12 Soap Business Success Stories From Entrepreneurs to Inspire You [2023]

12 Soap Business Success Stories From Entrepreneurs to Inspire You [2023]
Start A Soap Business

Soap-making business is a growing industry that can be home-based or a small local business. Soap business is one of the most lucrative home-based businesses that perfect your decision to work in your free time while you earn good cash.

Starting a soap business sounds simple enough. You can buy supplies for probably less than $1,000. Popular skincare products are now being sold online, and this doesn’t seem like a challenging field to break into. Below are some success stories of the soap business that will inspire you.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a soap business:

1. Outlaw ($4.56M/year)

Danielle Vincent (from Sparks, NV, USA) started Outlaw about 10 years ago.

Revenue
$380K / month
Team
2 founders / 13 employees
Location
Sparks, NV, USA

Case Study

More important than the money, though, we’ve made so many friends from our customers and business contacts from the business. 46% of our website orders are from repeat customers. Once someone joins the Outlaw gang, we strive to be their sidekick for the long haul. We often hear from customers that our customer service is the best they’ve ever experienced. I think this is because we’re absolutely emphatic about ensuring the satisfaction of our genuinely incredible customers, no matter what.

We feel like our Magnificent Seven Outlaw Values really define us as a company and give our customers a good reason to be loyal to us. (in addition to fantastic product, of course)

leaving-the-cubicle-to-start-a-23k-month-soap-company

2. The Purple Sage ($48K/year)

Sandy Engels (from Ethel, LA, USA) started The Purple Sage ago.

Revenue
$4K / month
Team
1 founders / 0 employees
Location
Ethel, LA, USA

Case Study

Hey, y’all, I am Sandy Engels and I am the owner and artisan of The Purple Sage, a company created to encourage modern midlife women to live and love boldly.

I’ve been making soap and bath products since 2002. I got serious about business in 2011. In addition to selling online, I do festivals and events in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia. My average revenue is $2800 a month.

how-i-started-my-2-8k-month-soap-lotion-and-bubble-bath-brand

Learn more about starting a soap business:

Where to start?

-> Soap business plan
-> How to finance a soap business?
-> How much does it cost to start a soap business?
-> Pros and cons of a soap business
-> How to get clients for a soap business?

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established soap business
-> Marketing ideas for a soap business
-> Soap business slogans
-> Soap business names
-> Soap business Instagram bios

Other resources

-> Profitability of a soap business
-> Soap business tips
-> Blog post ideas for a soap business
-> Soap business hashtags
-> Soap business calculator

4. Mirai Clinical ($1.2M/year)

Koko Hayashi (from Spring Valley, CA, USA) started Mirai Clinical almost 9 years ago.

Revenue
$100K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees

Case Study

Hello! My name is Koko and I’m a Japanese female serial entrepreneur. I started my eCommerce business of deodorizing body, hair, and home care products over a decade ago. We offer purifying and deodorizing secrets to help you feel fresh and clean at any age. It is clinically proven that body odor changes with age despite your hygiene (Nonenal body odor). The key ingredient to eliminating this body odor associated with aging is Persimmon from Japan.

Our monthly sales are $100,000 mostly from Shopify eCommerce and Amazon. We focus highly on baby boomers, so everything we do has to be senior-friendly. In addition to the fact that we are the only brand that offers solutions for body odor associated with aging in the USA, our customer outreach is aimed at creating an easy and enjoyable experience. We prioritize human customer service over chatbots; optimize our website for senior eyes; and, ensure our products are designed for safer, easier usage, etc.

how-i-created-a-100k-month-soap-bar-to-treat-body-odor

5. Alegna Soap ($60K/year)

Angela Carillo (from New York, USA) started Alegna Soap over 13 years ago.

Revenue
$5K / month
Team
1 founders / 0 employees
Location
New York, USA

Case Study

My name is Angela Carillo. I’ve been a soap maker since 2000, and in 2009 I started Alegna Soap®. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Alegna is Angela backward. Hey, if it worked for Oprah...

In addition to selling soap online, at fairs and events across Long Island, I produce custom private label soaps for other Bath and Beauty companies. I also teach soap making classes and speak at soap conferences all over the country.

how-angela-carillo-started-a-soap-company-out-of-her-kitchen

6. Spinster Sisters Co. ($1.5M/year)

Kelly Perkins (from Golden, CO, USA) started Spinster Sisters Co. over 10 years ago.

Revenue
$125K / month
Team
1 founders / 10 employees

Case Study

Hi, I am Kelly Perkins, Founder, and CEO of Spinster Sisters Co. We are a natural skin and personal care company that manufactures premium quality products that are better for people and better for the planet.

We recently hired a marketing agency to help us continue to grow this channel as well. Last week we had the biggest sales week in company history, and I am so excited about the growth potential that is active in our sales funnel right now.

from-making-soap-in-my-basement-to-building-a-1-3m-year-business

7. Kiss My Crown Essentials ($14.4K/year)

Warnisha Foster (from Ocala, Florida, USA) started Kiss My Crown Essentials about 3 years ago.

Revenue
$1.2K / month
Team
1 founders / 1 employees
Location
Ocala, Florida, USA

Case Study

My name Warnisha Foster I am the CEO of Kiss My Crown Essentials. I founded Kiss My Crown Essentials in March of 2020 and I started offering my products a few at a time to see how they would go over with the public. My first product was Strawberry Rose’ Champagne Soap. The idea for this soap came from looking at my life as a single mom of four I started to feel burned out. I needed something to make me feel feminine, Make me feel like a woman, Grown and sexy. This did the trick.

Our mission here a KMCE is to let mothers like myself know that we are seen, we are beautiful and we are a necessity.

on-starting-a-homemade-organic-soap-brand-from-the-kitchen

8. Little Soap Company ($7.2M/year)

Founded by Emma Heathcote-James in 2008, Little Soap Company really is a kitchen table to supermarket shelf story.

Emma Heathcote-James (from Broadway, UK) started Little Soap Company about 15 years ago.

Revenue
$600K / month
Team
1 founders / 11 employees

Case Study
  • As a youngster, Emma grew up using soap her Granny collected on her travels. Pure, natural soap, free from any chemicals was the norm for the family.
  • Emma began making handmade soaps from her kitchen table.
  • She makes her products organic to hit the supermarket shelves.
  • Emma has four collections sold in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Booths, Boots, Ocado, Amazon. She also sells her products wholesale into other stores.
  • Her full name Emma Heathcote-James as on LinkedIn profile, with the number of 5.9k followers there.

article

Read the full story on thebusinessbarn.co.uk ➜

9. River County Soapworks ($36K/year)

River County Soapworks owner Robin Hertz is a master of handmade soap wholesale, custom manufacture, and private label sales.

Robin Hertz (from Yacolt, WA, USA) started River County Soapworks about 22 years ago.

Revenue
$3K / month
Team
1 founders / 0 employees

Case Study
  • Founded in the spring of 2001, River County Soapworks grew out of a love of art, a passion to create, and a desire to help others step back and celebrate the simple pleasures in life.
  • All their handmade soap bars are artfully designed and beautifully scented.
  • They use all natural ingredientsherbs, and minerals in their sopas. The finest food-grade oils such as Olive, Sweet Almond, Coconut, and Palm are used to make the soaps.
  • Their products are eco-friendly and they also have a vegan soap range available for their valued customers.

article

Read the full story on modernsoapmaking.com ➜

10. Taproot Organics ($48K/year)

Taproot Organics owners Zaida and Daniel Grunes combined their restaurant background and their branding skills to create the ultimate soap maker brand.

Zaida and Daniel (from Jersey City, NJ, USA) started Taproot Organics about 9 years ago.

Revenue
$4K / month
Team
2 founders / 4 employees

Case Study
  • 4 years ago, Zaida was diagnosed with vitiligo and her skin started turning white. That is when Daniel made soap for her - which resulted in a business idea.
  • They used Twitter and Facebook as their main marketing channels to advertise and sell their products.
  • Currently, they have two operating stores in two different cities and a 24/7 running website.

article

Read the full story on modernsoapmaking.com ➜

11. Suchi's Handcrafted Skincare Products ($12K/year)

Suchita Ullas, an erstwhile PR professional based in Bengaluru, took to soap making after her retirement and now runs a successful venture.

Suchita (from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India) started Suchi's Handcrafted Skincare Products about 7 years ago.

Revenue
$1K / month
Team
2 founders / 2 employees

Case Study
  • Suchita and Pradeep are an entrepreneurial duo who make, market, and sell natural handmade soaps, creams, and shampoo bars under the brand name – ‘Suchi’s Handmade Skincare Products’.
  • Suchita attended a soapmaking workshop and enjoyed the process so much to went on to spend the next year doing online research.
  • She researched and experimented with soapmaking for one year and finally in 2016 launched her business by booking a stall in a flea market in Bangalore.
  • Cureently she sells arond 500 soap bars per month and uses primarily Facebook and Instagram marketplaces to reach her customers.

article

Read the full story on thebetterindia.com ➜

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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