The next few posts will share some thoughts on packaging soap. There are many different thoughts to consider:
the time it takes to package your soap
the extra expense involved in packaging your soap
the look you want your finished product to have
how will you label your soap
will your packaging withstand shipping in the mail or handling by customers in a store
will your packaging hold up well with time in storage
There are probably other thoughts to consider as well, but these are the main ideas that I will touch base on in the next few posts.
Time is a major factor for packaging for the small entrepreneur. When I first began making soap to sell, I did not realize that packaging my soap would take almost as long as making the soap itself. I had a specific look I was trying to acheive with clear, gusseted, polyethelene bags and ribbons. By the time I put the bar of soap into the bag, twisted the top of the bag so it looked good, cut a piece of ribbon, tied it in a bow, and attached a label on the back side of the wrapper, it took a good half a minute to wrap each bar of soap. I soon discovered that I didn't have enought hours in a day to do this myself. Time is a factor to consider in putting together an idea for packaging.
I have seen other individuals wrap their bars in fabric and then put a label around that. This also seems to be a very time consuming idea. First cut the fabric, then wrap it around the soap so it looks nice, then attach a label around that and either tape or glue it. Besides the time it takes, I also do not like the fact that my beautiful bar of soap is all covered up and it cannot be seen. Part of the joy in creating soap is creating beautiful bars that contain interesting colors or items in the soap.
I have seen just a paper wrapped around the outside of the soap, but I have also seen that paper turn icky in storage or at a craft show that may be outdoors with high humidity. No one wants to buy a nice bar of soap that has a yucky label on it.
I have a friend who used to package her soap, then changed to selling it without packaging. This was ideal, except that she took the time to trim every sharp edge off the bar of soap. This, again, is time consuming. I tried doing that as well, but I really didn't like the fact that I was shaving weight off my bar of soap and the sharp edges became soft themselves with only one or two uses.
So.....what is a good option? Perhaps, depending on your market....try NO packaging and just bag up the soap your customers purchase in a brown paper lunch bag. The benfits would include:
passing a saving on to your customer, or producing a bigger profit margin for yourself.
saving your self a lot of time
being a better steward of resources by not using needless packaging
minimizing how much you have to label. You can put together one brochure that gets included with every purchase that lists ingredients you use and the benefits of your soaps
If you find you MUST use some packaging on your soap -- for instance because you are selling it retail -- it would be a benefit to PAY someone (like a young teenager who is willing to work for peanuts!) to do this for you! This will free you up to be more productive with your own time.
After all....TIME is the ONE thing we all have the same amount of.
Use yours wisely!
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