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Wife and I started a business

B

beerfish

So my wife and I both enjoy DIY anything, and started making soap together. After stockpiling more soap than we could possibly use in our lifetime, we decided to open up for business. If you're into cool handmade soap, or need a gift for someone who is, please check out our site.

Also, any comments, suggestions, or requests are welcome.

www.reefbotanicals.com

(Mods, I think I'm allowed to post this here, but let me know if I'm not. It's been awhile since I've been around, so I'm not 100% sure.)
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Congrats on the new business venture. I wish you much success!
 
B

beerfish

mnat said:
Tyler Durden nods approvingly. Good luck with everything.
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Lol!

When we started, I said to my wife "With enough soap, you can blow up just about anything" and she didn't catch the reference. I made her watch Fight Club again that night.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I dabbled in soaps for a major corporation a number of years ago. What we discovered was a market for high-end specialty soaps. If you sell regular old hand soap, you will not be able to compete against the giants. So make sure you use the buzz words to sell your stuff…handcrafted; all natural; all organic….or add in some other oddity – goats milk soap, lavender petals, etc.

I looked into this about 20 years ago, and there definitely was a bigger market back then. I see more and more “mom & pop” soaps today, so the market might be a little tighter.

I’m just curious, how much “making” of the soap are you doing….are you starting with fat and using lye to saponify the fat etc, etc, etc? Or are you buying the ingredients and mixing from there to make your soaps?
 
B

beerfish

redfishbluefish said:
I’m just curious, how much “making” of the soap are you doing….are you starting with fat and using lye to saponify the fat etc, etc, etc? Or are you buying the ingredients and mixing from there to make your soaps?
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We're using fat, lye, deionized water, and other natural ingredients only, doing everything from scratch. We're not using any coloring that isn't natural and FDA approved for cosmetics, even though they don't regulate soap, and we legally could use these. We're also only using pure essential oils, and avoiding fragrance oils. Thus far we've used things like organic cocoa nibs, pure honey, dried lavender, and dried sage for color and texture.

We're also talking about putting together a very high end line of luxury soaps, using things like tussah silk, cashmere, and various butters (cocoa, shea, mango). I'll keep you posted.
 
B

beerfish

shipwrecked said:
So, a, vegetarians can eat this stuff?..lol jk best of luck on the new biz...
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Lol. A lot of the soaps are vegetarian friendly, some vegan friendly. I personally wouldn't eat them, and wouldn't advise it... but hey, can't be much worse than tofu! ;D
 
whitebear1020

whitebear1020

Congratulations and welcome to entrepreneur's club with long hours and sleepless nights ;D
Please let me know if you need any help or advise.
 
B

beerfish

whitebear1020 said:
Congratulations and welcome to entrepreneur's club with long hours and sleepless nights ;D
Please let me know if you need any help or advise.
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Thanks! I can only hope we get to a point where we need to put in the long hours!
 
B

beerfish

FYI... Through the 19th we're offering a free hand soap with any order while supplies last.

Still time for shipping before Christmas!
 
reefsandrotts

reefsandrotts

NJRC Member
beerfish said:
FYI... Through the 19th we're offering a free hand soap with any order while supplies last.

Still time for shipping before Christmas!
Click to expand...
I think on here you'd do better with a free "frag" with any order.. ;)
Good luck
 
B

beerfish

reefsandrotts said:
beerfish said:
FYI... Through the 19th we're offering a free hand soap with any order while supplies last.

Still time for shipping before Christmas!
Click to expand...
I think on here you'd do better with a free "frag" with any order.. ;)
Good luck
Click to expand...

Lol... probably... but a hand soap is a smaller soap, so sorta like a frag!

So... ummm... free frag of soap with any purchase!
 
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