Herbal Soap Manufacturing Business

Many people are turning to natural foods and products for a healthier lifestyle. One natural product that has found its place in the open market is herbal soaps.

Herbal soap is manufactured using plant extracts, vitamins and other natural ingredients. Pharmaceutical soaps although highly effective has some side effects.

The major attractions to herbal products are the ready availability of raw materials and high demand. Other things are low startup capital, poor government regulations on herbal products.

Although poor regulatory provisions encourage charlatans with substandard products an entrepreneur needs only to focus on high quality herbal soap and effective marketing strategy.

Like any product the efficacy of the product gradually outshines fake products. Herbal soap making is highly profitable, technical and attracts good prices. Interested in starting an herbal soap manufacturing business here are a few ideas.

How to Start an Herbal Soap Manufacturing Business

Write a Business Plan

Write an herbal soap manufacturing business plan. The plan should focus on the mission and vision statement, product development, marketing and funding.

Then carry out a feasibility study to determine your customer base. Your target customers will define the type of product to produce.

There are herbal soaps that tackle dandruff and deodorizes the body. The active ingredients in such products prevent prickly heat and work as an antiseptic.

Home Made Soap

Register the Herbal Soap Manufacturing Business

Although the manufacturing process distribution and sales are monitored, herbal products are not strictly regulated. Some countries provide drug identification numbers and require ingredients on the labels.

Incorporate the enterprise as a one man business or limited liability company. Apply for manufacturer’s license and trade license.

Permits and licensing requirements are different from one country to the next. Make sure you find out what is obtainable in your country.

Sourcing Raw Materials

The raw materials used to produce herbal soap vary based on the manufacturer’s preference. Common ingredients found in herbal soaps are juice extracts, oils, water and caustic soda. Some manufacturers use as much as 10 different herbal extracts.

Business Premises Location

Situate your factory close to source of raw materials. Other important locations are within residential areas or zoned commercial areas.

Make sure the factory has ample space, car park and storage area. More requirements are administrative building, loading area and adequate utilities.

Fund the Herbal Soap Enterprise.

Funds are needed to rent property, equipment, staff wages and marketing. Other things are purchase of raw materials, registration and permits.

Apply for soft loans from merchant banks or through cooperative lending schemes. Target save or borrow money from friends and family.

Hire Staff

Your staff should be conversant with the manufacturing process of herbal soap. It is difficult to patent such products so manufacturers go to long lengths to hide the exact formula.

Selling the Herbal Soap

Herbal soap manufactures spend lots of money pushing the product. This is because the herbal product has to compete with regular soaps in the market. Although herbal soaps have there own niche sector the same customers patronize pharmaceutical soaps.

You can approach wholesalers, retailers and health stores in your locality. You could create your own outlet for effective distribution and monitoring.

Many practitioners focus on electronic media to attract customers. Other traditional methods are flyers, posters and signage boards.

Build a Website

Selling herbal products through a dedicated website is very effective. Statistics have shown that practitioners who use this method increase sales 70%.

Present your herbal soaps with high definition images. Add full description of the properties and ingredients used in the manufacture.

Make sure your website is search engine optimized and add a shopping cart. Use social media advertisement to drive targeted traffic to your site.