How have customers provided direction?

What moves you to develop, create or improve your product line? Over this past year we have listened to customers. They have offered thoughs, feedback and ideas that were not in our scope of thoughts. Here are some of the thoughts we have moved on:

Men’s Shaving Soap:   in May 2011 we has a series of shoppers stop and ask if we made shaving soap. The appeal was that shave soap gives a smoother, closer shave without the chemicals in store bought. Also there is a trend toward returning to old ways of living. Steve went to work researching, developed the recipe, and made a mold that would create hockey puck size discs. I set out to package them, and researched information for a pamphlet that explains how to use the soap. Partnering with a potter we created shave kits…bowl, brush and soap.

Mini-Bars: A number of shoppers suggested small trial size bars. This would provide opportunity to try the soap without investing in large bars. We found that when making a batch of soap we had more soap than would fit the mold….so the excess was poured into another mold and when unmolded was cut into 1.5″x1.5″ cubes. We wrapped them and put them in a basket for sale. And they are extremely popular.

Custom orders: Customers have asked for particular flavors and unique forms of soap. Our first custom order was chammomile soap for a bridal shower, then there was the request for eggs in the fragrance of sweetgrass, a spicy sweet scent like fresh cut spring hay. Steve has to create the mold using 2 stage polymers….and the eggs produced are the size of a large chicken egg.  Packaging was simple….Easter basket grass and small baskets made of double sized scrapbook paper, wrapped in netting.  Was a big hit in the spring.
We just completed pumpkin spice
We have a list of soap suggestions we are working on developing based on customer request.  They include:
+ Dog Wash Soap
+ Natural Shampoo
+ lotion

Do you have recommendations?  We are always listening.