Teach Soap

Hi All,

I am the Director of Business Development and Marketing for an at-home, hand-crafted soap company that is preparing to launch. My wife makes the soaps. The name of the company is Joyful Soaps LLC. We are in the midst of launching, and plan to have a LIVE website and blog in a few weeks or so. We live in the Pacific Northwest.

I wanted to ask the forum the following few questions from a novice.

Is having two or three sizes of soaps for sale (2.5 ounces, 3.5 ounces, and about 5 ounces) and setting the price points according to quantity proven effective for you in your soap businesses? These soaps have a lot of character and personality, and offering three choices of soap sizes provides a bit more options and allows for fitting different occasions and types of consumers. For instance, family type soaps, individuals, kid soaps, etc. Do most of you tend to sell in two or three or so quantities of soap, and do you set the price points according to weight? We have petite to luxury soaps that cater to different socio-economic customers.

Also, one general question. What suggestions would any of you have for a new hand-crafted, custom soap business starting out, especially in the midst of a very tough economy?

Thank you all in advance very much!

Take care.

Sincerely,


Michael R. Hughes

It depends whether it is CP or MP. MP is easier made in different sizes. With CP you can make bigger bars and cut them smaller, but they cannot be easily remelted to make them larger again. I would research your area and look in shops to see if they carry handmade soap, what is their weight and how much they cost.

Search out local markets, fairs and shows and see what is in your local area. Will you be competing with other soapmakers? I would also suggest reading this thread. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3800

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.