Sunday, March 9, 2008

Soap Has New Companions!

Hi

Well, Firstinlinesoap.com has launched it's new line of body wash, lotion and massage oil. I'm extremely proud of them. You can see them at our website (link above).

I love color and all of my soaps reflect that. I think that bright, happy colors can put a smile on anyones face and that's my intention. So when we developed our bath gel line I was adamant on them also having great color appeal and I'm pretty sure we have accomplished that. Now the lotion... I opted to keep that in it's natural color.

Same with the massage oil. But John our in-house graphic designer made sure that the labels were colorful but simple.

All three products have been tested in my store and my direct selling division and they all do very well. I wouldn't launch a product wholesale unless I knew it would do well for my retail customers. I feel very confident that a store can bring these products in and do well with them, also. Of course there are ways that it won't do well and I'll discuss that later.

The body wash has lots of color, some pumice and bamboo in it for exfoliating, plus lots and lots of suds. Use this wash with a favorite scrubby or wash cloth and it will last a long time.

The milk and honey lotion is sooo rich and thick that just a bit goes a long way. Now, I've tested many formulas and I'm pretty particular about what I want. I hate a lotion that you rub on and it creates a drag feeling as you are rubbing it in. That was one of my criterias for a good lotion (lack of drag) and, of course, the other was that it not feel greasy. When customers are sampling our lotions they are amazed how little they need.

Massage oil is my favorite. This is one of my morning rituals of getting out of the shower and applying the massage oil to my damp skin. The oil soaks right in and does not feel greasy. Massage therapists will love it also because it doesn't stain sheets.

Each of the products are in a very good price range, retail price of both the lotion and bath wash is $12 and the massage oil is $9.

To sell soap products successfully you need to have impact. If you decide to sell my bath gel, lotion and massage oil and order only 3 of each you are setting yourself up for failure. Sitting only 3 of each on a shelf will make the customer think it's the bottom of the barrel and it's merchandise that's been sitting around for awhile. You need a bit of impact and think about how a test of 6 bottle sets (preferable all the same scent), would look as opposed to just 3. It will draw your customers attention and create possible a sale every time.

Think about how these new products will fit in your store and how you'll be displaying them. All important things to keep in mind when you want a product to do well in your store and, of course, make you money.

In our retail store in Tarpon Springs our bath gel and lotion sit on a shelf with the matching soaps and massage oils. We keep the bath gels and lotions together (about 9 of each), a loaf soap, and then the massage oils this is for one scent.

It took some tweaking in our new store to get it right and we knew when we were on to something when groups of the same fragrant products started selling.

I would love to discuss with you your display dilemmas. Feel free to send comments and questions about your own display problems and solutions!

Linda

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