Wedding 👰🏾‍♀️ Soaps ❤️🌺🌹

[Cal43]

I’ve being commissioned to make 80 heart shaped soaps for a wedding in may. Seeing that they will not be a full size bar, I want to know if 2.00 or 2.50 is a good price for each soap. I want to also put them in little bags.

In addition, I want to make a rice soap, I just want something nice and silky with lots of lather. Something that would provide more sales in the future.
What do you think? I need some suggestions.

 

[amd]

What is your cost of goods (COG) to make the soaps? Can you pour all 80 at once or do you need to make multiple batches? I would take at least COG x 3 - make sure you count the little bag as part of your COG.

I would be cautious about looking at this as a marketing opportunity. I just picked up a wedding favor order and the bride wants no marketing/contact/etc. info on the labels. She really wants it to be a gift to her wedding attendees. She said if anyone wants to know who made them, she'll tell them. I don't have a problem with this as we are mutually supportive of each other's businesses (more than likely any of her FB friends will know it was me because she shares a lot of my biz posts). Please do be aware of what your bride wants on her wedding favors. If she has no problem, then wonderful!

 

[Cal43]

What is your cost of goods (COG) to make the soaps? Can you pour all 80 at once or do you need to make multiple batches? I would take at least COG x 3 - make sure you count the little bag as part of your COG.

I would be cautious about looking at this as a marketing opportunity. I just picked up a wedding favor order and the bride wants no marketing/contact/etc. info on the labels. She really wants it to be a gift to her wedding attendees. She said if anyone wants to know who made them, she'll tell them. I don't have a problem with this as we are mutually supportive of each other's businesses (more than likely any of her FB friends will know it was me because she shares a lot of my biz posts). Please do be aware of what your bride wants on her wedding favors. If she has no problem, then wonderful!

Thanks for the information. As far as marketing, just want to provide soap on a small scale. Nothing grand.

 

[amd]

I think you're misunderstanding the term "marketing". Any time you use something to create a repeat customer (or awareness of your biz, how to find you, what you do) it's called marketing. So yes, if your expectation is to create a wedding favor that may provide more sales in the future... that's marketing. You would be labeling so that they know who you are and where to find more.

 

[KimW]

What is your cost of goods (COG) to make the soaps? Can you pour all 80 at once or do you need to make multiple batches? I would take at least COG x 3 - make sure you count the little bag as part of your COG.

I would be cautious about looking at this as a marketing opportunity. I just picked up a wedding favor order and the bride wants no marketing/contact/etc. info on the labels. She really wants it to be a gift to her wedding attendees. She said if anyone wants to know who made them, she'll tell them. I don't have a problem with this as we are mutually supportive of each other's businesses (more than likely any of her FB friends will know it was me because she shares a lot of my biz posts). Please do be aware of what your bride wants on her wedding favors. If she has no problem, then wonderful!

Good point, amd! I'd have never thought about a bride possibly not wanting any branding on soaps, but I can now totally see how that would/could be typical. I know I would probably not want any branding, or at least very minimal inconspicuous branding if the soap were not made by a close friend who was known to all. Wow - the things I learn on this forum!

 

[AliOop]

@Cal43 You could make an inexpensive but nice soap with 50% lard, 20% coconut oil, 20% rice brain oil, and 5% each of shea and castor. Add sugar to boost the bubbles, and add a pinch silk fibers (if you already have that on hand) to your lye solution.

For the wrapping, I've used white organza drawstring bags, like these from Amazon. They are also available in many other colors if she doesn't want white. The bride can attach whatever tag she wants to the bag, perhaps something that has their names and the date of their wedding, or a picture of the couple, etc. I would definitely leave those to the bride to design and add to the bag, unless she is paying more than the suggested price.

 

[Babyshoes]

Hmm, I probably wouldn't make soap with lard if it's not going to be labelled with ingredients, I suspect vegans might take offence...

 

[AliOop]

Hmm, I probably wouldn't make soap with lard if it's not going to be labelled with ingredients, I suspect vegans might take offence...

That is true. But the request was for an inexpensive bar. It's hard to find an inexpensive vegan soaping oil that also makes nice soap when it is the majority of the oils.

Palm is probably the closest but is a lot more expensive for most of us than lard, and also brings its own objectors.

Some folks (not me) can get inexpensive soy wax... but soy is a big allergen for many folks, too. I personally don't use soy products due to health issues.

No perfect answer to this one, so all we can do is provide options to the OP and let her work with the bride to find the best one for this particular situation.

 

[Babyshoes]

Agreed, I think I missed the bit about inexpensive!

I guess as long as the bride agrees, it's pretty much up to her then to let any vegans amongst the guests know that the soap contains animal products.

 

[Cal43]

I think you're misunderstanding the term "marketing". Any time you use something to create a repeat customer (or awareness of your biz, how to find you, what you do) it's called marketing. So yes, if your expectation is to create a wedding favor that may provide more sales in the future... that's marketing. You would be labeling so that they know who you are and where to find more.

I do get what you are saying. But with this wedding favor, it may not be labeled. I’ll have to wait to see how the bride wants it done. I may indicate ingredients and type, but not a logo to promote myself as a soap maker.

Yes

@Cal43 You could make an inexpensive but nice soap with 50% lard, 20% coconut oil, 20% rice brain oil, and 5% each of shea and castor. Add sugar to boost the bubbles, and add a pinch silk fibers (if you already have that on hand) to your lye solution.

For the wrapping, I've used white organza drawstring bags, like these from Amazon. They are also available in many other colors if she doesn't want white. The bride can attach whatever tag she wants to the bag, perhaps something that has their names and the date of their wedding, or a picture of the couple, etc. I would definitely leave those to the bride to design and add to the bag, unless she is paying more than the suggested price.

Yes , this sounds great. I was definitely thinking along the line of the organizer bag. I would have to replace the lard, I’m Vegan . Also I don’t think I’ve ever rested my eyes on rice bran oil. I’ll have to search it out. Thank You

I

That is true. But the request was for an inexpensive bar. It's hard to find an inexpensive vegan soaping oil that also makes nice soap when it is the majority of the oils.

Palm is probably the closest but is a lot more expensive for most of us than lard, and also brings its own objectors.

Some folks (not me) can get inexpensive soy wax... but soy is a big allergen for many folks, too. I personally don't use soy products due to health issues.

No perfect answer to this one, so all we can do is provide options to the OP and let her work with the bride to find the best one for this particular situation.

will definitely have to question the Bride a bit more to see if she wants any thing in particular.

 

[AliOop]

You might find rice bran oil at a local restaurant supply store, if there is one near you. If you are in a more rural area, sometimes it can be found at Tractor Supply or other feed-store type of places in the horse feed area. Hardware stores used to have it in the fry oil area, but I haven't seen that for a long time - it's usually peanut oil now.

 

[Cal43]

O

You might find rice bran oil at a local restaurant supply store, if there is one near you. If you are in a more rural area, sometimes it can be found at Tractor Supply or other feed-store type of places in the horse feed area. Hardware stores used to have it in the fry oil area, but I haven't seen that for a long time - it's usually peanut oil now.

Oooh, thank you. Rural for me is an understatement. I’ll try tractor supplies.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

To determine the profit margin on each bar, you first have to determine the hard cost of making a bar.

As soon as my shipments arrive, I make notes on the shipping label to determine the cost + shipping for each item. I then divide that by the number of ounces or grams to get the cost per oz./gram for each item.
I write that on the order AND on the container of each item.

Then I make a list of ingredients in the recipe and the amount of each used X cost. Example:
Coconut Oil >>> 20 oz. X 13¢ per oz. = $2.60
Add up all the costs per item to get the cost per batch.
Divide the cost per batch by the number of bars in the batch to get the hard cost of each bar.

Then I use a simple formula I learned in retail sales to determine the cost per bar:

Cost to make: $1.50 (for example)
Wholesale cost is 2.5 X $1.50 = $3.75 minus $1.50 cost to make = $2.25 profit
Retail cost is 3.5 X $1.50 = $5.25 minus $1.50 cost to make = $3.75 profit

I do not charge extra for containers and packaging. I just add on the actual cost.
$3.75 + $1.25 packaging = $5.00 per bar.

 

[Cal43]

Tha

To determine the profit margin on each bar, you first have to determine the hard cost of making a bar.

As soon as my shipments arrive, I make notes on the shipping label to determine the cost + shipping for each item. I then divide that by the number of ounces or grams to get the cost per oz./gram for each item.
I write that on the order AND on the container of each item.

Then I make a list of ingredients in the recipe and the amount of each used X cost. Example:
Coconut Oil >>> 20 oz. X 13¢ per oz. = $2.60
Add up all the costs per item to get the cost per batch.
Divide the cost per batch by the number of bars in the batch to get the hard cost of each bar.

Then I use a simple formula I learned in retail sales to determine the cost per bar:

Cost to make: $1.50 (for example)
Wholesale cost is 2.5 X $1.50 = $3.75 minus $1.50 cost to make = $2.25 profit
Retail cost is 3.5 X $1.50 = $5.25 minus $1.50 cost to make = $3.75 profit

I do not charge extra for containers and packaging. I just add on the actual cost.
$3.75 + $1.25 packaging = $5.00 per bar.

Thank you, this is very helpful

 

[Jersey Girl]

Riceland foods is in Alabama and sells Rice Bran Oil. Shipping should be very reasonable to you. I love using it and bought the 6 gallon case for $45. Shipping to NJ was $20. It worked out to less than $11 a gallon! You probably don’t want that much, but you should check them out! They also sell on Amazon and I think it’s $18 a gallon shipped if you have Prime.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

When I bought a gallon (7.4 lbs) of RBO at Riceland Foods they included four 1-lb. bags of rice for free!

 

[Jersey Girl]

When I bought a gallon (7.4 lbs) of RBO at Riceland Foods they included four 1-lb. bags of rice for free!

Well that must have been a nice surprise!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Well that must have been a nice surprise!

Oops! I misspoke! They were 4 oz. bags which equaled a pound. My bad.
Since I don't eat rice any more, I poured them into a wide-mouth jar that I use to hold containers like WSP Malibu Tottles while filling. That's a tip I learned on this forum.