There are an increasing number of people creating and selling their own soap as craft businesses are quick becoming a popular choice among consumers. Individuals are more likely now than ever before to prefer an independent, homemade product over its mass-produced counterpart. So with this ever-increasing competition, you need to make sure you are standing out from the crowd. The starting point to ensuring this is by creating a memorable, professional and appealing brand. This guide shows you how, in three simple steps.
The first step to creating a brand for your soap is to create a logo – the rest of your brand, packaging and marketing materials should follow on quite naturally from this. There are a number of ways to create a logo for your soap making business.
The most professional method, but also the most costly, is getting a logo developed by a graphic designer. You will need a guideline, brief and some initial ideas to make sure the graphic designer is creating you a logo that is relevant to your business aims and demographics.
Alternatively, you can download one from the major stock photo libraries, such as Shutterstock. A much more cost effective solution, whilst also offering a lot of variety, this might be ideal for you if you are just starting out. However, you may need to adjust text and color slightly to suit your needs and your logo will not be copyrighted as it is an image that is in the public domain.
Remember that a logo should reflect your own ethics, personality and beliefs - your brand should an emotional reaction with the customer.
After you have picked a logo, then you can think about the rest of your visual brand. This is the fun part! You will need to choose a color scheme, fonts and style that will be seen across all your packaging and online and offline communications.
A color scheme generator, like this one from Colors is a great way to pick colors that technically go well with each other. When picking a color, think about what you want your brand messaging to convey. The below infographic outlines some of the world’s most popular brands and the way in which this affects the customer.
For a soap making business, good colors to use would be neutral colors, greys, greens and even blues. You want to get across the fact that your brand is natural, trustworthy and healthy. Use other craft business as inspiration for your own, but do not to try and emulate what others are doing – remember you want to be unique.
The packaging of your soap will be determined by the style of your branding. Remember to pick a method of packaging that is reflective of what your brand is about. For example, if your product and branding is natural and organic, pick a packaging material that mirrors this, such as hemp, recycled paper or botanical produce.
There are many ways to create homemade packaging at a low cost. Take a look at our Pinterest board below for some inspiration. From upcycled match boxes and fabrics, to custom made, printed boxes, there are packaging solutions to meet every need and budget.
Conclusion
Remember, creating a brand is so much than words on paper or a logo. It’s a combination of elements – from the packaging it comes in, to its reputation and customer service. Creating positive, personalized customer experiences are the essence of good branding and best practice. You’ve got to put the work in however, to add value to your customers’ experience. For many of us, a brand is a ‘promise’ – we know what to expect from our favorite brands and we keep coming back because we feel the quality and service we receive is superior than a comparable brand. This is brand loyalty and what you should be aiming to achieve with your business!
Please don’t hesitate to comment on this post with any questions or feedback directly relating to your business and we will try and provide further help where possible. You can also like our Facebook Page, or sign up to our newsletter for regular updates, tips and advice on selling your soap! Don’t forget to check back into our blog so you don’t miss out on more information like this.