There are almost no limits regarding where to sell handmade soap. But that’s only half of the equation.
To be successful you need to know HOW to best sell your soap in each sales venue (a.k.a./ where). We will break this down with lists, links and proven insider tips that you can start using today.
Online Soap Sales
Setting up your online sales channel is a great place to start because they can be showcasing your product 24/7 x 365 while you develop other opportunities.
Also bear in mind that it takes time to get picked up by search engines, even if you perform expert SEO (search engine optimization). It’s better to start the foundation work now and let it bake-in while you pursue other sales opportunities such as shows and retail storefronts.
| Where to Sell Online | How to Sell: Site Specific |
| A.C. Moore Marketplace | List multiple variations & offer coupon codes |
| Amazon Handmade | Sell by the bar and with combo “pack” deals |
| Artfire | Focus on page layout and product aesthetics |
| Craigslist | Attract salon/spa owners for wholesale |
| eBay | Sell by the loaf as a distributor for shops |
| Etsy | Sell by the bar and with combo deals |
| Facebook Business Page | Cater to Facebook groups by interest |
| Stich Websites | Sell both retail and wholesale |
| Zibbet | Link to Esty, Zibbet Market, A.C. Moore, etc. |
Bonus Online Sales Idea! – Recurring Subscription
Handcrafted soap is a perfect product for a recurring subscription service. You can set one up in minutes at CrateJoy.com.
Use a tried and true “soap of the month” model, or create your unique model based on upcoming holidays. You can also release custom batches with colors and scents that represent the season of the soap’s availability.
Some fan favorites include:
- Floral scents in late spring and early summer
- Beach themes in mid to late summer (add in beach sand and kelp, etc.)
- Bright and vibrant foliage colors sell well in autumn
- Transparent melt and pour base “ice sculptures” are popular during the winter months
- And, of course, many holidays are great for soap sales. Here are some of the most popular holidays for soaps in the US:
- Christmas
- Valentine’s Day
- Mother’s Day
- Father’s Day (especially shave soaps)
Insider Sales Tips:
1.) These types of recurring “surprise in a box” sales models perform extremely well as gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day – among others.
2.) Consider creating packages niche to key holidays such as “Dad soap” and “Mom’s special blends,” etc.
3.) Match your soap types to the season such as melt and pour varieties shipping out during cooler months.
Online Sales Summary
The table above contains links to each of the listed sales outlets. We also have another post on this site dedicated to selling your handmade soap online. If you are interested in it, feel free to check it out here. If not, no problem. The post you are reading will tell you plenty.
The most important takeaway when selling soap online is to realize that two of your best “on site” closing techniques are not options: smell and touch. One of the quickest ways to close the deal in person is to let someone hold the bar.
Almost without fail, they will bring it to their nose and breathe in the incredible aroma. In my experience, that five second interaction closes 90% of my face-to-face sales.
Since you don’t have that advantage online, you need to do your very best to describe the smell and texture in your product descriptions.
If you can get a video of someone handling and smelling the soap – and looking like they are in Heaven while doing it – your chances of making the sale just went way up.
Aside from those things, clear, sharp photos will be extremely important. It’s also beneficial to take the images of your soaps being held by a real person and to have some of the bar surrounded by the oils and butters used to make it.
TIP:
Watch your favorite chocolate commercial to see how effective seeing and hearing a person use a product can be.
Some chocolate commercials are one moan away from an “R” rating.
Real-life Example
Here is an example from my shop, GoodLife Goods. It’s my friend Kristen holding a bar of my handmade hazelnut ale soap (made from a local Richmond Virginia craft brewery’s beer/ale).
Insider Sales Tip:
After not having much luck selling by the bar on Craigslist and eBay, I shifted to selling by the loaf with options for pre-cut and uncut.
At first the response was moderate. Then I listed them as unique offerings for spas, salons, and retail outlets. Demand got high enough that I started making labels and even boxing them for resale using a “white-label” model.
Selling Soap at Shows and Events
Note for all in person selling: Be prepared to show your certificate of insurance to gain entry for a sales booth.
There is no shortage of possible venues for shows and events.
Some are likely obvious choices where you know gifts will sell, such as a Christmas Expo. Others might surprise you. Always be on the lookout for events that relate to your specialty, if you have one.
My best sales event is one most people would never guess – the local Oktoberfest street fair. I sell beer soap faster than I can make it.
Some people buy it as a novelty. And that’s just fine by me. Others have tried beer soap in the past and had great results. Even better.
Regardless of why they decided to try my beer soap, I bet repeat customers after every event. This also happens at Bazars and expos, but to a lesser degree. At Oktoberfest I am known by repeat customers, and future repeat customers, as “The beer soap lady.”
Brainstorming Your Niche Event
Before we move on, let’s take a moment to brainstorm for your own special niche. The event does not need to be a perfect match. Consider this…
Every year people line up at pubs to buy cheap beer with a few drops of green food coloring in it. That day is March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day.
Let’s build off of St. Patrick’s Day for a moment.
- Add some green soap dye to your batch and you have “Leprechaun bars”.
- Use a piece of 1-1/2″ plastic pipe as a vertical cylinder mold and fill it with gold colored soap. Cut the bars as thin disks and you have single use “Leprechaun gold” coins that disappear after one use. A nod to Harry Potter fans on that one.
- Swirl vibrant colors and make “rainbow bars”.
- Buy some silicone or plastic molds of 4-leaf clovers and fill them with soap.
- These are found in any craft store as candy molds, ice cube molds, and even soap molds.
- Use the same mold idea for any other common theme. Just Google “St. Patrick’s Day candy mold” and you’ll see choices such as:
- Leprechaun faces and whole bodies
- Lucky horseshoes
- Hats
- Celtic Knots
- Claddagh designs (crowned hears in hands)
- And more
- Create giant blocks of “Blaney Stone” soap that people can cut and use as they like – after they kiss it.
- Make “Green Beer Soap”
- Get a small, clear heat-resistant plastic cup
- Fill it 2/3 full of transparent melt and pour soap dyed green and scented with beer fragrance (optional)
- Let it set for five minutes until the top forms a solid skin
- Spray with rubbing alcohol to make the next layer stick
- Pour a topping of whipped white melt and pour soap, but don’t spray it down the bubbles. More bubbles make it look like a real head of beer.
- Below is a video of this done to imitate amber beer soap…
Selling Soap at Craft Shows
Craft shows and bazars don’t just happen at the big holidays. There are craft shows going on every month of the year in most parts of the United States.
You can typically rent a space ranging from 6’x8’ to 10’x10’ for a modest fee of $25 to $40 if you supply your own display tables and chairs (common 6’x8′ spot pricing for Richmond area local church and lodge venues).
Street Fairs for Soap Sales
Most street fairs can be great sales venues – IF enough of the attendees are in your target market and your space is situated in the area they frequent. If you can select your approximate location, try to get a spot near complementary booths that are not competitors.
Optimal Street Fair and Craft Show Booth Locations
Good booth location examples for the handcrafted soap world are: hair and beauty, natural health, clothing & shoes, floral, jewelry, candles, wreaths, handmade accessories, decorative housewares, baked goods, candy, glassware, decorative signs, decorating, pet supplies (especially if you sell dog shampoo/soap), etc.
Sell Your Soaps at Farmer’s Markets
Farmer’s markets are another potentially ideal homemade soap sales location. This is especially true if you use organic or all-natural goods (if that is a common theme at your particular farmer’s market).
You can also make good contacts for buying farm-fresh lard and tallow if you use any animal fats in your products. The same is true of goat and cow’s milk if you use those.
Setting Up at Healthy Living Events
General healthy living events are springing up more and more and have been for the past decade. These are often held at convention halls, large civic centers, and concert venue locations.
Heads’ Up!
If you sell at one of these, be prepared to know the difference between all-natural and organic in any ingredient you might use in soap making. Many attendees know as much as scientists – and expect even more knowledge from you.
Insider Sales Tips:
1.) Ask in advance exactly what the venue needs for proof of insurance. If you need to add a one-time venue to ensure their protection, this can typically be done for about $20. Most venues do NOT require this. They just need your proof of insurance.
2.) Take advantage of vertical staging for your soap. Think of it as stadium seating (or being on bleachers) for your soap so it rises several levels high. This attracts a lot of attention and catches people’s eyes from a distance.
3.) If you are selling melt and pour soap be sure to keep it cool enough that it will not warp.
Selling Handmade Soap To and Through Retail Outlets
The two most common ways to sell via retail are “to” and “through.” When selling “to,” you are selling your soap to the store for them to resell. They take the risk and therefore pay a lower price for your product. When selling through – the retail outlet acts as a broker between you and their customers. This type of arrangement is typically based on paying the shop a sales commission.
Please note that this section does not include spas and salons specifically as they are covered under wholesale. However, if you want to sell to those outlets in a simple retail reseller capacity, by all means – do so. They can be excellent venues for soaps, shampoos, lotions, sugar scrubs, bath bombs, and other bath & beauty products.
Handmade Goods Shop Sales
Shops showcasing handmade goods are a great place to start selling your soap. This type of retail channel has enjoyed a major resurgence over the past ten years or so. In more recent years, physical shops have popped up in many strip malls trying to take advantage of the shopper community awareness initiated by Etsy and Amazon Handmade.
Selling Soap Through Boutiques
Boutiques are ideal for selling high-end soap at a higher price-point. When selling here, you may want to provide sample bars that customers can hold and smell for themselves. This will help generate more sales.
Insider Sales Tip:
This tip applies mostly to boutiques, spas, salons, and places where they tend to get repeat business. Consider providing some free mini samples for customers to take home and try. This might mean cutting up damaged bars or making special miniature loaves, the size of butter sticks, that can be cut into small slices at the shop counter. NOTHING beats the smell of freshly cut soap for making a sale!
Health Stores
Health conscious grocers and herb shops are always good places to showcase all natural and organic artisan soaps.
Many Wholefoods grocery stores have a “buy by the ounce” display featuring locally handcrafted soaps. Theses bars are typically not even wrapped. They are weighed on the spot and placed in a small paper bag.
How to Get Your Soap into Whole Foods – Tip of the Year!
Go to RangeMe to register for their free service today! Or go straight to Whole Foods own custom form at the Whole Foods RangeMe Landing Page
RangeMe is the organization that Whole Foods uses in their vendor selection screening process. But it’s not just Whole Foods.
RangeMe is used by 7.500 brans including CVS, Target, GNC. SOPHORA, and more.
Specialty Shops for Soap Sales
Any specialty shop that caters to a specific geographical area or niche is also a good place to make your handcrafted soaps available. In this case, you are selling soap that aligns with the shop’s special focus. The opportunities here are limited only by your imagination.
Look back at our St. Patrick’s Day soap examples under Brainstorming to see what I mean.
My friend on Cape Cod sells through over a dozen tourist type shops by featuring soap using beach sand as exfoliates and sea kelp as an ingredient. Be original – Opportunities are EVERYWHERE!
Soap Sales via Consignment Shops
Consignment shops and boutiques are always a “through” model of selling. They typically get a sales commission on anything they sell as well as a listing or space rental fee.
Even if it does not end up being a big money maker it is a great way to get your soap for the world to see.
Take full advantage by using the shops as bragging rights. This comes in handy at shows when someone as “Is your product in any stores?” Being able to say. “Yes. The closest one is XYZ. But there are others.”
Even better is when you try to get placed in other shops. Knowing their competition has your product and they don’t just might get you out of the consignment world and into straight brick and mortar retail.
Notes on Retail Pricing
As mentioned above, the two most common ways to sell in retail are “to” and “through.” If the shop is carrying your label, it helps you promote your brand. This is typically considered wholesale because it is selling your brand at a discounted rate for a bulk purchase.
Important: If you get into a nickel and dime situation with the shop purchasing agent, bear in mind that you are getting wider brand exposure, and this is worth something. Don’t be afraid to give up a percentage point or two as long as you are selling “to” them at 50% or better (such as 40%). They are taking the risk by purchasing your inventory because you get paid no matter what.
When selling “through” – that is, having the shop keep your bars in inventory with you getting paid when they make a sale – the commission structure should be closer to 20% to 35% at the very most. BTW – commissions that generous should only be for high volume.
Again, this is based on my experience. You are the one taking the risk so try to keep the commission to less than 25% for low to moderate sales volume. There is still value in brand exposure, however shops selling low volume can be a bigger pain that they are worth sometimes.
Selling Handmade Soap Wholesale
It is eye-opening to see how much inventory you go through by filling just a handful of wholesale orders. If you love making soap more than marketing and selling it – this is a great way to go.
This section could have easily been grouped with “Selling Retail,” but it is a distinctive enough model that it deserves it’s own spot. Remember this important distinction…
Wholesale is selling YOUR brand in bulk and at a discount. If you rebrand it for the shop, you gave crossed into the world of private labeling (sometimes called white label).
Most soap making hobbyists learn the hard way that owning a handmade soap company is 80% running the business and 20% making soap. If you establish a few good buyers of your wholesale loaves or bars, those numbers can easily be reversed so you are creating soap 80% of the time.
Selling Your Soap to Spas and Salons
Salons and spas are a natural fit for selling soap in wholesale lots. Just be aware of the different potential business opportunities before you approach the shop owner so you have some idea of what will work best for both of you.
When selling in bulk to a small spa, it is unlikely they will want to purchase whole loaves. They will also likely want to buy as much variety as possible – at least until they know what sells. To accommodate this, you may wish to sell in bundles such as a minimum buy of 16 bars with at least 4 of each type selected.
Notes on Spa & Salon Pricing
A typical pricing model for this wholesale service is 35% to 50% off the MSRP. If you sell the same soap for $6 per bar, you might sell it to the spa for $3 with your branding (as they are resellers).
If your custom label and rebrand it for the spa, the discount rate should be closer to 35% – based on my experience. This is because we are no longer talking about “wholesale.” We have jumped into “private labeling.”
Private Label Handmade Soap Sales
Help someone else realize their dream of owning a profitable soap business, while making YOUR business more profitable!
Selling to Soap Startups
Startup companies who want to sell soap are another fantastic place to represent your products – under their names. This is known as Private Labeling. This also works well for some spas.
Private labeling is when you sell the soap to another entity with the understanding they will rebrand it as their own.
Imagine that you saw the potential to own and run a successful soap company but didn’t want to make all of the soap yourself and could not yet afford to bring in help.
Your private label soap service can help a fellow soaper realize their dream while lining your pockets. And, if you maintain a good relationship, you might just get a lifelong customer who buys by the loaf instead of the bar.
Notes on “Startup” Pricing Breaks
When selling by the loaf it is common to offer a discount rate of up to 70% for the uncut loaf – IF they buy enough in bulk to make it worthwhile.
For example, if you make a 12” loaf that will yield twelve 1” thick bars (4 to 5 ozs each) – the total value at $6 per bar is $72. If someone buys the uncut loaf from you at 70% below full retail, they will pay $19.60. Since you probably made it from a large batch and it took 20 minutes of time at a cost of $3.75, you are doing quite well.
My shop generally offers a discount as follow:
- 50% discount for up to fifteen single loaves of different varieties
- 60% discount for sixteen to thirty loaves of different varieties
- 70% discount for thirty one to fifty loaves of mixed type
- If I can make one large batch (24 loaves) of a single type, I can offer small additional discounts.
Insider Sales Tips:
1.) If you can help get a startup handmade soap business going, they are more likely to stay loyal customers and continue buying from you if another wholesaler approaches them.
2.) Share links to good deals on tools for cutting, packaging, and labeling soap. Their efficiency translates to more sales for you.
What’s Next?
Now that you have all of these sales opportunities it’s a good idea to start planning your shipping. Try this article right here on this site when you’re ready to plan shipping 🙂
In Closing
I hope this information helped. You are in one of the greatest industries in the world so go sell some of your amazing soap!
Happy soaping AND selling.