Pens and Trumper soap: Same manufacturer?

[Tha Baron]

Fellas-

I recently picked up another Trumpers soap and some of the newly formulated Penhaligons BB soap... When I opened up the packages and took the plastic off the puck, I noticed how similar the plastic wrapping was. They were identical on both pucks. Upon further inspection - I noticed the bottoms of each were virtually identical possibly indicating they are from the same mold. The ingredients list is different for both, but I thought it would be interesting if both brands are made under the same roof.

Take a look...

 

[LU02]

It is possible that both Trumper's and Penhaligon's use similar moulds, indicating (maybe) that it is also in the same plant. How would you compare the performance of the BB with the Coconut?

 

[thirdeye]

Many perfumers do not make their own but rather they have their soaps made at the same manufacturers although their recipes are highly guarded secrets.
Nothing new in the soap world, just not known by many.

 

[Cuttingboard]

I know a lot of the english soaps and some french (joris/plisson) are made at the same manufacturing plant using different formulas as noted above. I was trying to think of the name of the manufacturer but cannot remember. There was a thread about it a while back but I cannot find it...anyone know?

 

[cvac]

I think you'll find a lot of these milled palm based soaps that are made in the UK - probably in the same factory - perform very similarly.

Here is a thread about soap from a UK forum that you might find interesting:

http://www.theshavingroom.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=738

The second page compares the Culmak and T&H soaps with some interesting comments.

 

[Sue]

Havge you ever toured a manufacturing plant (or factory)?

Battle Creek, Michigan - Cereal moving on down the line. Boxes of name brand cereal filled & sealed. When the line stops, then re-starts, the cereal goes in the "plain label" box. Hoping you'll forget what you just saw, you are given a bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with either Sugar Crisp or Sugar Pops before you leave.

Iowa - Can after can of name brand corn in the well-known labeled can. The line stops for a time and when it re-starts you see a new label on the same size can with the same corn. This label has the same name as a well kown grocery store

Cereal and corn aside; Creightons makes several of the well known brands.

I once heard George makes his own products all by himself. He even washes the pots and scrubs the floor at the end of the day.
Sue

 

[SliceOfLife]

That's true in some cases (most, probably)... but not in the case of cheerios. I made the mistake of buying store brand cheerios once.


I swear one of the primary ingredients was gravel. I think I chipped a tooth.

 

[Blue-EyedSon]

This is very interesting. At first, I thought, "If they are made the same plant, then they are the same soap just be branded differently and sold at widely divergent prices. How does Pen's get away with charging much, much more for the same soap with a different scent? The scents can't be that good." And then I saw the portion which said that while different companies may have their soap made at the same plant, they do use different recipes or formulas. After realizing this point, I could potentially see a justification for charging different prices if the product is actually significantly different.

 

[Suzuki]

This is very interesting. At first, I thought, "If they are made the same plant, then they are the same soap just be branded differently and sold at widely divergent prices. How does Pen's get away with charging much, much more for the same soap with a different scent? The scents can't be that good." And then I saw the portion which said that while different companies may have their soap made at the same plant, they do use different recipes or formulas. After realizing this point, I could potentially see a justification for charging different prices if the product is actually significantly different.

My $0.02 FWIW.

I agree that even though products may be made by the same manufacturer at the same plant, its the differences in formulation that are potentially significant, not where the stuff is made.

That being said, different pricing is warranted where there are cost or performance differences.

IMHO, the new Pens is NOT worth the very significant price premium for two main reasons:

1) The initial reports is that the non-tallow formulation is no better than a variety of other all-veggie products that cost considerably less.

2) Pens has cheaped out on the bowl so that it is now middle-of the pack in terms of quality.

The tallow Pens was "worth" the price premium (and even that it a questionable assertion given how much the stuff cost) for two main reasons:

1) It was the only remaining high-end soap that was a tallow first product and it performed.

2) The bowl was absolutely top of class - it screamed luxury and class.

IMHO, there's no reason at all to buy the all-veggie Pens and I think the folks at Pens must think we're all morons if they expect us to pay $70 bucks for a product that, other than scent, is not unique in any way in a very ho-hum bowl.

 

[Ignatius]

Agree with Suzuki, though I wonder if Penhaligans plans on cutting the price of its soaps?

 

[Suzuki]

Agree with Suzuki, though I wonder if Penhaligans plans on cutting the price of its soaps?

This may be the funniest post ever in the soap forum!

In other words, I don't think we should hold our collective breaths.

 

[Tha Baron]

+1... I seriously doubt any readily available soap (i.e. current stock, newest formulation) is really worth north of $70. I managed to pick up the Pens from TESC, which sells for around $50 with bowl due to the MSRP discrepancy between US and UK vendors. Their 15% off discount didn't hurt either.

 

[Tom Ford]

Are those two pucks exactly the same size? From the pics they look identical.

Can the new reformulated Pen's puck fit in a Trumpers bowl? If so, I have a spare Trumpers bowl which I could use a Pens refill puck in and save myself a small fortune.

 

[Tha Baron]

Are those two pucks exactly the same size? From the pics they look identical.

The diameters of the bases are identical... However, the Trumpers soap seems to have a slightly smaller diameter across the top. I'd think it is close enough that they would both fit in each other's bowl. I can try when I get home (currently traveling)... I'll let the thread know.