Creator and founder Malin
I, Malin - founder of Malin i Ratan, grew up in northern Sweden on the countryside, in a family with farmers. The forest was just around the corner, as it is now, and for me it has always been a place for both physical activity and relaxation. Nowadays I live with my husband, two daughters and chickens in the village of Ratan by the Västerbotten coast. We thrive here in nature, on the countryside outside the city, tending the garden, collecting herbs and mushrooms in the forest while enjoying the sea breeze.
The environment, nature and natural sciences have always been close to my heart. Early school projects shaped my desire to learn more about the environment and the sustainability of it. My favorite subjects in high school were chemistry and environmental protection and care, so chosing to study natural science at Umeå University was a given choice.
With my commitment to environmental issues, I chose early not to create a soap with palm oil, although it is a very popular ingredient in soaps and gives a more firm end product. The palm oil industry´s influence on the rainforest inspired me to create a soap recipe with other solid fats and oils, and all the soaps we now manufacture are entirely without both palm oil and animal fat.
In recent years, interest in reducing the amount of chemicals in our daily lives have been the guiding principles in the creation of our products. Organic ingredients and gentle scent or unscented is a given. The features of the soap as a versatile product provide excellent opportunities to reduce chemicals and products in the bathroom cabinet. Sustainability and reducing plastic also becomes a part of it, as a solid soap requires considerably less resources in the form of packaging. A solid soap is always a good environmental choice!
During my time at university, I was told about soap production, and was introduced to the craft behind it. The chemistry interest in me sparked and I tested all possible recipes in the lab, with different scents and herbs that I collected in nature or cultivated myself.
When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I became hypersensitive to perfume fragrances and promised myself never to boil soap again. But - the summer after she was born, I met with two other creators in Ratan which led to us starting our small craft collective with a summer shop by the sea. There and then I got to meet my customers and they told me they were so happy that their skin problems had disappeared because they had started using my handmade soaps for their cleaning. These meetings and their stories were so amazing to me, and they gave me such motivation that I resumed my soap-making. The fact that my customers are so happy and satisfied with the soaps still inspires me to continue.
After my university studies, I worked as an environmental and infrastructure consultant in Umeå, but in parallel with that my creations and my own company have evolved - much thanks to you who read this, together with the other returning customers who enjoy the products we create!
In the spring of 2017, I won a limited company (AB) through the people's vote in competition organized by the Chamber of Commerce in Västerbotten. In 2018 I took the step to fully invest in my company, Malin i Ratan AB. Now, 2019, we are expanding into new premises for warehousing, order management and with a cozy little eco shop. Welcome to Ratan 1.
