How Do I Sell My Homemade Soap?

There is a question every new soap entrepreneur must answer early in their business…

How do I sell my homemade soap? The best way is to focus on opening a single sales channel such as shows, pop-up shops, or an online store.

Then you can expand into other venues.

Top options include: Retail, Online, Shows and Events, and Wholesale. First let’s take a quick look at what each has to offer. Then we can get into the deeper details of each.

Retail Soap Sales

Selling your homemade soap through a retail channel can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to get your soap on the market quickly and efficiently. We will look at several options to help you get you started in this area. But there are different levels of retail and you may need to start at the bottom.

Spoiler Alert: Not long after starting at the bottom – you can jump to the VERY TOP! Scroll to the end of this article if you are like me and want to eat dessert first 😉

Online Soap Sales

Thanks to online venues such as etsy.com, setting up an online store has never been easier. Etsy, however, is not the only game in town. In fact, there is another post on this site that get’s into detail on how to setup shops and sell through nine of the best online venues in the world.

The basics will be covered below. However, if selling online is your goal it is worth it to get the full story here – Top 9 Places to Sell Homemade Soap Online

Shows and Events

Craft shows and other in person pop up sales events are a great way to raise quick capital along with priceless in-person, feedback from your customers. We will explore how to maximize the potential of these opportunities.

Wholesale Soap Sales

Most people have visions of giant assembly lines and factories with huge warehouses when they think of wholesale. That does not need to be the case. You can begin selling your soap wholesale right away if you’d like, with no more storage needs than a small broom closet.

Dispelling the Myth of Casting a Wide Net

I am amazed and saddened every year to hear about would be soap business entrepreneurs who called it quits because of an overwhelming myth. The myth is that you must cast a wide net and open as many sales channels as possible, as quickly as you can.

This is absolutely not true. In fact, splitting your focus can be the quickest way to end your fledgling business.

Myth Busted!

You only need to have one sales channel. You can always add more IF you choose to. In fact, once you have one channel open, it is far easier to expand into other areas.

Tip: Expansion of your business into other sales outlets is a sign of stability and success to your customers. Brag about it! Announce the expansion – and details – through your current sales channel(s).

As a customer, how would you feel about seeing tis message? Turn

“We’re Expanding! Thank you all so much for helping us grow and improve our business. You can now find our full catalog of luxury homemade soaps at xyz.com.”

Don’t Get Stuck

I have seen in multiple people suffer from “analysis paralysis” while trying to decide where to begin. It can be overwhelming. The good news is, you do not have to invest much, or any money to open a sales channel. All you are really investing is some time.

This can be as simple as deciding that you will get a table a small local craft show. It could also be as complex as choosing to build a giant merchant website where you will immediately stock dozens or even hundreds of products. This is completely up to you. I will however provide some advice based upon experience.

In my experience, it is best to not overthink this. Following are two super quick and easy sales channels for soap. There are many more. These are just to help provide quick information so you can begin selling as quickly as possible.

Soaper’s Insurance

Before you start selling to anyone through any sales venue you need to have adequate insurance. Start by calling your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance agent. If they cannot help you, there are a few companies I know of that specialize in providing insurance for craftspeople, including soap makers (soapers).

Handmade Insurance:

I have a $1M policy through Handmade Insurance. It costs $285 per year and has a self-service portal for adding insured. The whole policy took only 20 minutes to setup online and I had proof of insurance a few minutes later.

Link: https://www.handmadeinsurance.com/

RLI / Lindbergh Insurance Group

RLI specializes in insuring home-based businesses. This comes with allowable annual gross sales limits of $7,500 year one and $10,000 after. This could be a nice affordable way to get insured inexpensively. Their policy coverage starts at $300K and has several levels to meet most needs…

• $300k Coverage @ Annual Cost: $159
• $500k Coverage @ Annual Cost: $184
• $1m Coverage @ Annual Cost: $219

Link: https://www.rlicorp.com/home-business-insurance-coverage

Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetics Guild

You can also get different levels of soaper’s insurance through membership with the HSCG. In addition to (optional) insurance costs there are mandatory dues. HSCG is a non-profit organization that works to help the soaping community and you get a lot for your investment. They are also the only US-based certification authority for soap makers.

Link: https://www.soapguild.org/insurance/

Regardless of where you get your insurance – just get it before you start distributing any products; paid or free.

Selling Soap via Retail – Entry Level

Retail soap sales come at multiple levels. The more well known your brand is, the more you can get premium exposure in top shops.

If you are just starting out, and not yet known, you might start with a consignment shop. Over the past ten years there has been a resurgence of these stores. Many are now like a brick and mortar version of Etsy. This is intentional as a lot of new store openings were done just to support crafters.

It typically works like this… You rent a space based on a monthly agreement. Usually this is a few feet of real estate on a tabletop or possibly shelf space. The shop owner takes a commission of the selling price for acting as the on-site facilitator and transaction merchant.

A lot of retail spaces acting in this capacity look like everyday gift shops. The customer does not even realize they are browsing vendor-supplied goods on consignment.

That said, ask around and search online for local consignment and handicraft gift shops. Even if it does not show up under “consignment” it’s worth it to ask the owner or manager if they will sell your soap. This is especially true of independently owned shops.

Also, with soap you have some wiggle room in where you sell. Many corner stores and general stores still sell soap from a basket. It gives an old-timey feel that customers love. This is especially true with independently owned shops in or surrounding large retirement communities.

Insider Advantage

Having your soap in any store will help make other store owners and managers more comfortable with adding it to theirs. If you can get it into one or two stores that will go as long way toward establishing credibility. Also be ready to provide your proof of insurance. The owner might also want to be added to the policy as a retailer of your product. This is not unusual.

Stepping Up Retail Sales – Level Two

After you have built your brand and established your soap products, the next step is to approach local spas and salons. Retail locations such as these are an excellent fit for homemade soap. They are also typically locally owned and operated so it is considerably easier to build a relationship and get your product placed.

There is also an opportunity to do private labeling for businesses such as these. With private labeling, you make the product and sell it with the understanding it will be rebranded under their name.

This can be extremely lucrative. Even though you are selling in bulk, and at a lower price point, your cost of making the sale is almost zero once the relationship has been established.

The Cost of Making Sales

Yes, I did just say, “your cost of making the sale”. As you will learn early on, it can cost more to find a buyer for your soap then you actually earn from the soap. This, of course, should only happen for a very short time if at all. I just want to mention it so you understand the risks.

For example, if you paid just $0.20 per click to drive targeted traffic to your website, that means you are spending $1 in advertising for every five visitors. That is actually a low number, but we can use it for this example.

If you managed to get a 5% conversion rate from your site visitors, this means you are making 5 sales for every 100 visitors. Said another way this translates to 1 sale made for every 20 visitors.

If we are paying $0.20 per visitor, this means it is costing us $4 to sell one bar of soap. Assuming our soap sells four $5 per bar, that means the cost of the soap, the label, the packaging, and all of our overhead expenses , including insurance, must come to less than $1 per bar or we are losing money on every transaction.

Obviously, this cannot go on for very long or you will be out of business quickly. When I first started, I lost money on every Internet sale. However, it did help to build my brand and after losing about $700.00 over the course of three months, things turned around and the brand took off. Those first few months were terrifying. And having come from 20 years in marketing, I knew to expect this. It was still scary none the less.

If I had more flexibility in my schedule when I began this venture part time, I would have spent a lot more time selling at craft shows, local fairs, and hand-crafted events. In my situation, it made more sense to make the monetary tradeoff. However, if I could have gotten the time off from work, I would have preferred to build the business through face-to-face contact.

Sales Strategy – Making a Mutually Beneficial Deal Better

Every business owner that you approach for selling your soap wants the same thing you do. They want publicity, notoriety, and an ever-increasing stream of customers.

Whether you are paying someone to showcase your soap and a consignment shop or a spa has taken on you are so poor for its clients, here is a simple way to make the relationship an even better deal for them. Please note, this only works if you have the following to back it up or intend to do craft shows and under the like.

Explain to the store owner why working with you will help spread the word about their business. If you have a booth at an upcoming Expo and you plan to tell every person that approach is your booth that your product can be seen in the XYZ shop, that shop owner will see the value immediately.

A variation of this is if you have a lot of social media Contacts or other online associate’s. Mentioning how excited you are to the shop owner that you are now able to tell 500 of your closest friends where to find your soap can be very enticing. This is especially true if the majority of those friends live locally and may come by to see your soap and everything else available in the shop.

Please Note:

This strategy is not meant to artificially entice the store proprietor into featuring your goods. Is merely hey way that you can provide an additional benefit to them, at no cost to them. That will make you the type of business person they want to be associated with.

Selling Face to Face at Shows and Events

It’s difficult to describe how incredible it feels when somebody picks up your bar of handmade soap come smells it and makes that satisfied sighing sound. This is one of the many things you get to experience when selling your soap face to face. This is especially true of an environment where the attendees are willing to stop and chat for a few minutes. I find the craft shows and traveling bazaars give me some of my most rewarding sales experiences.

Register for a Craft Show or Fair:

If you want a quick and easy way to get customers’ feedback firsthand, rent a table at a craft show.

I have yet to meet any person who does not want their opinion heard. At a venue such as a craft show there will be many people potentially overwhelmed by the number of options in front of them. In this sales environment, you are not just competing against other soaps. You are competing against anything and everything that catches their eye.

In my opinion there is no better way to not only see what people like and dislike about your soap, but also to see what they opt for if they pass you by. I realize this sounds like useless information because you do not sell candles, jewelry, or whatever. Of details will help you understand what peaks people’s interest and why they decide to purchase particular items.

Share a Booth

Sometimes an opportunity comes up to attend a show that gets crazy amounts of traffic. Some craftspeople make their goods for eleven months just to attend an annual holiday festival.

This can be very rewarding, but also expensive.

If you have a show like this you would like to sell at, see if you can share a booth with another attendee. Reach out to friends and those with similar interests to see if there is an opportunity. Just make sure the show in question allows splitting a booth space. If there is a waiting list, they probably don’t. But it’s worth checking.

If you go this route, try to pair with something with a similar target market that does not compete in any way. This way you and your booth buddy can help each other with additional foot traffic.

Crafts that tend to pair well with homemade soap include:

• Jewelry
• Baked Goods
• Painted Plaques
• Pottery & Ceramics
• Fudge
• Candles (be careful of soap and candle scents overwhelming each other)
• Belts and Clothing Accessories
• Painted and Etched Glass/Stone

Insider Advantage

Even if you don’t share a booth space you can use this list to find the best locations for your setup. This is a great list to have if you are ever asked for your location preference.

Even if not asked, it can be as simple as saying, “I’d love a spot near a jewelry maker or baked good table.” Totally worth it!

You are paying good money for the space. If they can help, most times they are more than happy to – just like you would be if the roles were reversed.

Open an Online Soap Store:

Keep it simple and choose a quick and easy online venue that will handle payments for you.

Etsy

Etsy.com is a great place to start. I would certainly expand from there, however your business can be up and running in about an hour on Etsy.

That is for setting up your account and opening your store. Stocking your store with photos and descriptions will likely take at least 20 minutes per product to do them justice.

Visit Etsy to learn more and sign up.

Amazon Handmade

This is another venue similar to Etsy – but with man, many times the traffic. They also offer fulfillment services that let you ship one box of products to a central facility and they take care of distribution form there – including complete order fulfillment.

Imagine taking a vacation and having orders processed and shipped while you were away. That’s a GOOD feeling.

Visit Amazon Handmade to learn more and register.

Note: Amazon Handmade costs more than Etsy but can be worth it if you sell volume. It’s certainly worth taking fifteen minutes to see what they have to offer.

Facebook Business Page

Leverage the largest social medial platform on the planet to get your soap in front of millions of potential buyers daily. Even without buying any advertising on the platform, you can get plenty of drive-by traffic just form friends telling friends.

The cost of selling through Facebook is surprisingly low and the potential is almost unlimited.

Visit Facebook Business Page to begin.

Again, this is just a quick overview of a few sample. If you want to knock it out of the park, check this post – also on this site: Top 9 Places to Sell Homemade Soap Online

How to Sell Your Soap Wholesale

Selling your soap wholesale involves having a buyer who wishes to use your soap for their patrons. Tis is generally at no indicated cost to the customer. This is typical of hotels, spas, and retail outlets. It involves you selling your brand to them at a volume discount. Part of the advantage for you is that your brand is on the soap, which gives you excellent exposure.

Sometimes, however, others want to get a deal buying in bulk.

Before approaching a hotel, consider placing a free ad on Craigslist. You might be surprised by the variety of folks that come across your post. Ebay.com is also good – but it will cost you.

I learned by accident that a lot of small business owners scour Craigslist for good deals, including homemade soap. Here are some of the usual suspects:

• Regular people seeking deals – especially around the holidays
• Inns
• Bed & Breakfasts
• Spas
• Gift Basket Makers
• Event Planners
• Salons

Face to Face Wholesale

Another way to get into the wholesale space is to build individual relationships with the exact people you wish to do business with.

This type of wholesaling can take a while to get into place. Your best bet is to build your brand to the point where there will be some level of recognition before you approach the intended client.

To be taken seriously you will want to have your products in one of more physical shops and at least one online outlet. Etsy is good, but you should still have your own website that looks like a professional busines site. Even if you don’t sell from that site, you will be judged on it.

At minimum I suggest having the following in place before you approach a large business owner to carry your goods.

Good Foundation

1. A clean, professional website
2. An easy to remember link to your Etsy or Amazon Handmade store. You can buy a domain name for $10 and repoint it to your long Etsy URL in minutes.
   1. By the way, Amazon will usually sound more impressive to the head of a large company. I suggest having an Amazon Handmade account before venturing into this level of wholesale or high-end retail.
3. A company email address – NOT a free Gmail account. You can get email with the domain you bought for your website or the one pointed to your Etsy or Amazon shop.
4. The name(s) of one or more retail outlets where your soap can be found. Spas and salons count!
5. One or more cut-sheets featuring your “star” ratings and reviews from any sales channel
6. Proof of insurance (just keep it handy in case you are asked about it)
7. A portfolio of high-quality product photos
8. Sample bars

This can take a lot of time and effort if you are slowly building your brand locally and wish to approach a major chain.

It’s worth the effort but can feel like it is taking forever.

Instead of slogging through this painful process let me give you a shortcut…

The Ultimate Retail and Wholesale Shortcut to Success

Visit RangeMe and sign up for their free service.

Trust me – 99% of your competition wishes they had that tip!

This is how you jump to the front of the line and skip over the long grueling wait. It’s the magic of having professional retail buyers knocking on YOUR door instead of the other way around.

RangeMe is who Whole Foods relies on to narrow down vendor selection. But that’s not all. Here are the other retail giants waiting to get their hands on your homemade soap through RangeMe.com:

• SOPHORA
• CVS Pharmacy
• Petco (Make dog soap? I do!)
• Target
• Safeway
• GNC
• Safeway
• Did I mention Whole Foods?

And 7,500 other retail buyers looking for new brands!

If you want your soap featured in Whole Foods, you must go through RangeMe to get there. If Whole Foods is your only big retail goal, you can complete the form at the Whole Foods RangeMe Landing Page. But why limit yourself – or your soap? Got to RangeMe and get it all!

Good Luck and Happy Soaping!