The Loofah Patch

loofah / loofa / lufa / luffa  -  Luffa is the botanical name

Natural loofah are a type of gourd grown on a vine and are a member of the cucurbit family where they are grown for eating in many different countries. Many people think loofahs come from the ocean like sea sponges but they are grown on land and are 100% sustainable.

The large marrow looking fruit is very heavy so we use a solid structure to hold them up and make sure they grow nice and straight for our customers. The vines take up a lot of space and at peak growing time you can see the daily growth in the vine, this also means a lot of tying to ensure the tendrils can latch onto the structure. At the end of the season the plant starts to take all the nutrients and moisture back out of the heavy loofah and they start to dry off. When they become light and the skins begin to brown we harvest them. Harvesting can take up to two to three months depending on the autumn season.

We crack the skins open to reveal the network of fibres left behind - this is my favourite part, it's like opening a gift from nature to see the loofah inside. They then go through a lengthy cleaning process using only clean water to remove any fruit pulp and seeds. Once cleaned they are hung to dry in the sun, lucky for us Nelson has good sunshine hours.

We use a variety of seed that is one of the softest loofah available and we  carefully harvest our loofah when they're at their most optimum for fibre strength, softness and that beautiful pure white/creme colour that our loofahs are known for.

About Us

We are a family run business, growing soft natural loofah in Nelson, New Zealand.

Our company name is Toi Toi Innovations Ltd under the brand name The Loofah Patch where we offer botanical themed products for bath, body and home.

We have been growing loofah for the past ten years and selling online and at markets/fairs for five years. Over this time we have developed and tested our products to ensure they have good durability and are of a high standard. We have a good understanding of our customers and know what they like and why and are now offering our best sellers for wholesale.

Our sister business is Toi Toi Botanicals which is why we grow all of our own beautiful ingredients: All the herbs and petals for our salt soaks, infused flowers and herbs for our soap like the manuka, chamomile, dandelion and kawakawa, all the flowers for the petal mixes and all the herbs and flowers for the Facial Steam and Aroma Bags are all grown by us and of course the loofah's. Growing our own ingredients allows us to offer a high quality, vibrant product to you and your customers.

We are a member of the New Zealand Soap Makers Association (NZSMA)

You are welcome to contact me with any questions.

Thanks for reading.

Dianne Dunn

The Loofah Patch

Toi Toi Innovations Ltd