"Why Are Your Soaps So Expensive?" (Spoiler alert: They're actually not).
In a world where people want everything fast and cheap it's often difficult to sell products that take time and cost money. It's not unusual for a customer to show interest in our products at a show, only to change their minds when they see the price tag.
Why are your soaps so expensive?
Well the simple answer is they're actually not. The price tag is only a small part of the bigger picture that is called VALUE, and Kaleidosoap offers tremendous value in every product that you may not immediately notice. So here's a brief explanation of why a $15 bar of our soap is better value than a $5 bar of someone else's.
What You Pay For...
High Quality Ingredients - We don't opt for cheaper, lower quality ingredients when high quality ones are available. You won't find any cheap filler oils in our soaps. Many soap makers use oils like canola, corn, or vegetable shortening, which are cheap and take up space in a recipe where better oils could go. We use high quality oils like Organic, fair trade, non GMO coconut oil, thick, refined cocoa butter, and 100% pure olive oil.
Over 20 Years of Experience - Soapmaking has become a fad lately and the number of handmade soap companies in the market has exploded over the last decade. A lot of soap makers started out as hobbyists and jumped on the band wagon to make a buck or two. But soap making is a complicated and nuanced thing and it takes a long time to really get the hang of it. That means that a lot of soap makers don't really understand the chemistry of what they do. Many don't research the regulations they are subject to, or don't know how to legally sell their products properly. But we've been making soap for over 20 years and had plenty of time to learn and do and mess up and do again. We are Health Canada compliant and our labels are consistent with Canadian regulations, and with a background in health care as well as university level chemistry training, you can be sure that what we produce is done safely, knowledgeably, and well.
Individually Formulated Skin Care - Each bar of soap we produce is unique. Each type has it's own individual formulation so that everything we make is different and we can find a fit for a wide array of skin types and issues. Each bar has a specific luxury oil added, including high end oils like rosehip, jojoba, meadowfoam, and avocado oils, so that every time you get into the shower you can feel pampered and special.
A Piece of Art - Each bar of soap is more than just an impeccably formulated functional item. Inspired by mythology, history, lore, and artwork, made with a vast array of ingredients in delicately balanced equations, coloured with brilliant layers and shimmering swirls, scented with beautiful, ineffable, and evocative fragrances, each bar tells its own story as a stand alone work of art. Because you can be both functional and beautiful at the same time!
What You Don't Pay For...
Overhead - Our price tags reflect the quality of the ingredients we use and very little else. When our prices are calculated we don't generally include expenses such as overhead. Because the business is home based it doesn't directly pay for heat, lights, rent, phone, or internet. Equipment and tools and their depreciation over time are also not considered in our pricing.
Hourly Wages - As a disabled veteran who cannot hold down a regular job anymore, the owner does not take an hourly wage. Soapmaking is a therapeutic tool in her recovery from injuries received overseas, so Kaledidosoap doesn't exist to make huge profits but merely to pay for itself so that the therapy can continue. All other "staff" get paid with free room and board or tonnes of hugs, so there are no hourly wages to inflate the price of the products.
CEO Bonuses and Corporate Stuff - We're small. Very small. That means that Kaleidosoap is not a top heavy corporation full of glutted executives who siphon off profits for themselves. Because profit isn't the goal at our little soap company, we can let that show in our pricing.
What You Get...
Amazingly Fine Luxury Skin Care - Our products are seriously high end when it comes to ingredients and manufacturing and they are designed to pamper and aid in self-care and mental wellness. Large companies charge obscene amounts of money for relatively plain products based on the fact that the customer probably doesn't know the difference or they're just willing to pay the extra money for the company name on the bar. With our soap bars you get high quality works of art for relatively little money.
Ethically Sourced Colours and Environmentally Conscious Products - Most of the world's mica supply comes out of two provinces in India where, sadly, slavery and child labour are rampant. At Kaleidosoap we use suppliers who ethically source their colours so as not to contribute to this reprehensible practice. We use only biodegradable and eco-friendly glitters so that microscopic plastics aren't leaking into the water supply, and we don't use problematic oils (such as palm oil) that contribute to deforestation, global warming, and violence towards animals.
Support a Local Business and Disabled Veteran - When you buy from Kaleidosoap you aren't funding massive corporate greed, but rather you are contributing to the local economy as well as helping to directly support the recovery of a disabled veteran who owns and runs the business. The value of these things cannot be properly quantified.
What You Don't Get...
- No palm oil
- No animal fats
- No child labour or slavery
- No cheap detergents masquerading as soap
- No cheap filler oils
Ultimately, when you consider what goes into a bar of Kaleidosoap soap, you begin to realize that they aren't expensive at all, in fact they're an epic deal! So the real question is not "why are Kaledisoasoap soaps so expensive?" but rather What are other soaps made of that thay can be sold so cheap??
