• Function: Founder & CEO
• Company: Little Soap Company

Emma Heathcote-James is the founder of Little Soap Company, the multi-award-winning British business that pioneered organic and natural soap in UK supermarkets. She launched the company in 2008 after questioning why genuinely natural, non-synthetic soap wasn’t sold on mainstream shelves. What began with hand-made soap at her kitchen table and sales at local farmers’ markets fast grew into one of the UK’s leading ethical toiletries brands. Little Soap Company became the first brand to bring certified organic soap to major UK supermarkets and has since expanded across leading retailers, chemists, and online platforms.

Driven by the belief that the responsibility of all businesses should be to help improve the world, Emma has championed RSPO Sustainable Palm Oil from day one, as well as being on a mission to reduce unnecessary plastic and synthetic ingredients by bringing traditional bar soap back into everyday bathrooms. Today, the company is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the toiletries sector, with four successful brands — Organic, Naturals, Little Beast, and Eco Warrior – all built on the same commitment to sustainability, accessibility, and conscious consumerism.

Under Emma’s leadership, Little Soap Company achieved B Corp certification in 2019, was awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation in 2022 for its Eco Warrior range, and became Carbon Negative the same year. Most recently, the company received a King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainability 2026 in May. Emma herself has received numerous honours, including recognition as one of the UK’s “Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders”, alongside awards for entrepreneurship, scale-up growth, and rural retail innovation. The company’s products have also been widely recognised by organisations including the Beauty Bible Awards, Free From Skincare Awards, Green Parent, Get the Gloss and Mama & Baby Beauty Awards.

Passionate about championing female leadership and entrepreneurship, Emma is committed to inspiring and supporting women across business and society. Outside work, Emma is happiest in the North Cotswolds – walking with her labradors, paddleboarding along the river, or exploring a new creative pursuit, usually with clay or something equally messy involved, but conscious at the same time this was accidentally how Little Soap Company started!