can i get some thoughts!

[FatBabySoap]

Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and fairly new to soaping. When my daughter was born she had (and still has) insanely sensitive skin so I got into soaping so I could make her various products and I'm about to make the leap to selling and wondered if I could get some views on my designs and maybe some words of encouragement! I'm not a naturally confident person and could do with hearing about some successes big or small xx

 

[artemis]

Visually, your designs look great.

How long have you been soaping? Most people here that sell waited at least a year to perfect their soaping recipes and habits and to be sure they know how the soap will behave over time.

Here is a thread from the business forum that is about being prepared to sell. If you have all of your preparations in place, reading it will help you feel more confident.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/are-you-ready-to-sell-your-soap.16002/

 

[FatBabySoap]

Thanks for the kind words, I've been casually soaping for about a year but I've recently completed my masters in chemistry which included pharmacy and surfactants so I'm familiar with the sciency side more than the arty and business bits.

I'm happy with my recipe so far and I think I've took the right steps considering I've stumbled into trying to make a side business haha

 

[Vickyn]

Hey there. I soap as a hobby and I'm a newbie to making but my day job is building retail businesses, so I'm quite excited that I can finally say something with experience.

My main suggestion is to remember that you are selling to parents and adults, but the babies are the ones using it, so the soap has to work for baby skin, but the marketing has to appeal to parents. So I have 2 suggestions from a purely marketing and sales point of view.

• The designs look lovely, but maybe consider some brighter colours which stimulate alertness in babies.
• Also you may find you will have a better response from parents if sharp edges are removed. The star is lovely, but I'm not sure how comfortable parents will be. This goes for the edges of the soap itself too.

These comments are quite generic however. You really need to drill down into your specific customers and be consistent in your design, marketing and core values of your customer.
If you want to do more research look up 'customer profile' online. You'll find loads of stuff. Good luck with selling.

 

[LilyJo]

Not sure if thats a lemon embed on the top of one but if it is you might need to check out the food imitation regs as well as the cosmetic assessment requirements.

It's not an easy business these days and a very crowded one so don't expect huge sales to start with.

Good luck!

 

[Susie]

It is going to be a really tough time to start selling soap. The economy is down, and so are sales of anything considered "luxury".

I would think about 12 times before I marketed any soap for babies or small children. One bad reaction, and they are going to sue. Also, be sure to not claim ANYTHING other than that the soap will clean. No "for sensitive skin" even. The FDA takes a dim view of any medical claims.

I got into soapmaking because of eczema. And what I tell people I talk to about using my soap for someone with eczema is that it isn't anything special to my soap, it is just getting away from the detergents in commercial soap. And that I test my soap on myself and my family before sharing it out to others, but their allergies could be very different from ours. So, the ingredients are listed on the wrapper, and save that in case they have a reaction. That way, no one can claim I made any sort of claim of a "cure". When I make more soap, I am going to print that on a label for the back of the bar rather than just verbally telling someone.

 

[FatBabySoap]

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice.

 

[jcandleattic]

The FDA takes a dim view of any medical claims.

Looks like the OP is from the UK, maybe? So FDA regulations wouldn't matter much to her, however, @FatBabySoap if you are indeed from the UK, you may need to look into what needs to be done before selling. I think you need to register your recipe in order to get a license to sell, and can't change your recipe without re-registering the new one. ?

I'm in the USA so this is all heresay on my part as I don't really know what you need to do, just what I've heard others from the UK state they have had to do to start selling.

 

[LilyJo]

Yep @jcandleattic is correct. In the uk your recipe needs to approved by a cosmetic safety assessor before you can sell and any changes to said recipe would mean the recipe should be reassessed.

All of which has to be done before a product is offered for sale.

 

[jcandleattic]

Thanks @LilyJo
Could very well be she is from here in the States too, as we have a few city's named Manchester, but without a State acronym behind it, I just guessed, which I probably shouldn't have done.

I do think @FatBabySoap 's soaps are LOVELY, and in the right market could sell quite well.

 

[Megan]

One thing, when taking product photos, be mindful. I see two hairs on the cupcake soap, and personally it is a huge turn off to see things like that in product photos. The soaps are otherwise nice.

 

[cmzaha]

The last few years have been very hard for selling soap and with the situation now it would be almost impossible to start up a new soap business.

Your soaps are beautiful, but I found fancy high top soaps never sold for me. A few would sell during the holidays. My daughter could sell her fancy m&p online through her website for our first 5 yrs of business with daily online promoting then sales starting decreasing yearly with the DIY sites and competition. She blamed most of the decrease with DIY and ended up out of business.

 

[DeeAnna]

It looks like there are an unusually large number of air bubbles in your soap and/or possibly stearic spots (white spots that aren't air bubbles). I know these are esthetic issues only, but if you want to up your artistic game, it might be good to look into why you're getting this problem and try to minimize it. The bubbles and spots especially detract from the look of the darker colored areas of your soap.

My favorite designs are the "beachy" blue and white soap with the star and the unicorn themed soap.

The purple and black and the white and black soaps have a nice amount of swirly motion going on, which is good. I think the purple/black one is rather dark overall and I find myself wondering if it would be nicer with an accent in a lighter color. Both of these designs are going to appeal more to adults buying for themselves than parents buying for their kids.

The green and white design is rather static -- I'm sure it's fine soap, just not especially lively and interesting. (I'm pointing fingers back at myself here -- I've done plenty of this myself.)

Cupcake soaps are visually cute, but I'm not too sure how functional they are in the shower. Maybe your clientele are fine with them -- I'm just speaking for myself on this one. Other than the shape, I like the color scheme of the cupcake soap.

 

[AliOop]

I agree with DeeAnna that the soaps are pretty, but unlikely to appeal to parents who are buying soap for babies or small children, if that's your market. It wasn't clear to me whether you were aiming towards sensitive skin people in general, or just the younger ones.

IMO, parents buying soap for small children will want smaller soaps that fit easily into the hand. Cupcakes, bars with outside embeds or embellishments, and larger bars would make it very difficult to bathe a small child in a tub. If that is your market, I'd consider using smaller cavity molds. For visual interest, you could still add embeds in the center of those (not sticking out at all), or do ITP swirls before pouring into the cavities.

 

[LilianNoir]

The soaps are pretty, but as others have pointed out, I think a bit more R&D into your market as well as the needs of selling in general will help. I noticed that hair, but also soda ash for example. Your pictures are staged well, but those smaller touches will make all the difference.

 

[shunt2011]

The soaps are pretty, but as others have pointed out, I think a bit more R&D into your market as well as the needs of selling in general will help. I noticed that hair, but also soda ash for example. Your pictures are staged well, but those smaller touches will make all the difference.

I personally don't worry about soda ash. I have one soap that gets it every time. I just let it be. Never had a problem with selling it.

 

[jcandleattic]

I agree with Shunt ash has not been a problem with the very few times I've gotten it

And as someone pointed out it will depend on your target market what will sell.
Me? I cannot GIVE away a plain soap with just 1 color or no color, or no color no scent. They literally ALWAYS get passed over.
My market will go for the brightly colored, scented, embed embellished, fancy soaps every time. I've tried selling the others, and they will eventually sell if I keep them and take them to every show for a couple years, so I just don't bother anymore.


ETA: When I make/offer cupcake soaps, they sell out first almost every time as well...So there is a market for them. Whether that's your market will depend.

 

[LilianNoir]

it will depend on your target market what will sell.

That was really part of my point. It may not bother some people, but others may see it as a less professional product, or something wrong with the soap.
All depends on your audience/market and as a new seller who already has a lot working against them, it's worth it to pay attention to the small details that can help your product to shine.