Different Recipes in Soaps for Sale

[ariella42]

We're finally moved into our new place (though still working on a barn for our beasts out back), and I'm ready to make some more soap! My goal is to have some soaps for sale on a small basis by late fall/early winter. I have a few recipes I'm very happy with and that have aged well so far. My question is, do those of you who currently sell use basically one recipe for all of your soaps for consistency or vary the recipes you used based on the particular batch? Of course, I want to keep striving for better recipes, but should I focus on one going forward in terms of selling or keep exploring all of them (some have tallow as a hard oil, some have palm)?

 

[lsg]

I make soap from a variety of recipes--beer soap, coffee soap, aloe cream etc. etc. etc.

 

[ariella42]

Do you have any problems with customer expectations when they buy different bars?

 

[lsg]

Nope, they love the different looks and scents. I think variety catches the eye. I do know that many have what they call a base recipe, but I only sell for fun on etsy and at a few local craft fairs. I am not a big business. I notice that you have a picture of goats as your avatar. If you sell mostly goats milk soap, you could just do variations of that.

 

[JBot]

I make soap from a variety of recipes--beer soap, coffee soap, aloe cream etc. etc. etc.

Are those differences highlighted prominently in your packaging, making it obvious to the customer, or are they more likely to pick up a soap based on appearance or scent and wouldn't know about those differences until they read the ingredients?

I've been wondering about this as I contemplate how many different core recipes I want to offer. Would the differences mentioned on the front of the label be ingredients ("shea butter soap," "avocado oil soap," etc.) or descriptions ("luxury soap," "moisturizing soap," "super-bubbly soap," etc.)? Of course, whatever was emphasized on the front of the label, all of the ingredients would still be listed on the back.

 

[Lion Of Judah]

Nope, they love the different looks and scents. I think variety catches the eye. I do know that many have what they call a base recipe, but I only sell for fun on etsy and at a few local craft fairs. I am not a big business. I notice that you have a picture of goats as your avatar. If you sell mostly goats milk soap, you could just do variations of that.

lsg , do all of your different recipe soap sell for the same price or different prices?? . there are several links online that i've noticed that they use the same recipe for about 40-50 different named soap, just different colorant, scents, and additives.

 

[lsg]

I try to price my soap the same, unless it contains some expensive ingredient requested by a customer. As I said, I am mostly a hobby soap maker. Many people use the same base recipe and just vary it by color, scent or special additive. The fun of soap making for me is trying out different recipes and oil combinations. I list all of my ingredients on the back of the soap packaging. I also try to reflect use of a special ingredient in the name of the soap, such as Aloe/Cream soap or Oatmeal Milk and Honey. I might also include the words "with shea butter" under the soap name. I don't think we can claim a soap is moisturizing unless we want to jump into a cosmetic sellers bracket.

 

[VerdantGrace]

I have four basic soap recipes that I use for my market soaps. I split them into categories like Kitchen soap, Facial soap, body soap, and gardeners soap. My facial soap is a mild bar made with extracts and clays. The only difference between my kitchen bars and body bars is the amount of butters I use, and my kitchen bars have additives like poppy seeds.

I find customers are willing to pay a certain price within a category of soap. I charge a bit more for the gardeners soap line because I use locally sourced beeswax and herbs in it. My kitchen bars, on the other hand, are the cheapest of my bars because they are smaller (3oz).