Fragrances aren’t patentable. The best fragrance powerhouses sell the same notes to every brand willing to pay for them. Most luxury soap costs a few dollars to make. The rest is marketing and markup. AEP makes the version with the same ingredients as luxury brands. The difference is the pouches and the price.

What we cut What we kept Result
The 4-5x retail markup for branding and middlemen Same ingredients luxury brands use. Same fragrance houses. Up to 80% less per refill
Single use plastic bottles Refillable bottle you buy once and keep forever. 9g plastic instead of 60+g used per refill
Marketing that calls soap a "journey" A pouch that smells just as good Everyday scents that don't feel wasteful
Set of body and hand soap products including a pouch and bottles on a neutral background

Packaged responsibly

We intentionally chose laminated paper pouch packaging over a single use bottle - each pouch can refill a standard bottle up to multiple times, cutting plastic use by about 80% per refill.

AEP started because I loved premium quality scents but not the brand markup. After learning fragrances aren’t patentable and only cost a few dollars to make, I decided to make the honest version. Same ingredients. Same scent profile. Same type of facilities. Fair prices.

Four natural elements (sandalwood, patchouli, bergamot, vetiver) arranged on a light background with 'terra' branding.

Same scent, different price.

Take Terra Hand Soap: Vetiver, bergamot, petitgrain, sandalwood — the same woody, smoky profile as Aesop Reverence. We make it in California for 44% less.

Price comparison

$25
AEP SCENT
$45
LUXURY* RETAILER

*Costs comparison to traditional retailer is an approximation based on our latest info. The actual costs may vary and do not represent one-to-one costs of any specific third party.

Made in Southern California in the same type of facilities that make the brands you know.

Terra hand soap packaging on a natural wood background

Shop Sustainably

Start with Terra
mandarin zest pouch next to a crisp fresh mandarin laid on top of 2 pieces of decor rock. clean background with palm tree shadow