Thursday, May 22, 2008

the benefits of taking baths

Daily stress can take many forms. You can be a stay at home mom with three kids that get into, well, kid trouble.

You could work a full time job and then have to come home to a family.

You could be a single mother and work two jobs. Three jobs.

You could be stressed out about bills. About your kids and school. About their friends. About... gosh, so many things, right?

Suffice it to say, guys can have the same problems. Or different problems.

The good thing is that baths are for everyone.

What people have to understand first about baths is that, it's not just about buying some product that is going to make everything melt away. This isn't Calgon talking.



That's some pretty clever marketing, especially for the 1980's. And I'm sure it sold a ton. But silky smooth water is not the point of baths.

It might help, but it's not necessary.

Bath time is a break time. You do it when your mind is harried and your decision making process is just not right. This break will help you center yourself, and let you clear your mind... and after, will help you come at problems correctly.

The first and most important thing about baths is the mood. Quiet, light music, candles, what-have-you.

You're taking a bath to de-stress. And quiet and mood lighting are so important. It's the first step to relaxing.

The water has got to be warm to hot. Luke warm, tepid water isn't going to relieve tension in your muscles. Warm water dilates blood vessels and helps with circulation.

If you can remember any time that aches and pains were relieved when you took a swim, or floated in the ocean... well, the same happens while you're in a bath. Joints, bones, muscles... all of them are relieved in water. The weight of your body isn't adding pressure to them, they get a chance to relax... not unlike the relief (boy, there's that word again) they receive while you're sleeping.

OK!

Quiet, or light music. Check.

Candles lit. Check.

Oh, don't... don't like hook up a radio or a tv or something, near the bath. That... that's not safe.

So! You're in the warm-to-hot water... mood's set... what's next?

So many things to choose from, it's hard to decide.

Do you use soap? Bath oil? Body scrub? Bath salts?

Fragrance during a bath is a huge plus. Certain fragrances allow you to relax, some trigger emotional responses, some bring you back to a happy time and place in your memory... these are all subjective. Find something that will help continue your calm mood. Remember, this is YOUR time... so make the best of it.

We recommend using a product that will not only get you clean, but will also moisturize.

Baths aren't always about replacing your clean time in a shower. Sometimes you want to just concentrate on relaxing. Sometimes you want to concentrate on your legs and feet.

For that... we have to recommend sugar scrubs. These are not too oily, they won't leave a residue around your tub, and their exfoliating ability (along with their texture) will feel divine while taking a bath.

We feel that baths should take anywhere between 15-20 minutes. After that, the house will be in a sort of chaos because, let's face it... and chances are, you'll be hearing fire trucks or police coming after 20 minutes if you're not around.

Thanks for reading. We're sure that most people know the benefits of baths, but it's always nice to have a reminder every once in a while.

We're all fans of baths here at Soapier. We're sure that if you take the time to take care of yourself each day, even if it's a foot soak for a few minutes, you'll feel better about your day, feel healthier, and be able to tackle everything that comes your way!

Linda @ Soapier

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Soapier's first blog review!

Check it out folks... at Laura Williams Musings.

We're very happy to have gotten such a great review of our products!

Go over and enter their giveaway for free Soapier stuff!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Our First Contest!

Hi all, thanks for stopping by at Soapier's Blog!

We have this fun, great new contest we're going to start today, and I think you'll all enjoy it.

It's a photo contest, and who doesn't like photo contest!

Me!

Quite, you!

The photo you're going to take is of you, your cat, your dog, girlfriend, your mailman, someone... with soap! (seriously, we had to throw soap in there somewhere, give me a break already). Doesn't have to be our soap, any soap.

And, it has to be a humorous photo.

Not a serious soap photo.

Not a pulitzer price winning soap photo. Fun. Like this, except with more prominent soap...



Anyway, here are the rules.

1. Photo must be shot by the person submitting the photo (or, have you in it).

2. Publish a link to our contest page on your blog, with your photo posted there, then leave us a comment and give us the link!

3. Hmmm...

Ok, I could only think of two rules.

We'll have 3 winners and there will be a poll for visitors to choose their favorite!

Each winner will receive a $30 gift certificate to Soapier, which you can use online at Soapier.com.

That's it. Contest starts today, ends June 11th (I'll give you all a month to really buckle down and take your best shot).

Thanks again for stopping by, this should be a lot of fun!

John @ Soapier.com

Friday, May 9, 2008

Displaying products

This is going to be one of those posts that will be in the "I know that" column for some, and the "Neat ideas" column for others.

What I want to talk about is how to display retail products properly. Now, this isn't an article on how to display items in a chain store where the home office gives strict guidelines on how to display and market product.

This is for small boutique shops that sell product they don't manufacture. Gift shops, salons, soap and spa product stores, etc. I'll be using our products to demonstrate... since we sell our products exclusively ;)

Promoting products in store

One of the things we wanted to help solve for our customers was promoting our line in their stores.

First In Line Soap, as a wholesale loaf soap seller, is trying to make the in-store marketing of our products as easy as possible. What we do is provide each loaf soap we sell with decorative signs, wrapping paper for individual slices, and decorative labels for each fragrance/design.

What this does is provide customers with an easy to read sign on the name and fragrance of the product. Wrapping a slice of soap and putting our decorative label on it does a few things. One, it reminds people of the product name they purchased and, two, sends them home with a little gift to open.

One of the things we've noticed at First In Line Soap is that our customers buy small quantities. Space might be the issue. We completely understand. Having our own retail shop forces us to not only make compromises with purchasing product, but also allows us to be creative in our displaying ideas.

Let's use our loaf soaps, which are our best sellers, as an example of customers making smaller purchases due to limited space issues.

Space issues

Customer A has ordered two loafs of soap.

2 loafs of soap (and a slicer) would cost $83, plus shipping. We have a $75 minimum for first time buyers.

We recognize that space is always going to be a factor when it comes to displaying product. Most small business owners will tell you that they never have enough space.

Regardless of size, the fact is that a full store always looks better than an empty one.

What if you want to introduce a new product, but you only have a small space?

The first thing you're going to have to do is get some specifications. It would be a shame to buy a new product line and find out that not only is the space too small... but now you're stuck with all this new product, and you can't properly display it!

First In Line Soap loafs are 1-foot long, 4-inches wide and yield 12 1-inch slices.

On a 5-foot wide table that is 2-foot deep... that's a pretty impressive presence of soap you've got there! You could have a display similar to what we have at our Soapier retail store.




Now, maybe you have that 3-foot table. We're a new product for you and you want to see how things sell. So you buy two loafs.




What you're going to get is a pretty empty table with two great smelling soaps on it... but nothing that is going to catch your customers eye.

I recognize that this might be a bit of an exaggeration, but from our experience, we get so many customers that purchase only two to three loafs of soap, and not even multiple loafs of each! While there is no break in price for purchasing multiple loafs, we're all consumers. We all know that going into a store and seeing a rack of similar items triggers something in our brain that entices us to buy. Repetition, in all of its many forms, works to get people's attention.

Having a large selection of product (from one brand or multiple) can never really hurt you. But, having a range of products from a single brand you trust (and have experience with) will give the product a more impressive presence in your store, and will certainly catch your customers eye.

In our store we have a large set-up in the middle of the shop where most of our loaf soaps are. We also have our soap slice cutter there, so customers can watch us cut fresh slices for them.







We know most stores can't afford to give up that much space. But if you are opening up a new store (or looking to re-design your shop), you might want to consider displaying your strongest items (whether it be soap or stuffed animals or chocolate) like we have.

Let's take a look at two of our smaller soap products, our Soapier Accent Soaps and our Loofah Boats when it comes to displaying.

Soapier Accent Soaps are about 3.5-inches wide by 1.5-inches high and come in six fragrances.

Here's what you get when display 4 of our Kitchen Soaps. We get these kinds of orders all the time.




As a consumer, I would look at that and not be interested. The sign is nice enough, but there's nothing to hold my attention except for a bunch of white space. Put this in a store corner, and it will either get hidden or dismissed pretty quickly.

Here's what we did at our retail store. And while we know that space defines product quantities, you can be inventive on how you'd display 8-12 of these bars.




We used clear glass plates and stacked soaps all over, like they were spilling off the plate. The colors are such that that Kitchen Soap is striking, a contrast between the Chamomile, Clay and Seaweed, Jasmine and Orange Soaps. It almost serves as an anchor. And when customers get a whiff of chocolate and coffee soap... well, they always comment on it.

Don't have this much space? No problem! Get a large platter and stack the soaps that way. They are all very distinctive, people won't have a problem distinguishing between them.




Our Loofah Boats are a great combination of glycerin soap and loofah. They come in four great fragrances and are a hit with men and women looking for a soap and exfoliant in one. There are some people who are partial exclusively to loofahs, and they love this produce.

Here's an example of displaying them when purchasing a small handful.




When Soapier first opened, we didn't have signs up for our products. The store is so small, we figured that if people wanted to ask a question about a product, they would just ask. This is hardly ever the case.

Most customers don't want to be bothered with asking questions. They can see what the product is. They want to know the price and move on.

So we started making signs up for our products, and using a simple clear plastic bowl you can buy at K-Mart for $15, we displayed them like this:




Huge impact, nice sign, colorful, fragrant... makes a statement, right? Not a lonely box shoved in a corner, but a display that will attract customers. The ones you WANT to target.

The last example I'm going to give you is with our sugar scrubs. Sugar scrubs are not a cheap spa product. Super high end brands can sell for $40, minimum. It's not something retailers want to take a chance with because six of each fragrance from some of these companies will end up costing you an enormous outlay.

First In Line Soap respects its wholesale customers. And, frankly, in this economy, purchasing a new product can be quite scary. We deal with it every day as we try and stock our retail store with more and more bath accessories. What will work, what won't, what we won't be able to give away... we know the drill.

But just like everything else, if you're ready to take that step in purchasing a new product like our Sweet Sugar Scrubs, presence is key.

Our Sweet Sugar Scrubs come in a number of fragrances. 8 to be exact. You are going to want to offer your customers a choice of them, naturally. Perhaps not all 8, but 4 at the minimum.

Sugar scrubs look GREAT when stacked together. We suggest 6 of each fragrance. Take a look at how nice and vibrant our Sweet Sugar Scrub selection looks:




At our store, customers go right to it. All those colors, all those possible fragrances... they love it.

One of the things we suggest (though sometimes it's not possible) is to offer sugar scrub demonstrations for your customers. We have ours set up like this.




Basically, if someone is interested, you ask them what fragrance they'd like. Once they've chosen, you use the pitcher of water to wet their hands. Use a small spatula or spoon and spoon some of the sugar scrub into their hands. They rub their hands with it (make sure you tell them to get the backs!) and then use the pitcher to clean off the sugar scrub, all the while toting the sugar scrubs wonderful properties and selling points.

Give them a clean washcloth to dry their hands and viola.

The Sugar Scrub Hand Spa Treatment has been enormously successful in our retail shop.

Soap as a new product

This question is the rub, right? To try a new product or not to try.

I don't think anyone can really answer this question for you. And if they try and answer the question for you, chances are they're the salesman.

In regards to our products, the only thing you can do is the research and feel your customers out. Are you getting requests for soaps? Do you have space to market, display and sell a new product correctly?

There are very few products that sell themselves.

First In Line Soap prides itself on selling quality products, colorful, fragrant and unique, at good price points for our wholesale customers. We want you to make money, and we want your customers to like our products.

In the end you have to trust your own instincts. Because at the end of the day you have to look at your store and be proud of it. You have to look at your daily report and be happy, or figure out how to improve your business. You have to be happy with your decisions and stay positive.

It's hard, but we're not giving up. And neither should you!

Thanks,

John Painz
VP Marketing
Soapier.com
First In Line Soap.com

Our Products

Soap

This is what we do the best. All of our designs are original ones. We use glycerin soap and... well, I can't give away all of our secrets, sheesh! But it's a melt and pour process. Glycerin soap is good for your skin. Most soap you purchase in grocery stores and department stores are detergent. It's one of the main reasons the lather is so great. The problem is, detergent dries your skin. Company's take all of the glycerin that was in the soap originally and put it in lotions and bath gels... just another product you have to buy (from them) to keep your skin healthy.

Our glycerin soap adds moisture to your skin, keeping it healthy and shiny. Let's see... what have we got... (we have over 20 different designs to choose from, this is just a sample!)




My Little Sweet Pea - probably one of our toughest soaps to design, truth be told. But it smells awesome, fruity and floral and fun!





Vanilla Soap - What can I say about this one? If you're a big fan of vanilla, this bar will be great to help your bathroom smelling nice and clean and... edible!





Crisp Cotton - This is a nice delicate fragrance, like clean clothes on the line, drying in the sunlight. Seriously, I write this stuff... it's one of our most popular bars. Not too fragrant, just perfect.




Raspberry Soap (Raspberry Lovers) - All of our soaps are double fragranced. This one... wow. It's one of the dominant fragrances in our retail store, and it's the one most people say "God, I wish I could eat this!" If you love raspberry, you won't regret cleaning with this great bar.




Lily of the Valley - Classic scent, nice design, this is one of those fragrances that will make you get your hands dirty so you can clean them and smell this wonderful flower all day!




Cucumber Melon Soap - Neat design, fun fragrance, this is another favorite. It smells almost fruity, but the cucumber smell cuts it just enough to have it also smell really fresh and clean.

Body Wash




Lush Body Wash - This is one of our best non-soap sellers. Comes in four really great fragrances. Coconut Mango & Papaya (you would not believe how awesome this smells), Bergamot & Coriander (with some orange, too!), Jasmine & Vanilla (yummy), and Chamomile & Lavender (the classic scents). We added pumice and bamboo to the mix, for an exfoliant. Really great.

Goats Milk Body Lotion




Luscious Body Lotion - Goats milk and honey lotion provides much needed vitamins and nutrients to your skin to keep it healthy and vibrant. Comes in matching fragrances of our Lush Body Wash. Great for daily use on your hands, legs, arms, anywhere there is dry skin.


Sugar Scrubs




Sweet Sugar Scrubs - Our best seller. A unique recipe of Hawaiian Sugar, macadamia and almond oil and castile soap. The great thing about this sugar scrub is that it's not oily, so it won't leave a residue around your tub, and you won't have to worry as much about slipping (we don't want that!) It's good for your entire body and face (although not more than once a week on faces, it's still a scrub). Comes in a ton of fragrances:

Beach Breezes, Berry Berry, Coconut, Cucumber Melon, Pink Grapefruit, Kiwi, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, or Raspberry.

We have more, but I think you get the picture, right folks? Awesome stuff. And anyone on this blog who wants to order, I'll give you 15% off your purchase. Use BLOG1 as the coupon code at checkout for your discount!

OK, my brain is completely frozen over now after all that writing. But thanks for checking in. I'll be back later with more goofy news on the shop.

John @ Soapier.com

Welcome to Soapier!

We're excited to start this new blog.

We hope to do a whole bunch of fun things here, including contests, sales, samples and much more.

Thanks for visiting our site, and stop back again soon!

Linda @ Soapier.com