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Mic LeBel, 207-563-7695 mic@planetfriendlypr.com

VERMONT SOAPWORKS CRATE DISPLAY BOOSTS HANDMADE NATURAL SOAP SALES

Middlebury, VT – Interactive wood "crate" displays are boosting handmade natural soap sales for Vermont Soapworks. Bars of soap in the crate display sell 4-to-5 times faster than packaged soap of the same variety. Not only does the Vermont Soapworks crate display sell natural soap faster, it virtually eliminates consumer packaging.

This attention-grabbing crate display allows customers to gaze at the rainbow of assorted natural colors and textures offered by Vermont Soapworks. "Time and time again at our store, we see shoppers approach the Vermont Soapworks crate and pick up the unpackaged soap, inhale the aroma, admire the natural ingredients and buy it." - Moon Meadow Market, South Burlington, Vermont.

"The Vermont Soapworks interactive display is definitely an advantage for natural soap over the conventional mass-marketed brands," states company founder and President Larry Plesent. Consumers want real products that they can see, touch and smell. The Vermont Soapworks crate is a clear case of product substance and quality instead of pouring money into glitzy packaging and the smoke & mirrors of label claims.

The display is also educational. A colorful chart is attached to the wood crate that informs customers of the appropriate skin type for each bar of soap in the display. The color-coded chart ranges from oily skin to dry/sensitive skin. Customers are encouraged to visit www.vermontsoap.com to learn more about how to determine skin types and which natural soap ingredients are recommended for their personal skin type.

The Vermont Soapworks crate display is handmade from solid wood and holds 100 bars of soap - 10 of each of the top-ten selling varieties. The display is free to retailers when they place an order for the 100 bars of soap that fill the display. For smaller stores, Vermont Soapworks offers a "mini-crate" with 10 bars each of six natural soap varieties.

Everyone knows that handmade natural soap is good for your skin and the environment, but with the crate program it is also good for your budget. "With low factory-direct prices, and the generous free consumer samples sent with every order, it is no wonder the crate display is one of the strongest selling programs in the industry," states Plesent. "Selling unpackaged natural soap reduces our unit cost, and those savings are passed on to retailers and consumers," adds Plesent. Even though Vermont Soapworks uses recycled content in their natural bar soap packaging, eliminating consumer packaging with the crate program is even more environment-friendly.

The display is a great merchandising and sales vehicle, but the quality of the soap is definitely what keeps customers returning for more. At Vermont Soapworks, Master Soapmakers do things the old-fashioned way. Natural ingredients are blended in small batches and poured into wooden block molds. The molds are warmed for several days, which forces the soap to set up slowly. Any excess alkali (used to turn oils into soap and glycerine) rises to the top like cream and is skimmed off. When ready, the soap is wire cut into bars, placed on oak drying frames and aged in a special curing room for nearly a month. This 200 year-old process, originally invented for the royalty of Europe, removes excess alkali - a major cause of dryness and irritation often found in conventional bar soaps.

Vermont Soapworks makes their bar soap from renewable vegetable and botanical sources, primarily saponified oils of palm, coconut and essential oils in aromatherapy blends. The soap is free of artificial colors, fragrances, animal by-products and preservatives. Rosemary extract is used as a natural preservative. Vermont Soapworks products are cruelty free. "The only animals we test on are ourselves," quips Plesent.

Vermont Soapworks is the largest manufacturer of handcrafted natural bar soap in North America. Their natural soap products are extraordinarily mild and moisturizing, and always good for your skin! To place an order or learn more about the crate display and Vermont Soapworks products, call 1-802-388-4302 or visit www.vermontsoap.com.