Displaying Melt & Pour in Public

[Loubou75]

Hi

I have recently started selling my novelty melt and pour soaps at a market stall. I have packaged them all really nice in cello bags with nice ribbons. The feedback that I have had from a friend is that people can't see them properly in the bags. I put a sample of each one out so that people can see them. The feedback was that it would be better if they were all unwrapped. I have seen another seller who sells cupcake soaps and cake slices and they have all of theirs unwrapped.

I thought that melt and pour soaps had to be wrapped to stop the soaps from drying out, glycerine escaping and to stop sweating etc... Also to retain fragrance and for hygiene purposes. I would not want to buy a soap that other people have been handling.

Please can you give me advice about what to do? How does everyone else display/sell their soaps at a market/craft fair? Do you display/sell them wrapped or unwrapped?

I thank you for your responses.

 

[soapbuddy]

I have samples unwrapped, but the rest are wrapped. I don't want some kid's snotty hands to end up on the soap that I'm selling.

 

[Tabitha]

M&P needs to be wrapped. They will get sticky, dust & lint will stick to them, it will be a mess & you will have to throw everything away.

When 'they' tell you it would be better to unwrap them all, tell them in order to maintian the integrity of the product they need to be wrapped.

 

[Loubou75]

I have samples unwrapped, but the rest are wrapped. I don't want some kid's snotty hands to end up on the soap that I'm selling.

Do you have samples for every product or just a few?

 

[Loubou75]

M&P needs to be wrapped. They will get sticky, dust & lint will stick to them, it will be a mess & you will have to throw everything away.

When 'they' tell you it would be better to unwrap them all, tell them in order to maintian the integrity of the product they need to be wrapped.

Yeah I tried to explain but I think they thought I was talking rubbish. I think that people like to criticise things when they aren't doing it themselves.

Do you know a way that I can display them so people can see what they are....some soaps are obvious but things like jelly babies are hidden in the bag. I think most people walk past my stall thinking that I am selling sweets! lol Even though I have a sign that says, 'novelty body and bath treats'....

 

[Fullamoon]

So let them walk on by. I really think people are crazy sometimes. They just want to talk.

 

[Tabitha]

but things like jelly babies are hidden in the bag

I have no clue what this means? jelly baby? bag?

 

[soapbuddy]

I have samples unwrapped, but the rest are wrapped. I don't want some kid's snotty hands to end up on the soap that I'm selling.

Do you have samples for every product or just a few?

Just a few. None of my soaps look like food though.

 

[Loubou75]

but things like jelly babies are hidden in the bag

I have no clue what this means? jelly baby? bag?

Ahhh, sorry I thought that jelly babies were worldwide. They are gummy sweets (candy) that we have here in the UK. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_baby

I was saying that I make the soaps and put them in a cello bag with a ribbon. I guess there are some soaps I could just shrink wrap instead.... Here is a pic of a jelly baby soap. :wink:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/204/1001542o.jpg/

 

[Loubou75]

So let them walk on by. I really think people are crazy sometimes. They just want to talk.

Yes you are right! :wink:

BTW I just had a quick peek at your blog! I saw your posts about water soluble paper. I made some soaps using water soluble paper this weekend. I only used a very very thin layer of clear soap a few millimetres and I also used a laser printer to print the images. I did not get any bleed as I used a laser printer. I did not need to use any hairspray either. I was still able to use alcohol to spray the bubbles and for layering the soap etc. I did not have any problems.

I read on another forum that someone uses waterslide decal paper instead and they said that the image is a lot clearer and stays in the soap for the duration of the bar. I will try that next.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

[Tabitha]

water soluble paper:

I agree, the paper should not be deep i the bar, it should be VERY near the surface. If using an inkjet printer, stick to black & wht images.

 

[Tabitha]

M&P needs to be wrapped. They will get sticky, dust & lint will stick to them, it will be a mess & you will have to throw everything away.

When 'they' tell you it would be better to unwrap them all, tell them in order to maintian the integrity of the product they need to be wrapped.

Yeah I tried to explain but I think they thought I was talking rubbish. I think that people like to criticise things when they aren't doing it themselves.

Do you know a way that I can display them so people can see what they are....some soaps are obvious but things like jelly babies are hidden in the bag. I think most people walk past my stall thinking that I am selling sweets! lol Even though I have a sign that says, 'novelty body and bath treats'....

You could always have photos of the soaps. That way yo9u can display the photo but wrap the soap. You could display the photo of the jely baby & leave the soap wrapped.

 

[Tabitha]

If someone gets snippy about the soap being wrapped, get snippy back "sure, I could leave the soap unwrapped, but then kids with boogger fingers would be touching YOUR soap & you don't want that, do you?"

 

[Loubou75]

M&P needs to be wrapped. They will get sticky, dust & lint will stick to them, it will be a mess & you will have to throw everything away.

When 'they' tell you it would be better to unwrap them all, tell them in order to maintian the integrity of the product they need to be wrapped.

Yeah I tried to explain but I think they thought I was talking rubbish. I think that people like to criticise things when they aren't doing it themselves.

Do you know a way that I can display them so people can see what they are....some soaps are obvious but things like jelly babies are hidden in the bag. I think most people walk past my stall thinking that I am selling sweets! lol Even though I have a sign that says, 'novelty body and bath treats'....

You could always have photos of the soaps. That way yo9u can display the photo but wrap the soap. You could display the photo of the jely baby & leave the soap wrapped.

That's a good idea! I might buy a laminator to laminate the images! Thanks!

 

[TaoJonz]

I don't do too many shows..but I know people like to both see and smell. My soaps are wrapped very tightly by strech wrap...so they are very easy to see. I took a small, silicone mold (for brownie bites) and poured a small sample of each of the fragrances currently featured into the wells. They can handle them all they want, get a good whiff and I'm not compromising the cleanliness of my sale soaps.

 

[llineb]

I don't do too many shows..but I know people like to both see and smell. My soaps are wrapped very tightly by strech wrap...so they are very easy to see. I took a small, silicone mold (for brownie bites) and poured a small sample of each of the fragrances currently featured into the wells. They can handle them all they want, get a good whiff and I'm not compromising the cleanliness of my sale soaps.

I used to wrap mine in stretch tight as well. You can really see the soap through this kind of wrap. You can even take a hairdryer and give it a little heat to take the wrinkles out. Then you can design a cute sticker/label on vistaprint.com and put it underneath to hold the wrap together. You can smell the soap through the stretch tight wrap.

I now use shrink wrap and then put it in a cello bag with a tie. I do this because it is much faster and the soap will last "forever." I found any of the wraps will get loose and baggy after a month. I then put a full size bar wrapped in stretch tight wrap with a bow on top as a sample for people to pick up and smell....I've never had anyone tell me they couldn't see the soap.

Maybe you could wrap the soaps in cello then put the one's with the embeds in the strtch tight wrap.

 

[paillo]

I have samples unwrapped, but the rest are wrapped. I don't want some kid's snotty hands to end up on the soap that I'm selling.

Do you have samples for every product or just a few?

Just a few. None of my soaps look like food though.

omigod, i did a demo today at a local health food store (cp, not m&p), with unwrapped soap ball samples neatly labeled SOAP! SOAP! i had a lemon poppyseed sample, and stupidly had them in cupcake papers. don't eat them! i said to everyone looking at them. well, two women saw what they wanted to see regardless -- little bites of lemon poppyseed cake, and to my horror bit into them. you should have seen the look on their faces, and they both thought it hilarious, but i didn't. AM I GLAD I HAVE INSURANCE!

 

[bjbarrick]

All of my soaps are wrapped in plastic wrap and then put in cellophane bags. I have a gingerbread man mold that I used to make "samples". They are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. What I did was when I poured into my loaf mold, I saved just enough to pour into the gingerbread man mold. What I do is set those little men next to the soaps on display so people can smell them.

 

[renata]

OMG paillo
I just can't believe how people can be stupid sometimes

 

[AKjulz]

Paillo, great (and horrible) story. I have learned over years of doing shows/bazaars that generally speaking, people do NOT read signs. And I don't mean signs with tons if writing. I mean SOAP. How hard is that, AND you were verbally telling them! Haha. Well thank goodness they thought it was funny!

I find personally that cello bags turn me off. I do think it is detracts from the product, you really have to pick it up to see what's in there. IMO you would be better off with the shrink wrap idea, or at the very least having a tester for each design in front of the bags to show off the cute shapes. I don't do mp so not sure if you can leave the tester unwrapped. I do cp in log/loaf molds and use the end cut as my tester, it's about half the thickness of a regular bar.