Bath salts have long been lauded for their ability to soften the skin and soothe tired and tender muscles. However, many bath salts now have additives in them that consumers want to avoid. With customers looking to avoid big businesses that may use these additives, smaller businesses are starting to see themselves flourish. If you’re thinking of starting your own bath salts business, now is the time to seize the moment and actualize what you’ve been dreaming of. To help you get started, here is a complete guide to selling your own bath salts.
Decide on a Home Lab or Private Label
Home Lab
Deciding on crafting your own bath salt formula or using a separate manufacturer can be a difficult decision, and they both come with their own sets of pros and cons. If you decide to make your own bath salts by hand, you’ll need to buy a decent amount of equipment and ensure you’re working in a sterile environment.
While setting up your in-home cosmetic lab isn’t terribly difficult, it’s extra equipment that you need to buy. Additionally, you have to make sure that equipment is sterile in order to pass FDA guidelines, which we will discuss more later. However, the best part about owning an in-home lab is that you can fully customize your product and be completely sure of what’s going in it.
Private Label
You may decide to work with a separate manufacturer who has already crafted their own base formula of bath salts. A manufacturer will already have the tools and equipment necessary to provide your product with a sterile environment and stable formulation. Additionally, most manufacturers will allow you to use a private label, allowing you to apply your own logo to an already-made product.
While it may not be 100 percent your own formulation, base formulas sold by manufacturers allow for the customization of scents, oils, and other additives. This way, you can give the product a personal touch without having to make it from scratch.
Whichever avenue you choose, you will be responsible for upholding the quality of the formula and ensuring that the product you’re selling adheres to cosmetic regulations.
Know Your Ingredients
Whether you decide to work with a manufacturer or create your own bath salts by hand, you need to be intimately familiar with the ingredients you sell as well as where they come from. It is important to note that the money you make won’t come from the price you set but rather your ability to find the best bulk ingredients or products for the best price. The overall market will determine the price you set, meaning you have to budget and spend your money wisely—that is where you will make the most profit.
In general, there are a few different ingredients that go into making a quality bath salt. Depending on your budget, you can choose to work with Epsom salt or dead sea salt. Epsom salt is more widely available and, therefore, cheaper, but make sure your Epsom salts aren’t mixed with any other salts. Dead sea salt is a little more expensive, but it does tend to be more mineral-rich. You can use both together. Once you’ve decided what salt you’re going to work with, you can start looking at additives.
Many bath salts either include a quality essential oil or some kind of dry herb. Dried herbs are great for adding a natural fragrance without having to include a harsh perfume, but essential oils do the trick just as well. Ultimately, it depends on the look, consistency, and overall goal you’re trying to reach.
The source of your ingredients should also match your business’s ethics. For example, if you claim to only use ethically sourced, vegan, or cruelty-free materials, your ingredients, formulation, and packaging need to match. A false claim can seriously damage your business if found out, and people almost always do find out.
Be Aware of FDA Regulations and Guidelines
Bath salts are not considered an over-the-counter drug and fall under the umbrella of cosmetics, according to the FDA. While your product does not have to be FDA certified, it’s a good idea to do so anyway so your product doesn’t have to be labeled “Not FDA Certified.” Seeing this label on your product may make some consumers shy away from buying because they won’t know why your product isn’t FDA-certified.
If you decide to get your product certified, it must comply with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and the Guidelines and Cosmetic Labeling Requirements. Under these guidelines, you must declare all of the ingredients in order of amount, most to least, with any active ingredients either going first or separately listed. Additionally, ingredients and any label warnings must be accessible and easy to read. An inspector may come to check your facility if you work out of your own lab, meaning they will be checking your building, equipment, personnel, material, production, laboratory controls, records, and labeling.
If you’re working with a manufacturer that’s already FDA registered , you don’t have to worry about all of that. But if you decide to customize your product with additions not already in the manufacturer’s formula, you’ll have to get it rechecked.
Know Your Audience
Once you’ve mastered your formula and you’re ready to start selling, you need to start thinking about whom you want to sell to. This is because your consumer audience will determine how you decide to market your product. For example, younger consumers are more likely to buy products seen and reviewed on social media networks such as Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. While older audiences also buy from social media, such as Facebook, they’re more likely to pay attention to physical ads, such as flyers, coupons, and emails.
Additionally, whether you decide to make social media accounts or use physical marketing, you may also want to consider other aspects of your consumer audience, such as gender or average spending income. Not only can this help tailor your ads and profiles, but it may also impact how you decide to package your product. For example, men tend to buy cosmetic products in sleek and darker packaging. Women, on the other hand, tend to care less about what the package looks like as long as it’s packaged well.
Whomever you decide to market to, you should make sure that your packaging reflects your business. You can include coupons, small gifts such as samples, your contact info, or even gifts unrelated to your product, like stickers and pins. Pins and stickers are a great way to get free marketing for your business.
With this complete guide to selling your own bath salts, you’re ready to start making your business dreams come true and sell a product that represents you. If you’re looking for a high-quality base to get started, Essential Wholesale and Labs sells bulk bath salts for businesses just like yours. With us, you and your wallet can feel good about what you’re buying.