Risks Faced When Things Are On Consignment

One of the losses that we have made in this business resulted from putting our goat milk soap on consignment to outlets. Consignment basis here means that we, as soap distributors, put our product at a particular outlet (convenience stores, beauty shops, petrol kiosks, etc) and they are only paid when the soaps are sold. If they are not sold, the outlet owners are not obligated to pay us anything apart from those that have been sold. 

The problem occurs when our soaps are not being properly put in its baskets (where it is displayed) - which would often result in outlets losing/misplacing these baskets, unkempt soaps (with its wrapper torn & weary), soap bitten by rats or our products are shelved some place obscure altogether - away from the public eye.

That is the reason why we encourage distributors to insist outlet owners/operators in displaying the soaps (in the basket) at the cashier's counter of the outlet or some place prominent where the customers could immediately see them because these soaps do not belong with the other detergents (including commercial soaps) at the back of the shop. It would not sell if they are put back there nexy to the Luxs and the Doves - which are way cheaper in pricing.

Brochures of the soap's benefits should also be available to the customers in order to educate them about the effectiveness of our soaps and why it is priced in such a way. 

These informative & educative method (by putting the soaps, brochures and pamphlets at the front of the store) will eventually benefit the shop/outlet owner at the end of the day - apart from the customers. After using our soaps, users would definitely feel the difference. That's certain.

It is sad to find that some outlet owners would chuck the goat milk soap in the abyss along with the other products. It would surely rot there and eventually damaged. These are some of the foreseeable risk that distributors face when trying to market these soaps.

However, we already have many outlet owners who pay upfront for these soaps as they have already seen the effects that these soaps give to their customers' health & satisfaction, and their soaring sales of the product. It's a pity not all of them are willing to give it some time to see some difference these soaps would do to their revenue.     

Goat Milk Soap in International Islamic University Malaysia (UIA) Gombak

This past week, we have been visiting IIUM near Gombak and we were able to stock up our goat milk soaps in 7 out of their 14 convenience stores scattered all over the university ground. 

Some of the c-store owners were very receptive of us promoting our goat milk soap. Some were very sceptical. But alhamdulillah, all in all, 7 outlets acquired was a very good outcome.  

Convenience stores which now sell our goat milk soaps in IIUM are : 

1) Mahalla Asma'
2) Mahalla Aminah
3) Mahalla Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi
4) Mahalla Ali
5) Mahalla Zubair
6) Mahalla Uthman Ibn Affan
7) Mahalla Bilal

We had put 10 soaps in Mahalla Nusaibah last 6th November 2011 during our 1st visit to IIUM. After a day, all soaps were sold off. However, Nusaibah's convenience store owner advised us to come back in February 2012, after the holidays. We got to know that the students are facing their Final exams in a few weeks' time and then the holidays. Sale would understandably be low during the hols but it is already great enough that we have been given the opportunity to market our soaps in this amazing campus.

There were some of the c-store owners that we had called and approached at the university namely in Mahalla Asiah and Mahalla Ruqayyah rejected our requests outright to market our soaps at their outlets. This is part and parcel of sales & rejection of it. You win some, lose some. Oh well, maybe we could try again if sales at the other c-stores within the campus are good and promising.

We gather that some of the c-store owners were either family related or are friends from one another. Hope that they will have good things to say about us to each other after using our sample soaps that have been given to them during our sales pitch :-).

Also a special thank you to brothers Nor Asree An-Nahwi Al-Basri and Mohd Fairul (of Mahalla Bilal) both from IIUM for assisting us locating these convenience stores the other day. We couldn't have done it without them. May Allah bless both of you. 

      

..and Why Hand-Made Soaps Are Better Than Commercial Soaps?

1) First, hand-made soaps are the REAL soaps.

2) It's made carefully and with personal attention in small batches, not industrially manufactured. Its entire making process is made by hand (at least 50% of it) from start till finish - even the packaging. 

3) Hand-made soap makers leave soaps to cure for a few weeks before it can be used. Commercial soaps harden by chemicals almost immediately so that it can be used in a heartbeat.

Why hand-made soaps are normally more expensive than the commercial soaps?
4) Its high quality & expensive contents such as olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, glycerin (that moisturizes your skin) and palm fat are generally good for your skin. In our case, we have products which could do amazing things to your skin : goat's milk and calendula (Refer : Qamalia).   

Naturally, you get your money's worth when you spend more for a particular product. Buy a Benz, u get the luxury feel that comes with the vehicle. Buy a lesser quality car, you get the faulty door knob and power window after a year's use. You get what we mean.

But this is not about getting from point A to point B. This is about what kind of damaging chemical that goes onto your skin and that seeps deeper into your inner organs hence the cause of skin irritation, red spots & eczema; and the causa causas of the more serious skin cancer, hair loss, heart problems and many more fatal diseases. We take life for granted  when using these daily detergents like soaps & shampoos for beautification not realizing that it is like a slow suicidal action we partake without well-informed knowledge.          

You make the decision. Good luck.

Why Commercial (Normal) Soaps Are Bad For You

1) What is referred to as commercial (normal) soaps?
Example : Lux (USED to be the household's No.1 soap), Palmolive, Dettol, Dove, etc.

2) Why are they bad?
1st, they are detergents, not soaps. It dries out skin and leaves chemical residue.

 

3) They're made out of petroleum products & dangerous chemicals (including sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium cocoyl isethionate (synthetic detergent), stearic acid (hardener),trisodium EDTA (stabilizer, used in industrial cleaning products to decrease hard water, skin irritant), BHT (preservative, common skin irritant), animal fat, etc.).

Anti-Bacterial soap contain Triclosan, classified by EPA as a pesticide. ( * EPA is the Environment Protection Agency)

These are the reasons why most people especially children who have highly sensitive skin suffer from using commercial soaps because the contents found in them. Most of our customers love our products especially the goat milk soap and Qamalia because it moisturizes (which normal soaps don't do) and it feels luxuriously great.   

4) Glycerin is good because it draws moisture from the air into your skin.
Glycerin are removed from commercial soaps & become poor quality products.

5) They are so cheap because natural occuring glycerin are stripped out of them (normal soaps) to resell to you in the form of beauty bars and lotions.

Win Ca$h When You Introduce Us Outlets To Sell Our Soaps

That's right! It's just so easy :

a) Approach any convenience store, supermarket, petrol station, restaurant, clinic, pharmacy or anywhere there is high consumer population.

b) Convince outlet owner to display and sell our soaps at their outlets. We will come and deliver our soaps & brochures to be displayed at the outlet.

c) We pay cash after the first collection from the soap sale at the introduced outlet. Cash reward ranges from RM10 to RM30 per outlet (depending on the number of soaps the outlet sell). This is a one-time payment only.

Eazy money. KA-CHINNNGGG!

e-mail us!

For those who wants to e-mail us on any enquiries or advice about our soaps or pricing, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at yatisbeautyandhealth@yahoo.com. We will reply your questions as soon as possible. Cheers!

Making Hand-Made Soaps

Our hand-made soaps are made from quality & halal products such as olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and palm fat. Unlike the normal soap which could cause skin irritation or other skin diseases to people who are sensitive to chemicals put into these commercial soaps for instance, babies/kids, hand-made soaps is a delight to the skin.

Hand-made soap makers need to leave the soaps to dry on its own (after making them) while they form into shape. In a good and dry weather, this process could take 2-3 weeks. Even after the soaps are already hard, it is still soft and they are able to be cut smoothly into half just like cutting butter. Commercial soaps harden quickly by using chemical to multiply production in a short period of time unlike making hand-made soaps which is time consuming hence produced in small batches.

Imperfection is perfection : that's what hand-made soaps are all about. Even though their shapes and edges are not as straight and accurately shaped by a production machine like those found on commercial soaps, but these uneven cuts and shapes definitely give huge character to the product (hand-made soaps).