Kerala Soaps  Kerala Soaps is a state-owned soap-manufacturing company in the state of Kerala, India, producing the erstwhile brands, manufactured by Kerala Soaps and Oils Limited. The company was founded in 1914, and reconstituted as a state-owned company in 1963 in the Kozhikode district of Kerala. The company operates as a subsidiary of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Limited. After four decades of operation, the company was locked down in 2002 owing to heavy losses, and in a general atmosphere of state divestment. After remaining closed for eight years, aimed at tapping on the popularity of its legacy brands, operations restarted on 1 January 2010, under a new management. The original company Kerala Soaps and Oils Limited was known for its legacy brands, including Kerala Sandal, a bathing bar made of sandalwood extract harvested from the forest of Kerala.