Claus Porto

Claus Porto traces to 1887, when German entrepreneurs Georges Schweder and Ferdinand Claus opened a soap and perfume workshop in Porto, Portugal, drawing on local scents and materials. The soaps won gold medals at the Paris and Saint Louis Universal Exhibitions in the years that followed, building an early export reputation. When Schweder and Claus were forced to leave Portugal at the outbreak of World War I, their business partner Achilles de Brito took control of the company and renamed it Claus Porto, the name it carries today. Under de Brito's family, the company has been run across four generations while keeping its original manufacturing method: bars are milled seven times to compress and refine the soap, then set on wooden bread racks to air-dry naturally for two weeks before wrapping. The brand's art-deco-influenced packaging, developed in the early twentieth century, remains part of its identity. Claus Porto operates three retail boutiques today, all in Portugal — its original shop on Rua das Flores in Porto, and two locations in Lisbon on Rua da Misericórdia and Rua do Carmo — alongside international distribution through department stores and specialty retailers. The company continues to produce its soaps, colognes, candles and diffusers using the milling and drying process established in the nineteenth century.