Education, Culture, Art, economy

here’s more to a soap than its suds. Jennifer Goldstein gets cult favorite Claus Porto’s backstory

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People say it’s what’s on the inside that matters most—but it’s hard to deny the power of good packaging. That’s what I was thinking as I strolled the hilly streets of Porto, past buildings wrapped in white tiles with intricate blue, yellow, and orange patterns. This city on Portugal’s northwest coast became the center for production of azulejos, as the tiles are called, in the mid-1800s. It’s also where Ach Brito, a company known for its gorgeously packaged Claus Porto soaps, traces its roots back to 1887. A 19th-century creative coincidence? I’m here to find out.

At Ach Brito’s headquarters, there are stacks of archival albums with handwritten product formulas; sketches for advertisements from the early 1900s; and designs for hundreds, maybe thousands, of cosmetics, soaps, and colognes. Many of the products—like Sea Horse Lavender Water— have come and gone, but examples are preserved in cabinets that line the office walls and a hall leading to the factory where soaps are still produced today.

“A lot of the Portuguese tiles from the late 1800s through the 1920s resemble the wrappers we use for our soaps,” says Claus Porto’s creative director, Anne-Margreet Honing, as we tour the factory with Aquiles de Brito, whose greatgrandfather Achilles de Brito worked at the company starting in 1903 (it was then called Claus & Schweder) and eventually bought it. Brito says he doesn’t know if the labels were specifically designed to mimic the tiles of Porto—and, since the company’s founders were actually
German, his family was never quite sure why they chose Porto for their headquarters. But at this point, it hardly matters; the brand is forever intertwined with the local culture. “Most people in Portugal grow up with our soaps and colognes in their homes,” Brito says with pride.

While Ach Brito makes a few lines that are sold only in Portugal, it’s the Claus Porto soaps and Musgo Real men’s line that have become popular abroad. Soon to become another cult classic: the new Claus Porto scented candles, developed by perfumer Lyn Harris. One of Harris’ favorites is the Deco Encens Eucalyptus candle, which was inspired by the gardens of Porto. ‘All over the country, there are wonderful pine, cypress, and eucalyptus trees—and I used those green and woody notes in the candle’s fragrance,” she says.

The soaps are something special, too. Claus Porto Deco bars are hefty, creamy ovals made with shea butter. And the Musgo Real soap base features walnut oil. “It’s very moisturizing and creates a clean, white formula without the yellow tone of olive oil, which is more typical of soaps made in Provence, France,” explains Harris. “With walnut, the fragrances and oils we add just smell truer, cleaner.”

Unknowingly, she may have hit on the reason the company was founded in Porto more than a century ago—walnut trees are common throughout this region. Then again, maybe the founders simply wanted to enjoy the sun, the sea, and the colorfully patterned facades that line the streets. I know I do. me