Cheryl Stroup of Sanger, California writes:
I am a soap maker working out of my home (you can visit my website). I use only natural ingredients in my soaps. One of the hottest rages in the market is food-scented soaps and other products such as candles. Most fruits and foods do not produce essential oils. Any soap that smells of fruits is scented with artifical fragrance oils and therefore has not been part of my soap repertoire.
In January, I came across a beer line of Belgian Lambic ales–beers made with fruits such as rasbperries, peach and black currants. I devised a technique I hoped would preserve these beer characteristics and did an expriment to see if the fruit scents would hold up under the soapmaking process—they do! I now have the only fruit-scented soaps on the market that do not use artificial oils. And beer is wonderful for the skin and hair as well.
I sent soap samples to the editor at All About Beer magazine and the soaps were featured in the June/July issue, in time for Father’s Day. But the soaps are great for everyone. Does anyone have any suggestions for reaching the beer market or other specialty/novelty markets with these wonderful soaps? I also make custom beer soaps, the most recent used Dos Equis.
The Publicity Hound says: Beer-loving Hounds everywhere, unite! Let’s toast Cheryl on her success with All About Beer magazine and also give her some super ideas on how she can spread the word about these candles. This one is really fun, and I can’t wait to see the responses.
I would suggest targeting health & beauty magazines as well. Many of them have sections dedicated to promoting new products. Women love all natural and scented products. For instance, Essence magazine has a great product section and their health & beauty editor is always looking for product samples.
(Um…if she makes soap, why did you mention candles?? Did I miss something here???)
I’d suggest checking around for local Oktoberfests…beer…sausages…music…soap…
Hey: BEER ISN’T THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES SUDS!!!!!
Cheryl might be able to get additional exposure if her soaps don’t bother people with sensitivity to fragrances, many caused by the artificial nature of the scents. These people often aren’t sensitive to natural scents. So if she can verify her soaps’ smell great, but are less likely to cause allergic reactions, then she’s got a real hook for any health reporter.
I recommend making cross-Pond friends with CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, in the UK. They hold The Great British Beer Festival each year (this year’s attendance was 47K!) and regularly get quirky coverage in the British press which then goes international. They have a large membership with newsletters that report finding products such as yours.
–Consider working with a local hotel to stock their rooms with your soaps
–Work with a local skin care chain in demos for living or fashion sections of papers
–Have local bars or clubs stock their restrooms with your soaps
I looked at the web site and love the concept of these soaps. As a consultant specializing in the professional beauty industry I can think of several ways you can market your products and increase your sales.
1. Think about creating a seperate web site for the beer soaps. The target market for these soaps seem to be guys, especially since so many of these soaps can also be used for shaving. These macho types aren’t going to be comfortable looking for manly cleaners amidst soaps named “Faery Land” and ” Healing Hands”. The difference between your target market for the beer soaps and the other soaps you offer vary too much to hope both markets will be well served by one site. Be sure to put an obvious link on each site to direct people to learn about other product catagories you offer.
2. I didn’t notice any way for wholesale customers to do business with you on your web site. I can think of several spas and salons I do business with that would do well with your product. In addition to selling to the end consumer, think about selling bigger quantities to stores to retail. Or really go for the gusto and market to beauty product distributors that will buy even bigger quantities to sell to retailers. Work with a consultant or accountant to work out pricing and what it will take to amp up your production when you hit it big!
3. A big trend in the professional beauty business are men’s salons. These upper-end salons cater only to men and create an environment where men want to hang out without feeling like they’re in a beauty shop. In these evolved barber shops they serve beer, have pool tables, give shoe shines, and most importantly to you, give straight razor shaves. In New York City there are shops that only give shaves. With a little research you can sell product to these men’s clubs to use on their customers and sell to them.
Although these are more business strategies than ways to get publicity, they are ways to increase your sales. These strategies may create some publicity opportunities for you. I’m impressed with your concept and I know how difficult it is to find botanically based soaps without synthetic aromas. Best wished for your success.
Don’t forget about your first market – natural products. There will be plenty of natural product consumers who would love a good all-natural fruit-scented soap, especially if there aren’t any on the market now. There are strong natural product markets surrounding the few naturopathic medical schools in the U.S (Tempe, Ariz. and Portland, Ore. are two I know of). You might want to search for publications that reach these naturopathic medical school communities. You could also pitch a stories to natural product retailers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. They have email newsletters that reach their shoppers.
As for the beer market, you could target breweries and send samples for their bathrooms. They might even ask you to make a custom soap from their own fruit beers!
Hi there! I know alot of beer lovers. I think a good marketing angle would be the women who know beer lovers. How about restaurant gift shops? Here in NH we have some restaurants that brew their own beer and also sell it in their shop, they could sell the soap as well. If the restaurant has a bar, you could sell it there, or in gift baskets. Beer gift baskets for men, I think they would love it.
try to exchange links or advertising with beer manufacturers.
Good luck! I think you have a great thing here, I would love to purchase your items!
Michelle Dunn
http://www.michelledunn.com
Beer and Skin! Wow! Why limit yourself to trade pubs and consumer mags focusing on beer? My suggestion would be to do a major media push focusing on the effects of beer on skin. Do you have any stats to support your claim that beer is good for the skin? I bet most people never even thought of beer that way. Can beer be used to fight wrinkles? Could it be the fountain of youth?
I’d also create a website and ezine dedicated to beer and beauty. You’ve created a system that works to resolve the issue of using articial oils to fragrance the beer. You are the ULTIMATE expert. Flaunt this in every way possible.
Cheers and good luck!
Ayana Glaze
First, Cheryl, that’s a nice web site, but the text on the brewery line page seems oriented to females, which may work for you, but if you do set up a separate page or site that’s male-oriented, be sure to phrase things for us dolts.
As for reaching foodies, you might search your area for a loca, regional or statewide dining guide or directory and perhaps buy an ad on their site or partner with them to reach their client restaurants (the ones with gift shops, as Michelle Dunn suggested.
To reach foodies on an international level, you might contact pubcrawlers.com, chowhounds.com or just do a quick search for “foodie” or “dining guide” on your favorite search engine.
You might also pitch to local realtors as gift baskets for their clients and/or as a basket they could “plant” in homes they’re showing. And think about who else might give them to their clients, as well.
Best of luck with it all. (I’ll be telling my ladyfriend about your site, as well; she loves that kind of stuff. She’s also a realtor on Sanibel Island, Florida; we’ll see what we can do over here.)
Regarding Danielle’s mention of Trader Joe’s, keep in mind that TJ’s also has a unique beer section featuring lots of off-beat labels. Pitching them to find a way to tie their beer and natural products sections together likely would pose an intriguing challenge for their ever-so-creative marketing department. Soap in the beer section? Beer in the soap section? Beer-oriented, off-beat soap labels? Hmmm…
Mmmmm beer and candles, I only wish my ex had thought of this….anyway, as a person prone to some chemical allergies, I’d be interested in soaps and products that don’t trigger my unfortunate responses. If your products are all natural and tested as non-allergenic, that is a fantastic market for you– allergy sufferers. My friend Brian, much to his dismay, discovered that he was allergic to wheat beers so it was sayonara to the Belgian beers and hello to domestic brews – maybe the same can work for you? Good luck and best wishes.
One other thought, Cheryl, but probably for the back burner. Another ladyfriend of mine suggested offhandedly the idea of wine scents. If you do that, then the tie-ins with mags like Wine Spectator and that whole segment open up.
Again, good luck with it.
Bob
SavvyDining.com
I have a few thoughts for Cheryl Stroup, the soap maker, who needs promotional ideas — Real Simple magazine, plus health oriented magazines and web sites that deal with organic and homeopathic products. Also, many local dailies have a columnist who likes to champion “made here” products or products that are new and innovative.
In addition, she can bundle three soaps and package them very attractively (netting with ribbon and a nice label, etc.) and approach her local spas and salons. As a door opener, she can provide a few samples in an attractive basket she provides. The spas/salon can add a few of their own products, and then raffle the basket off to their customers. This would help her build a relationship with the spas/salons and will get her product into the hands of women. Early December would be a perfect time for the holidays.
Thank you to everyone for these excellent ideas, suggestions and new markets! I will be implementing most, if not all, of these in the coming months.