In recent years, one of the most popular hobbies in Russia has become the production of handmade soaps. As a rule, this hobby “takes for the soul” the young mothers who are on maternity leave, and simply those who like the process of soap making themselves.
And according to the observed trend, the demand for handmade soap is growing every year, but the supply for it is slightly behind. Therefore, the question arises: “Why not the lovers of this hobby make good money on it?”
Moreover, the organization of home soap making business is quite easy and does not require special skills. But in order not to be unfounded, consider an approximate business plan. It is easy and interesting to make handmade soap, and selling can bring you a lot of money.
Necessary equipment
In order to cook soap at home, you will need:
- a plate on which the process of melting the soap base will occur;
- scales for accurate measurement of the amount of ingredients;
- container for cooking soap;
- molds designed for pouring soap, they can be both wooden and plastic.
Immediately we will calculate the costs of this equipment: a stove - from 3000 to 7000 rubles (gas or electric, it does not play a special role), electronic scales - from 500 to 1000 rubles, capacities (we take 3 large vats of 15 liters each) - 2000-3000 rubles, various forms - about 6000 rubles.
From this list it is clear that mass production soap does not require special equipment costs.
Raw materials for business
If a small amount of money is spent on the purchase of equipment for cooking home soap, then you will have to fork out for the purchase of the necessary raw materials. For example, the bulk of investments (about 70%) will go on a soap basis. Calculating how long it lasts is pretty easy. Let's say 600 kg of soap are supposed to be released per month. Accordingly, tons of soap base will last for 1.5 months. The average cost of one kilogram is 150 rubles.
Further, the rating of expenses is replenished with a variety of essential oils and fragrances. The average cost for them will be around 50,000 rubles, given that the purchase of these components will be carried out by wholesalers of 5 kg. On average, this is enough for 3-4 months.
For about the same amount of time, you can buy other ingredients that are used in the preparation of homemade soap. These include vegetable fats, vitamins, fruit acids. The cost of them will be from 25,000 rubles.
Soap making room
In order to cook soap at home, you need to take care of the production room. 40 sq. meters for this is enough. But it’s worth considering that there should be at least 2 rooms: one for the warehouse (the finished soap should be kept for some time), the second for the soap making process itself, where all the equipment will be located.
If there is such a room, then this is very good. If not, then this is again a waste, about 30,000 rubles a month for rent. Plus, utilities in the amount of up to 3000 rubles and cosmetic repairs, if necessary (15000-30000 rubles).
Packaging
As a rule, many Russians (which cannot be said about Europeans) purchase handmade soap, not for themselves, but as a gift. Therefore, much depends on what it will be “dressed” on. Packaging for handmade soap should be bright and memorable. It should be borne in mind that for each species it should be exclusive and unique.Of course, the easiest, but the most expensive way will be to order a design from specialists. They will select their packaging for each type of soap, if necessary, put on it the composition and name of the components, print a company logo on it.
Packaging for handmade soap from corrugated cardboard will cost 60,000 rubles a month, from plastic - 45,000 rubles. But the choice does not end there, you can also set up numerous experiments, for example, buy various boxes, pouches, etc. for these purposes.
Technology
Each manufacturer has its own time-tested soap making technology. But the principles of work always remain the same for everyone. So, the technology for the production of handmade soap:
- a certain amount (according to the recipe) of the finished soap base is melted in the prepared container;
- all the necessary components are added there (dyes, flavors, etc.);
- the mixture is poured into special forms;
- after a certain amount of time, the finished soap is taken out, and if it was poured into a large form, then it is cut into proportional pieces.
Many knowledgeable people at the initial stage of the production of handmade soaps are advised to have at least 20 original recipes that can be purchased from foreign manufacturers (you will have to pay) or composed independently by trial and error, choosing shapes, colors, fillers and other components.
Soap sale
This item will be almost the most important in considering the whole issue of business on the soap of manual production. After all, boiling it is only half the problem. It is necessary to solve the question of how to sell handmade soap in advance, before starting your own business.
Otherwise, it will turn out that money is spent, there are products, but there are no buyers. In order not to “miss”, before starting production it is necessary to make soap samples and show them (or even leave them “for testing”) in beauty salons and shops, small gift and souvenir shops. It is worth considering that without establishing a process for marketing soap products, starting a business is not even worth it.
Many soap makers rent premises for the sale of their products, some, not bothering too much, put up a tent on the street and sell their products on the street at popular shopping centers (if the administration permits) or in the market. Also, a large number of soap makers sell soap over the Internet (they post ads, make posts on social networks, and create personal blogs).
Staff
According to preliminary estimates, soap production should be carried out by at least 2-3 people. And it’s better if person 5 deals with it: one cook (a salary of about 10,000 rubles), his assistant (7,000-8,000 rubles) and 3 packers (6,000-7,000 rubles each). If there is a desire and means, then the design of the soap can be entrusted to a specially trained person.
If the funds do not allow having such a number of employees, then this business can be done alone. But here, of course, it is worth considering the number of finished products, it will come out several times less.
How much does handmade soap cost?
The price of this product can be different, from 80 to 200 rubles per piece. The cost of handmade soap depends on many factors:
- weight of the finished product;
- the quality of the soap base;
- difficulty of cooking;
- quantity and quality of added ingredients.
But these points directly affect the price of the product sold to the consumer. The average cost of a bar of soap is about 30 rubles. Therefore, making simple calculations, you can understand that the profit from such a business is not as small as many might think. At the same time, its profitability is 45-50%.
To summarize
So, after considering all the necessary costs, you can see that the production of handmade soap has 2 types of investments: one-time and one-time. The initial ones that will be needed to open and start a business are almost 500,000 rubles.Permanent, that is monthly (purchase of raw materials, rental of premises, payment of taxes, wages to workers), - a little more than 300,000 rubles.
This is about expenses. Now it’s worth touching on the topic of income. With the successful establishment of sales of products at a price of 80-90 rubles per bar of soap (100 grams) and monthly production of about 600 kg, the monthly profit will be approximately 500,000 rubles. As mentioned above, the profitability of such production is almost 50%.
The production of handmade soaps can pay off in the first months of the business. Over time, after establishing good sales and generally the whole process of work, you can increase the range, thereby attracting new customers.
But much of the above, especially the amount of money spent, is not entirely suitable for those who were discussed at the very beginning of the article - moms on maternity leave. After all, they are unlikely to find such a quantity of funds for opening their business. But they should not despair, because you can start with small expenses and do soap making in your kitchen, without resorting to the help of strangers who need to pay a salary. After things “go uphill”, and the profit is more noticeable, you can think about the further expansion of the business.
