Mysore Sandal Soap is a brand of soap made by Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a company owned by the Government of Karnataka in India. This soap has been manufactured since 1916 when Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, the king of Mysore, created the government soap factory in Bangalore. The main motivation for the establishment of the factory were the excessive reserves of sandalwood that the Kingdom of Mysore had that could not be exported to Europe due to World War I. In 1980, KSDL was incorporated as a company by mixing government soap factory with sandal oil factories in Shimoga and Mysore. Mysore Sandal Soap is the only soap in the world made of 100% pure sandalwood oil. KSDL owns a patented Geographical Indication (GI) label on the Mysore sandal soap, which grants you intellectual property rights to use the trademark, to ensure quality and also to prevent piracy and unauthorized use by other manufacturers . In 2006, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian cricket player was selected as the first ambassador of the Mysore sandal soap brand.
In the early 20th century, the kingdom of Mysore in India was one of the largest producers of sandalwood in the world. It was also one of the main exporters of timber, most of which was exported to Europe. During World War I, great reserves of sandal were left because they could not be exported due to the war. In order to make good use of these reserves, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the king of Mysore established the Government soap factory in Bangalore. This factory, which was created in 1916, began to make soaps with the Mysore brand soap with sandalwood oil as the main ingredient. A factory for distilling wood sandalwood oil was installed in Mysore in the same year. In 1944, another sandalwood factory was established in Shimoga. After the unification of Karnataka, these factories came under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka government. In 1980, the Government decided to merge these factories and incorporate them into a company called Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited. Sharabha, a mythological creature that had a lion's body and the head of an elephant, was chosen as the company's logo. This is because the creature represents the combined virtues of wisdom, courage and strength and symbolizes the philosophy of the company. Since then, the company has diversified and manufactures incense sticks, talc and detergents; Apart from the soaps.