Pricing B&B Products for Packaging

[amd]

I'm delving into making sugar scrubs in my product lineup, so far they are going over great! I have small 4 oz jars, and larger 8 oz jars currently. The feedback I've gotten from customers is that they don't like the smaller jars and would rather have the 8 oz or even a larger option. So I was pricing out some larger jar options and figuring out costs when it occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't be doing the pricing formula that I follow for soaps.

Current method for soaps is cost including packaging x 4 - which is pretty negligible to include packaging costs as shrinkwrap bands and labels only add 2-3 cents per bar at cost.

Current method for sugar scrubs is cost including packaging x4 - which now I'm thinking I shouldn't do as the cost of the jars/lids is more. I'm thinking I should do sugar scrubs cost x4 and then add packaging cost (or maybe packaging cost x2?).

So what do you cool cats who make these types of items do for pricing?

Part of what got me thinking this is that I found some large ball jar (plastic) containers that would be really sharp looking in a gift basket, but they're 3x more expensive than the lidded jars. When I figured out a rough retail price, it was ridiculous. Insert lightbulb moment for how I should be calculating price.

 

[dibbles]

I don't sell, but here are my thoughts. Price it out both ways - product cost x 4 and packaging cost x 2; product cost x 4 and jars at cost with a little slush for increased jar/shipping cost. See where you are in relation to what you are charging now and if your price ends up being in the ballpark for the going price of sugar scrubs in your market area. That might help you decide. Your packaging cost itself doesn't really entail labor other than wiping with alcohol if you do that as opposed to the time it takes to wrap soap. Maybe add some amount for the time to fill the jars, or include that in your labor/time cost for making the scrub. Or maybe packaging x 2 would cover all of those variables. If I'm reading this correctly, you are going to end up with a lower cost/jar, so your customers should be happy and you might attract some new ones. If you want to keep the 4 ounce jar size use it as a 'trial size'.

Are you talking about the bail top jars? I agree that they are perfect in terms of looks for something like a sugar scrub. But they are so pricey I haven't ever bought them (except once for a gift of bath salts) - and I'm not trying to make a profit.

Am I helping you overthink this?

 

[amd]

Am I helping you overthink this?

You know it!

Just remembered I was at a local grocer a few weeks ago, they have an incredibly overpriced "handcrafted"* B&B stand. They have emulsified sugar scrubs in large ball jars (guessing 16 oz, I don't remember) for $35!! Nothing fancy in the ingredients, a very basic oil/emulsifier mix, certainly nothing worth $35 - which makes me wonder their pricing scheme as well. I'd be curious to find out how much sells around here at $35 a pop...

* "handcrafted" in quotations as I think the brand is national/regional. Not a small batch operation, which is usually how I define handcrafted. They have bath bombs, bath salts, sugar scrubs and m&p soap - which is actually kind of cool because they have some fun designs and it seems to be a quality m&p.

 

[dibbles]

They have emulsified sugar scrubs in large ball jars (guessing 16 oz, I don't remember) for $35!! Nothing fancy in the ingredients, a very basic oil/emulsifier mix, certainly nothing worth $35 - which makes me wonder their pricing scheme as well. I'd be curious to find out how much sells around here at $35 a pop...

I'm sure not their target customer!

 

[MGM]

I know that packaging often sells, but occasionally I think we should say to people, "Listen, this will cost you half the price if I just put it into a Ziploc for you and you transfer it to your pretty jar at home." The number of those pretty jars that end up in recycling--or worse, the garbage!--is probably pretty high....
(Then if you think how much the glass weighs, when it comes to shipping it! Aiieee!)

 

[soapmaker]

I know that packaging often sells, but occasionally I think we should say to people, "Listen, this will cost you half the price if I just put it into a Ziploc for you and you transfer it to your pretty jar at home." The number of those pretty jars that end up in recycling--or worse, the garbage!--is probably pretty high....
(Then if you think how much the glass weighs, when it comes to shipping it! Aiieee!)

Yes! You could do some both ways but sell the ziplocs for "bulk" or "refills."

 

[dibbles]

I know that packaging often sells, but occasionally I think we should say to people, "Listen, this will cost you half the price if I just put it into a Ziploc for you and you transfer it to your pretty jar at home." The number of those pretty jars that end up in recycling--or worse, the garbage!--is probably pretty high....
(Then if you think how much the glass weighs, when it comes to shipping it! Aiieee!)

True, but I think a ziplock bag would be more likely to end up in the trash than a jar. I'm really looking for ways to reduce single use plastics.

 

[jcandleattic]

A ziplock wouldn't work for my target market, and also I would rather give off a look of professionalism than something that was just thrown together. (JMO of course)
Almost everything I sell is shrink wrapped, except my lotions. I don't think my costing would help though. I don't have my cost calculation spreadsheet here with me at work, so I don't know exactly how I do my pricing, but I believe because the tubs I get are nominally priced (less than $1 per tube) I'm able to do my normal calculations.

 

[Cellador]

Personally, I wouldn't want a glass container for the shower/bath. They look nice, but I would hate to think of the mess if it slipped from your hands or slid to the floor.
And, I'm not selling yet but when it comes to my pricing model, I take all per unit costs into account and multiply by 3 or 4.
EDIT- Sorry...I see now you mentioned plastic jars but the ziplock vs jar threw me off-topic. Lol

 

[MGM]

Oh of course Ziploc would end up in the trash, but it takes much less resources to make/ship/recycle. I'm all for ppl reusing containers but I know there's a limit to how much ppl can do with dozens of jars.
I totally agree re professionalism;just wish it wasn't so resource - intensive.

 

[amd]

Yeah, the Ziploc baggie refill idea isn't in my original question. My question was not about how to package, but how to price my packaging.

So, so far I have two votes for including the pkg in the at cost that gets marked up for retail. One vote for factoring separately.

 

[cerelife]

I vote for factoring separately.
I'm a firm believer in branding and nice packaging to create a cohesive product line. But to me it's not fair to charge the customer 4x the cost of my packaging - particularly if it costs over $1.

 

[Lin19687]

I would add in the cost of jar AFTER you figure your price.

Can;t help on how you figure cost

 

[shunt2011]

I too vote separately. It's hard to find the fine line of what customers will pay. I started with 4 oz and 8 oz jars and found that the 4 oz didn't sell as well as the 8 oz. which actually holds 10 oz if I don't whip it.

 

[msunnerstood]

I'm delving into making sugar scrubs in my product lineup, so far they are going over great! I have small 4 oz jars, and larger 8 oz jars currently. The feedback I've gotten from customers is that they don't like the smaller jars and would rather have the 8 oz or even a larger option. So I was pricing out some larger jar options and figuring out costs when it occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't be doing the pricing formula that I follow for soaps.

Current method for soaps is cost including packaging x 4 - which is pretty negligible to include packaging costs as shrinkwrap bands and labels only add 2-3 cents per bar at cost.

Current method for sugar scrubs is cost including packaging x4 - which now I'm thinking I shouldn't do as the cost of the jars/lids is more. I'm thinking I should do sugar scrubs cost x4 and then add packaging cost (or maybe packaging cost x2?).

So what do you cool cats who make these types of items do for pricing?

Part of what got me thinking this is that I found some large ball jar (plastic) containers that would be really sharp looking in a gift basket, but they're 3x more expensive than the lidded jars. When I figured out a rough retail price, it was ridiculous. Insert lightbulb moment for how I should be calculating price.

Michaels has some nice looking 8 ounce jars. I think I got 6 for 5.00 The 4 ounce size is 10 for 5.00

 

[amd]

I have jars sourced. I'm just wondering about retail pricing.

 

[Lin19687]

@amd well, maybe you should just make some and send it my way and I will let you know .


hahhaa