for a mature sensitive face, on the gentleness of the moisturiser, on the fragrances and packaging, and on the off-cuts box containing what one buyer described as more or less full bars. These are individual testimonials rather than a general assessment.

The company presents itself as family run since 2006 and continues to make its products in small batches in its Leicester workshop.