Business Inquiries Vermont Country Soap

Frequently asked Private Label
and Custom Blend Questions

Can you add my scent to your bar soap, liquid soap, shower gel, bath salts, spray misters?

Yes we can. You can send us your blend, or we can mix it here. We always recommend the use of natural essential oils over artificial fragrances for skin care.

Can I buy your stuff in bulk and repackage? What are the minimums?

There is a $100 minimum for all wholesale orders. You can buy naked bars by the dozens, 120 case, or larger multiples. Check our Price List for tier discounts. Or we can add your package or label to our product. You can purchase our liquid soaps, gel soaps and bath salts in 5 gal pails or 50 gal drums. You can also buy unlabeled, filled bottles from us. Or send us your labels, we will put them on for you if they fit our equipment.

Can I buy unscented bases in bulk and add my own scent/color/bottle?

Yes. Everything is available this way except the bar soaps, which need to be made from scratch at our factory in Middlebury, Vermont.

I want a special shipping box. Can you do that?

Yes, but there will be an extra charge. Please call for a quote.

I need you to send this order to my distributor in California for me. Can you do that?

Yes, just supply us with the complete ship to address & phone number. (And UPS or Freight Forwarders account number if available).

What are your minimums for a custom blend?

Bar soaps are made in 200 lb batches- about 800 3.5 oz bars. Plus there will be batch seconds, as well as trimmings and skimmings, which make good free samples. Gels and Liquid Soaps have a 50 gal per scent minimum. Fill your own bottles and the minimum for custom scented products is just 5 gallons.

I like your soap but I want a different size.

We can make any 90 degree shape. Your soap is made from 70lb blocks that we cut down. Any square or rectangle shape can be made. We can also make "hockey puck discs" in various sizes.

Do you provide packaging?

We are not printers, nor graphic artists. We are very good soapmakers! Send us your labels or cartons (we have a network of printers and artists you can tap into), and we will do the rest. We DO have various unprinted soap cartons that you can add a label to.

Will you supply the essential oils I want? Will you sign a Confidentiality Agreement?

We can do this.

If I supply the essential oils do I have to tell you the exact scent blend?

Not at all. That is your proprietary information.

Will you change the base formula?

We like our base formulas! They have been painstakingly developed over the past 10 years.

OK -Yes, but the minimums are higher. Small changes are no problem, but a major formula change requires time and volume. 600 gal minimum for liquids and gels, A substantial commitment for a major bar soap base formula change. We charge a $1000 experiment fee to develop a new formula. The $1000 will not be credited toward your first order.

Can you put our logo on the bar?

This is tough, using our process. It is possible to hand stamp the bar while it is still soft. It is possible to hand pour into plastic molds. Neither are very cost effective. A small brick of soap could be hand stamped. It is far easier (and cheaper) to place a logo on packaging rather than the soap itself.

Can you make a bar into different shapes (animal, flowers, stars, etc...)

If you supply the molds (we can help you to source), we can pour them. However, the additional handling will add to the price of each bar.

We can send you soft soap strips you can stamp out with cookie cutters...

What do I get out of the experiment? What if I do not like the experiment. Is the experiment fee refundable?

Custom Blends require a pre batch experiment to be approved prior to production. There is a $100.00 experiment fee, which is credited towards your first order. We work hard to get your product the way you want it, and the money goes toward your first order. If you do not place an order we do not refund your money. This pays for our time and expertise on your project. We try like heck to make it work! Bar soap experiments yield several bars, liquid and gel experiments less than a quart each. We will send you some of the experiment and keep the rest for review and comparison.

How much will shipping be? What is your minimum requirement for free shipping?

Sorry, no free shipping. We ship UPS and common carrier. Our Shipping Department will help you to get the best price for your situation.

How long will it take to receive my order?

All wholesale orders ship within 2-3 business days. For custom blends/ Private Labeling: it depends on what you want and how much. Bar soaps require a 30 day cure time, so ordering 6 weeks in advance is recommended. Liquid and Gel bulk orders usually ship within two weeks. If we are bottling or packaging for you add an extra week to ten days.

Are you insured?

Vermont Soap is insured for Product Liability. If our stuff hurts someone, you are covered. You can obtain added protection by asking to be named as Additionally Insured on our policy. This costs $50/year. You should always carry your own business insurance is as well.

What is the Shelf Life of your products?

Heat, humidity, air and ultraviolet light are the enemies of all natural stuff. Store in a cool, dry place; seal master cases between restocking. Keep stock rotated and fresh. Bar soaps and sprays will last 1 year or more. Liquid soaps and gels 2 years or more. To test for shelf life, we place the product into a box heated to 105F. We keep it in their day and night. If the bars are still viable after 6-8 weeks, and the liquids and gels are still viable after 8-10 weeks, we call it a success. Various essential oils will extend shelf life. Freezing will extend shelf life indefinitely.

Why don't handmade soaps lather like regular bars?
  1. There is an inverse relationship between lather and moisture. Increase moisture and you decrease lather. Handmade soaps have a lot of moisture by their nature. Lather is not their strongest point - mildness is. Castile Liquid Soaps and Gels are less moisturizing, and have more lather, than handmade bar soaps.
  2. Some water is harder (minerals) than others. Hard water gives poor lather. (this is part of why detergents dominate mass market)
  3. Soap lathers best in warm/hot water and less in cold
  4. Hairy people make more lather! Smooth skinned people (and more women than men) often use a loofa or bath puff to enhance lather.
  5. Handmade soap cured LONGER will lather better, due to the decreased moisture content. The older the bar, the better it lathers (but the scent lessens over time). Different batches will have slightly different lather qualities due to atmospheric irregularities. Soaps made during a high pressure system lather a bit better than those made in low pressure. Humditity will effect how quickly a bar cures, which effects latherability.
  6. Soaps with mud, clay, honey, or lots of chunky stuff are harder to work into a lather. Aloe vera makes a creamy, small bubbled lather. Milk proteins are similar, but with larger, looser bubbles. Citrus oils enhance lather slightly.
  7. Soap formulas that are high in coconut oil lather better, but the more coconut oil you use, the harsher the soap.
What are your mildest soaps?

Handmade bar soaps are the mildest form of soap that can be made. Raising their free oil content by using added cocoa, shea, mango avocado, or other vegetable butters, hemp, black seed or other light oils at 1% to 3%, will enhance the "hand lotion in soap effect". Be sure to use extra rosemary extract to preserve free oils. Aloe vera, comfrey, milk proteins, oatmeal, beta glucans proteins etc. contain natural anti-inflammatory ingredients that help soothe irritated skin. Essential oils have varying degrees of astringency. Lavender tends to relax pores (better for dry skin), peppermint closes pores (oily skin), while the citrus family runs in the middle (combination skin). Our Castile LIQUID soap base is milder than the competition, but our Castile GEL base is significantly milder than the liquid version, due to the extra glycerine it contains. Our mildest bars are the Butter Bar, Oats n Aloe Unscented, and Oatmeal Lavender, in that order.

What is the pH of our soaps?

All soaps are alkaline by their nature. The higher pH of soaps discourages microbes. That is why we only need to preserve with rosemary extract (for rancidity). Handmade soaps are 10.01. Castile Liquids 9.7-9.8 typically. Castile Gels 9.5-9.6

Is this higher pH bad for my skin?

Not at all! It is Free Alkali, NOT the normal pH of good soap, that dries out your skin (formula and process will also effect skin dryness). Do not believe marketers who tell you skin care products must be pH neutral or acidic.

What about Organic Private Label?

Whenever a private label customer wants us to package our organic soap or their custom blend into their packaging for them, there should be no problem getting the organic labeling approved. We just have to confirm that none of the additional ingredients in the custom blend are prohibited in organic production and the total percentage of organic ingredients to non-organic ingredients is 70% or more. Vermont Soap will submit the paperwork for the item and have it added to our list of certified products that are approved by the Northeast Organic Farmers Association- Vermont Organic Farmers (NOFA-VOF). NOTE: This will require total disclosure by the private label customer of all ingredients and the amounts used in proprietary fragrance blends, and will allow the product label to state "Made with Organic Oils - Certified by VOF -USDA Approved" on the front panel. There is a one-time $25 per SKU charge for this service. Almost all Vermont Soap products may be repackaged with Private Labeling and the organic ingredients noted in the ingredient list without the need for any additional certification. If a private label customer wants us to ship our bulk Organic product to them so they can package it themselves, they will need to receive certification to become and organic packaging facility by a certifying agency of their choice. The certification process will not be as comprehensive as the process Vermont Soap has gone through, but they will need to get certified by someone before placing "Made with Organic Oils" on the front panel. They will also have to mention their certifying agency on the product label and stating "USDA Approved" should not be a problem. If a private label customer wants us to ship them our organic soap so they can then add their own additional ingredients and then package it themselves, they will have to go through a certification process similar to what Vermont Soap has gone through. As above, the customer can pick the certifying agency of their choice.

Got more questions?

Call us toll free 1-866-SOAP-4U2

Or email info@vermontsoap.com



Lavender
TOLL FREE: 1-866-SOAP-4U2
(1-866-762-7482)

E-mail: info@vermontsoap.com
616 Exchange Street, Middlebury, VT 05753
Local: (802) 388-4302 ~ Fax: (802) 388-7471

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