Big bubble of lamentation brings Sunlight soap back

By KATHERINE HOBY consumer affairs reporter

New Zealand's longest running soap is making a return due to popular demand.

Fans of adopted Kiwi icon Sunlight Soap showed their support for the distinctive yellow bars after they were withdrawn from sale in January because of low sales.

Sunlight should be back on shelves nationwide now, though this time it will be Australian made.

Unilever Australasia's Amanda Seay says the company received letters and phone calls from fans of Sunlight.

One man rang in saying people were talking about two topics - the war in Iraq and Sunlight, and added, "I don't know which one's more important."

She says many people associate Sunlight soap with childhood - "everyone has a story about it".

The Australian-made bars are a similar shape to the New Zealand version, but have a slightly different colour and fragrance.

The yellow and blue box with red highlighting is the same, as is the imprint of the baby and "so mild so pure" on each bar.

Ms Seay says the soap was originally made in England, but has long been considered a New Zealand icon. "People feel like they own it. We can't think of too many things that have been around that long and it is a pleasure to be able to bring it back."

Herald reader and ardent Sunlight fan Eileen Smith, is thrilled that her favourite product is back on local shelves.

"It's a phoenix arising. It's like the return of an old friend."

She says family enthusiasm for the product has her husband dreaming of owning a racehorse, calling it Sunlight Soap and decking it out in the soap's colours.

In the meantime, she is lathering her way through 42 boxes of Sunlight Soap snapped up in the South Island and from old-fashioned dairies and supermarkets in Auckland when the withdrawal "crisis" hit.