Why it belongs in ORBIS
Marseille soap factory operating since 1894 in the Aygalades district, maker of the La Corvette brand of traditional savon de Marseille; opened a public soap museum and factory shop in 2018.
Savonnerie du Midi was founded in Marseille in 1894, one of the city's surviving historical soap manufacturers still using the traditional recipe and process for savon de Marseille. The company originally sold three brands - Aubepine, Aigle Blanc and La Corvette - of which only La Corvette, identifiable by its navy-blue sailing-ship logo, is still produced today. Production moved to its current site in the Aygalades district of Marseille's 15th arrondissement in 1970, on a site whose building dates to 1870 and previously operated as a flour mill and then a semolina factory. In 2018, after two years of renovation work, the company opened its industrial site to the public, adding the Marseille Soap Museum and a factory shop.