How to Start Liquid Soap Business in Nigeria

Do you live in Nigeria? You are passionate about the liquid soap business and you want to know how you can start a soap production business to sell whether on a small scale or large scale in Nigeria. Read this article till the end. In this article, I am going to be teaching you how you can start a standard liquid soap business in Nigeria whether at home or factory and make profits of millions from it.

As we all know liquid soap is one of the most important toiletries in the house and because it is a need we cannot do without it. I mean what can replace it? Let us say you even say you really want to replace it. What can you use to replace soap? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

We cannot replace liquid soap or bar soap with anything. We need soap to wash our clothes, plates (dishes), home cleaning and more. If we decide not to use soap again our bodies and homes will become dirty and will start smelling.

Is Liquid Soap Business Profitable?

This is perhaps the most important question about a liquid soap business that everyone wants to know. They want to know if this soap business is really lucrative or not so that they do not waste their time or resources in the business. Well, soap business whether liquid soap business or bar soap business is profitable and I will give you reasons for that.

The first reason why liquid soap business is profitable is that soap is a need (a commodity that no one cannot do without). We use soap every day and we cannot live a day without it. Another reason the liquid soap business is profitable is that it does not spoil. Any commodity that does not get spoiled on time will make profits in the long run asides from the short run.

In a soap business, nobody loses. Neither the buyers nor the sellers lose. Whether you are selling liquid soap to people – branded or unbranded to customers. They will buy out of need.

Capital Needed to Start Liquid Soap Business

The capital needed to start any kind of liquid soap business actually depends on many factors but if you really want to know. You will need about #20,000 – #100,000 to start a small-scale liquid soap business. And if it is about to start a liquid soap factory business in Nigeria you will need a capital of about #1,000,000 – #2,000,000. This capital may not be exhausted and it may be it depends on so many factors.

Equipment Used in Making Liquid Soap

There are different equipment used in making Liquid soaps and these equipment usually ranges from the kind of soap you want to be producing to the quality you want them to possess. Below are some liquid soap-making equipment.

1. Bowls

2. Apron

3. Turning stick

4. Plastic bottles

5. Stove

As for where to get soap-making equipment, you can get soap making equipment anywhere you are in Nigeria no matter the state. You just have to be able to locate markets around you. When you get to any of these markets just ask where you can buy soap making equipment and you will be directed.

Ingredients Used in Making Liquid Soap

Below are the equipment used in making liquid soap in Nigeria.

1. Sodium palmitate

2. Aqua

3. Sodium

4. Palm Kernelate

5. Fragrance

6. Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate

7. Disodium

8. Colorants

9. Olive oil

10. Shea butter

11. Water

12. Goat milk

How to Start Liquid Soap Business in Nigeria

Here are steps on how to start a liquid soap business in Nigeria. The step-by-step guide.

1. Write a Soap Business Plan

The first step to starting a Liquid soap business in Nigeria is to write a liquid soap business plan. Why do you need a liquid soap business plan if you may ask? Well, you need a liquid soap business plan to guide you on how you can go about your liquid soap business. A business plan is like a building plan.

Just like a building plan shows you how a building will look when you’re done building a house a liquid soap business plan shows you how your liquid soap business will turn out in the nearest future. A soap business plan will expose you to so many things you do not know about the business.

Asides from all this, the bar soap business plan or liquid soap business plan will expose you to knowing how profitable your soap business can be what we also call a market survey or feasibility study. Read our guide on how to write business plan in Nigeria.

2. Learn Soap Production

After drawing your liquid soap-making business plan, the next step for you will be to learn how to make liquid soap. If you want to learn how to produce liquid soap, you can look for someone that can teach you. If you want to learn how to make bar soap alongside too you need to also look for someone that can also teach you that too.

And if you want to be producing bathing soap of any kind you need to look for someone that is a professional that can teach you. Whether you are producing the soap from home or you want to start a soap factory in Nigeria it does not really matter. You need to learn how to produce soap.

Talking about how long it will take to learn soap making it depends on how fast you are able to learn but it should not take more than 3 – 6 months.

3. Register your Business Name

If you are planning to produce your liquid soap on a large scale you will need to register your soap under SON. This is to make sure customers feel safe purchasing your liquid soap. However, if you are not going on a large scale you can just ignore this step. Just start producing your liquid soap and bar soap if you are interested in that too then start selling.

You should read our guide on how to register your business name in Nigeria for more guidance on this.

4. Get Capital for Soap Business

Capital is very important in any business and this does not exclude the liquid soap business or bar soap business. You need capital for your liquid soap business because you need money to buy liquid soap materials, soap making equipment and more.

As for how you can get the capital needed to start your liquid soap business you can save up for the money or simply get help from family and friends to start. Read our article on how to get funding for your business in Nigeria.

5. Start Selling Liquid Soaps

There are no perfect techniques needed to sell liquid soap especially if the soaps were made by you. All you need is boldness to be able to approach people and tell them what you sell. You can start with your family and friends. Tell them what you produce whether liquid soap or bar soap and convince them to buy from you. You can also meet owners of supermarkets and stores to buy and sell your soaps.

6. Getting Customers and Increasing Profits

There are different ways you can attract customers in your bar soap business or liquid soap business. I have mentioned a few while in the article but I will still lay some points here again just to re-emphasizes.

1. Write a proposal to all the supermarkets in your area about your liquid soap business and what you want them to sell for you – stating their profits.

2. Inform your church member about your liquid soap business asking them to buy from you. You can use discounts to attract them.

3. Sell your soap at your working place. This point is for those that work 9 – 5.

4. Give your liquid soap to celebrities or influencers for free to advertise for you.

5. You can advertise and sell your liquid soap online.

Common Soaps in Nigeria

There are 3 major types of soaps commonly used in Nigeria. These soaps are liquid soaps; solid soaps also known as bar soaps and powered soaps also known as detergents. But today, we will be talking about bar soaps and liquid soaps business majorly.

1. Liquid Soaps

Liquid soap as it is called is a kind of soap that is made in liquid form. It could be thick and it can be watery. It depends on its manufacturer. Liquid soap can also be in different colours. It can be green, yellow, white, or even blue.

They are often sold in branded containers or ordinary containers but the liquid soaps sold in branded containers are often more expensive than in ordinary containers or bottles. Liquid soaps are often used in the home to wash dishes, clean the bathroom or wash hands, or bathing depending on the user.

2. Bar Soaps

Bar soap is a kind of soap in solid form mostly rectangular but you could also see these solid soaps in different shapes. These shapes could be oval, rectangular, or square. Bar soaps could also be in different colours. It could be black, white, blue, orange, green and more. Depending on the kind of bar soap you can use the bar soap to wash clothes, plates, or bath.

We have normal washing soaps, antiseptic soaps and medicated soaps. Caustic soda soap also falls under bar soaps.

3. Powdered Soaps

Detergents or any other powder soap belong to this category. Powdered Soaps are used to wash clothes in a washing machine. They are mostly white or grey in colour.

Starting Soap Factory in Nigeria

There are different ways to start a soap factory in Nigeria but you are supposed to have some important things you do have in place first. Some of these are soap-making machines, workers, soap-making ingredients, an available house or warehouse and more. You need to get all these if you really want to start a soap factory in Nigeria.

Soap Business Ideas in Nigeria

The most common type of soap businesses in Nigeria are:

1. Liquid Soap Business

Liquid soap business is a kind of soap-making business where you produce and sell liquid soaps. These soaps could be made in any process and in a variety of colour. The liquid soap business is profitable if you know how to calculate your cost to get your profits.

In liquid soap making in Nigeria, you can use recycled bottles to sell your liquid soaps and you can make branded bottles to sell your soap. It all depends on what you like.

2. Bar Soap Business

Bar soap business is a kind of soap business where you produce bar soaps of any kind. These bar soap could be washing bar soap or soda soap. In bar soap business, you can also do branded soap or unbranded soap it all depends on you and how much capital you have at your disposal.

3. Bathing Soap Business

In the bathing soap business, you produce and sell bathing soaps of different kinds. This could be black soaps, liquid bathing soaps and more. There’s a huge market for black soaps in Nigeria and you can make huge profits selling these soaps.

Conclusion

Liquid soap business is a lucrative business if you know how to advertise and approach people. It is a business that can yield profits from the first day you start producing your soap. You just need to be consistent and persistent in the business.

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