This is an investment idea which one can start with as low as thirty thousand naira especially at this time of serious unemployment rate.
Laundry soap (or washing soap) is the type of soap that we use in washing our clothes or in doing general cleaning. It is an essential commodity for every home and so there is always an available market.
Good laundry soap should have good foaming ability for it to be able to remove dirt from clothes as well as make a pleasurable usage experience. It is good for you to add enough fragrance and make sure that you buy one that has a good scent as this will help to attract so many people. You will need to choose appealing and enticing colours for your product. By so doing, your product will be unique and different from others.
It is important to note that there are so many soaps in the market but with the formulation given below and good packaging plus effective marketing strategy, you can be sure to beat the competition.
Equipments:
Heater (kerosene/charcoal stove); cutter (knife); mixer with stirrer (paint bucket and a clean stick); casting moulds; shaping machine (optional); stamping machine (locally made); hydrometer; weighing scale; measuring container; and packaging materials.
Requirement:
– Caustic soda (NaOH) = 1kg
– Palm kernel oil (P.K.O) = 6 litres
– Soda ash (light) = ½ kg
– Silicate = 160 litres
– Sodium sulphate = 160 litres
– Colourant to desired
– Water = 4.5 litres
– Fragrance to taste
– Foaming agent
Procedure:
1. Prepare the caustic soda solution by dissolving 1kg of caustic soda in 4.5 litres of water; confirm that it was a density of 1275kg/m3. Allow the solution to stand and blend for at least three days. Please ensure that you leave them to stand for this time or even more (the longer the better) to avoid your soap being corrosive on the users’ skin and clothes.
2. Add the soda ash to the caustic soda solution and stir vigorously until well blended.
3. Add the colourant to the solution and continue stirring.
4. Add all the Palm kernel oil into the mixer and continue stirring vigorously in a clockwise direction only for some time.
5. Add the foaming agent and silicate and continue stirring.
6. Add the fragrance and pour into moulds and allow solidification for 24 hours.
7. Stamp, shape and package and you are ready for the market.
One major question so many people do ask me is “where can we get these chemicals to buy?” Unfortunately, because some of these chemicals are toxic, they are not usually on display in the open streets. However, you can get them in the sections of our local markets where they sell agro-allied products.
The next step is for you to do proper marketing. In order to break into the market you’ll need to drop your product price by as little as five naira per bar of soap. Take to your local market, identify the traders that deal on wholesale and tell them that you are giving it to them at a discount. It will surprise you to see how your product will be rushed.
Some of you may think that this is not the kind of business that will fetch you the kind of money you need, but don’t forget thatevery great end has a small beginning. This may be that small beginning that will lead your desired great end.
Adapted from https://mobile.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=706184622850119&id=700725563396025&_ft_=top_level_post_id.706184622850119%3Atl_objid.706184622850119%3Athid.700725563396025%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1451635199%3A5242099478352657690