Cambro products are designed for foodservice applications, but companies of all kinds turn to us for solutions to their unique problems. Carolyn Penrose, owner of Carma Soap Co. in Ontario, Canada, started her company as a fun hobby. To her surprise, her business grew quickly and the bakers racks she was using to cure her bars of soap weren’t big enough to keep up with demand.

She looked for traditional soapmaker’s equipment, but everything she found was only available in the United States.

“When there is nothing ‘specialized’ for soapmakers available in Canada, we make use of what is available – who knew that dish racks could be repurposed to cure soap?!” said Penrose.

As luck would have it, Penrose is friends with Ron Henry, the owner of R. Henry & Associates, which represents Cambro in Ontario, Canada. Henry suggested Camracks might work and brought her two units to try out. 

“Two turned into 100. The Camracks are perfect because with cold process soap, it needs to ‘cure’, so there has to be air circulation under and around the bars.” said Penrose. “These racks are perfect for that because of the open grid pattern on the bottom.”

To make her soaps, Penrose combines all of her ingredients together, pours the mixture into a mold and lets it solidify for 24 hours. Afterward, she cuts the slabs into bars and puts them into the Camracks to cure for four to six weeks. The only modification Penrose had to make to her Camracks was to add holes to increase air circulation.

“One rack fits 50 bars perfectly, it’s easy to keep track of inventory at a glance when they hold an even number of bars and they don’t take up a lot of space,” said Penrose.

Saving space is extremely important for Penrose, who operates her burgeoning business out of her home. She sells her soap in multiple retail locations and through private label clients, one of which orders up to 8,000 bars of soap each month alone.

“This is my passion, I love it,” said Penrose.

To ensure none of her soap goes to waste, Penrose regularly donates the ends of her soap logs to organizations like animal rescues where they absorb 100 percent of the sales.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIANA DESIDERIO IS THE DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER AT CAMBRO.