Overview

As a pilot phase, Arghand introduced its soaps to the domestic market in 2013, convincing supermarkets in Kabul to display the products. At the same time, a few TV channels picked up on Arghand’s story and run reports about the quality of soaps that were manufactured in this small company in Kandahar city, convincing their viewers to prioritize domestically manufactured goods. It was a proud moment, not only because it served as a wonderful marketing tool for Arghand but also because producing a product with such high-quality that one could not think Afghanistan was capable of aroused incredible feelings.

Today, the demand in local market is so high that Arghand cannot meet and it had to stop exporting to the international markets. It also ceased the production of other products because it could simply not manage it. Now, Arghand soaps are on display major supermarkets in Kandahar, Kabul and Balk province. According to feedback received from customers, once they use the soaps, they purchase them over and over again, and send them to their friends living abroad as gifts. Visitors who know about it take the soaps with them to their home countries.

Given the demand for its products, Arghand plans to expand its production level of soaps and relaunch its other products. They will include lotion, hand & face creams, lip balms and body oils, all made out of indigenous botanicals, nuts, plants and seeds. Like the soaps, other products will also be of high-quality and all-natural. With a successful expansion, Arghand hopes to create more jobs, meet demand for soaps throughout the country, introduce the new line of production to its customers and export the products to foreign markets. This means more jobs, more money being pumped into the economy and happier customers, all in the face of so many crises in the country.

Mission

Arghand’s mission is to contribute to the economic development of Afghanistan by producing high-quality skin-care products from licit local agricultural ingredients, thus also competing with the opium industry by expanding the market for other crops. Secondly, our mission is to develop an industry model in which decision-making is collective and women are fully integrated into production and management processes.