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Mmmm…Caramels…

September 15, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

Last Monday, my girlfriends and I started the Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman. We’re doing a two week liver detox that consists of lean protein, fruit, cranberry water and lots of veggies and greens (no alcohol, no coffee, no flour, no dairy among other delicious food categories). Yum, yum (cough, cough)! It’s an extreme and rigorous two weeks but in the end, my liver will be clean as a whistle. Thank goodness for my girlfriends though; I don’t think I would have lasted one day on my own.

In anticipation for our last day of the diet (which is next Sunday the 20th- not that I’ve been counting), I bought these decadent Honeyed Lemon and Tarragon Fleur de Sel Caramels from La Bella Caramella.

Did I mention I’m getting a 1/2 pound box? Yes, I will be sharing with the other liver detox troopers. These will be a perfect (small) treat for after our celebratory salmon dinner on Sunday to rejoice that our 14 days of Liver Detox is over, and yes, feel proud of ourselves for sticking to it in spite of numerous opportunities to fall off the wagon. Hopefully this will help bring us back to normal eating in the real world. Whether or not they help usher in our new and improved eating habits, they will taste delicious! Five days until Caramels & Carbs …

Stick To Your Knitting

September 14, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

You’ve heard me harp on this subject before (here and here) but right now, it’s very near and dear to my heart as I prepare for the Bramble Berry Monthly Management Meeting – or what I like to call the “Did you do what you said you were going to do?’ meeting.

Since 2004, our Management team has met monthly to discuss the following:

Budget – How on target are we? Is there any corrective action we need to take?

Critcal Numbers – This varies for each member of the team. My critical numbers revolve around web traffic numbers (visitors, how long they stay on the site, what browser they are using). Erik (Otion store manager) has numbers around foot traffic and conversion rate for the retail store. Norm, the COO for Bramble Berry tracks labor per order and other logistics numbers. We review the numbers and discuss any corrective action that needs to be taken or celebrate good numbers.

Management Reports – What happened in the last month? Where are you stuck? This is where we give a brief update for each project we are working on.

Additional Issues – If there are any major issues (holiday staffing, acquisitions, warehouse reorginization discussions), this is when we do it rather than holding up individual reports.

Accountability – This takes place at the end of the meeting. We review our Quarterly Goals and discuss progress on them and we review our Monthly Goals. We have three answers we can give: Done, Progress Made or No Progress Made. An ‘NPM’ is super bad and we try really hard not to ever have these.

If you’re a small business, this is a great excercise to do with an Accountability Partner. Having another person – a real live living breathing smart adult – is an entirely extra level of accountability to just yourself. Just as you do better on a workout program when you have a buddy to do it with, having schedule monthly review sessions is integrals so you can see where you’ve been – and what steps you need to take to get where you want to.

Think of it like updating your map every single month. I consider our Monthly Accountabilty Meetings to be one of the integral reasons that Bramble Berry has successfully grown from a seat-of the-pants-start-up to an established, flourishing company.

PS – That adorable knitting needle mold can be found here.

Soapy Halloween Finds

September 13, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Last night I was completely distracted on Etsy (I know, you must be shocked). Here are the cute Halloween soaps that gave me googly eyes. (Halloween, you ask? Yes, Halloween is less than 48 days away and the perfect soap takes time to concoct!)

Sweet Pumpkin Spice Paradise Body Shop

Batty Bubbles Halloween Soap by AJ Sweet Soap

Eye Soap by Bunny Bubbles

Candy Corn Soap Smokey Mountain Scents

Sparkly Skull Soap by Rose Valley Soaps

Bats and Moon Hand Painted Soap by Palm Breezes

Ghost Soap by Carvel County Soapworks

Spinning Spider Felted Soap Persnickety Pelican

I hope you got some Sunday Inspiration from this post for your own ghoulish soapy creations.

My Very Own Action Figure

September 11, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Some of you may fondly remember our Sunnybrook Soap Molds. I know I do! I loved using those molds and when the manufacturer went on to follow her life passion of helping others with their health as a colon hydrotherapist in Portland, Oregon, we sadly bid the Sunnybrook Soap Molds ‘adieu’. One of the last parting gifts that Ms. Harder made for me as my very own action figure.

Notice the Soap Pot, Soap Mold and the Green Smoothie Fixings? It’s practically everything I need to domimate the world through soap. I certainly feel like I can take on the world some days; now, with my own action figure, I’ll have a little helper.

Bee & Honeycomb Soap Tutorial

September 10, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

Ingredients

Honey M&P Soap

Goat Milk M&P Soap

Heavy Metal Gold Mica

Raspberry Leaf

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Fragrance

Bee & Honeycomb Soap Mold

Tools

Microwave safe container

Droppers

Spoon or stirring stick

Paint brush

Spray bottle of rubbing alcohol

I’m excited about this tutorial because it uses a concept that we’ve discussed before but don’t use often – brushing mica on to make detail work pop. It’s easy and adds a sophisticated flair to your soap.

One: Melt about 1-2 ounces of Honey melt and pour. You can use ‘plain’ melt and pour but in keeping with the theme of the project, I used Honey. Use a dropper to pour/drop the soap into the bee part of the design. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Two: Melt about 12 ounces of Goat Milk melt and pour. Again, you can use regular white melt and pour but Honey & Goat Milk has such a great feel when working together. Add .25 – .50 ounces of fragrance and stir in the raspberry leaves. Continue to stir long enough for the raspberry leaves to stay mostly suspended in the soap (they will all float to the top if you don’t).

Four: Once the bee layer has cooled and hardened, spritz with rubbing alcohol and pour your goat milk soap into the hive part of the design. Tip: Make sure this soap has cooled to 120 degrees. Any hotter will melt the tiny bee part of the soap.

Five: Give the soap a final spritz of alcohol and allow to cool for 24 hours before removing soap from the mold.

Six: Brush the finished soap with a little H eavy Gold Mica. Be sparing – a little goes a long way!

Don’t you love how the brushing of mica really makes the bee detailing really pop?

Unique Uses for Mica

September 8, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Steve Satushek is a Bellingham resident that has traveled all over the world to find inspiration for his photography. He recently started painting. He visits our retail store, Otion, to purchase mica for his artwork. Big thanks to Kat over at Otion for alerting me to this super cool use of micas. I was blown away when I saw Steve’s work and I hope you’re equally inspired.

“Macre 2” is made of opalescent mica for a shell look.

“Planet C” is made of metallic and glittery mica.

I was so inspired by his artwork that I emailed Steve to ask if we could blog about him. Luckily he agreed. Here’s what I asked and his answers…

Anne-Marie: How long have you been practicing your craft? How did you get started?

Steve Satushek: I have been working with resin (several kinds of polyurethanes and epoxies) for the last 3 years but I only do this in the warm part of the year. I have a big workshop with giant doors that I open so I am almost working outside. I use a very good mask as the fumes can be nasty. I do my photography compositing work at my computer in the cold months with my nice heated floor under my feet. Professional photography has been my career for more than 20 years.

Anne-Marie: How did you stumble upon micas and oxides for your artwork?

Steve Satushek: Over the last several years my wife and family and I have been doing many outdoor art projects at our place outside of Bellingham. One of my missions is to bring artwork to our outdoor sanctuary in ways not usually done. We have many 3’x4′ weather-proof photos hanging on the side of our house (printed at Appplied D igital Imaging). On my website you may have found the spot called “installations” that shows some of these prints. I also wanted to make paintings, that could be outdoors, hence, the resins. The clear medium is used on big trucks and airliners so it should last a long time outside. UV rays will eventually take their toll, but part of my quest is to find out firsthand what the longevity will be- so far so good.

I started out using liquid acid stains on white cement and I love the look but there are limited colors. I used some powdered pigments on our cements columns that we made in our Mediterranean entryway. I had no idea how to apply the color so I painted on a sticky, milky, medium let it get tacky and then applied the pigment with a dry brush with a plastic bag to catch most of the powder. I had no idea if it would stay on, but it has held up very well for the last 5 years. It was just a progression of trying everything I could get my hands on from there. I am somewhat of a mad scientist always using products in ways they were never intended for. So when I call up the tech reps at some industrial company they probably are chuckling at my ideas while they are trying to figure out what I am doing.
Anne-Marie: I can relate to that, Steve. I’m always trying new things with soap and sometimes that means asking the weird questions. Thanks for letting us blog about you and good luck with all of your projects! You’re an inspiration!

Check out his Artist’s Statement and visit his website here. You can purchase some of his stock photos here and here. And, if you’re lucky enough to live in my neck of the woods, hopefully Steve will do a gallery show soon. When I hear of one, I’ll let you know!

First Things First

September 7, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

My Mastermind Group in Bellingham is reading the Steven Covey book, ‘First Things First.’ One of my book clubs read Covey’s ‘7 Habits’ book and this was the perfect follow up. The book is a classic for a reason – it’s got some great recommendations and advice for getting your life under control. This is a great book for me personally to read because I struggle with my schedule and getting everything done.

In the book, Covey discusses the concept of the Four Quadrants. He recommends trying to spend the bulk of your time in Quadrant II, or the ‘important, not urgent’ cateogry. Covey makes the case that many people spend all of their time putting out daily fires and never truly work on things that move them towards their ultimate life vision. Daily fires are (a) a waste of time and (b) leads to something he dubs ‘urgency addiction.’ This is when you literally become addicted to the adrenalin rush that happens when you solve an emergency. This happens more and more when you over promise, when you can’t say no, when you over schedule yourself or when yousimply haven’t taken the time to truly thing through your week and find yourself surprised when things come up. Curious if you’re addicted to urgency? You should get the Covey book to take his full quiz or there is a small one here that might give you a window into your answer.

When you live your life only in Quadrant 1 or 3, you never feel in control and never feel like you’re done with anything. But, if you plan your schedule around completing things that are truly important and not urgent, it can actually reduce the time you spend in other quadrants.

The key is that our daily tasks and priorities need to be consistent with our lifelong goals and vision. The way to do this by determining your vision for your life and following it up with good planning. Covey literally has you write down every single task that you need to do, rank them and then do them in order of importance. The main thing is to not get bogged down with the tiny details and instead, take a bird’s eye view of your entire week and plan your week around the things that really matter to you. Covey recommends taking 1 hour every week to literally plan your entire week out, rather than being reactive all week. In this system, you drive your schedule – your schedule shouldn’t drive you.

I’m experimenting with one of the Covey scheduler’s that is fully online – PlanPlusOnline and really liking it. But, I’m a go-go-gadget kind of gal so anything that is high tech, I’m prone to like. This is basically my simple notebook online and on steroids. The other gals in my Mastermind Group have used more of the weekly, paper based planner like you can find here. No matter which method you use, it is liberating to plan your life around your big ‘rocks’ (working out, time with family) rather than just trying to schedule task, after task, after task and never getting it all done.

So Quick, So Perfect – Marbled Soap

September 6, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

How incredible do these soaps from the Marbled Soap Tutorial look? They’re not mine! But, they are perfection in a bar. Congrats to Mosaic Soaps for doing such a great job with her soaps. They look just like the original tutorial – talk about following directions to a T! You can follow her on TwitPic here, Twitter here, Facebook here (how’s that for being engaged in a cohesive social media strategy?) Be sure to view her entire product line and buy her soaps here. I heart her swirled soaps – they’re colorful, classy and appealing.

Should We Give Up Lipstick, Candy or Water?

September 5, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

I’ve got a question for you. Should you give up lipstick, candy or water consumption first? It is a legitimate question based on the newest article from Skin Deep “I’ll take my lipstick unleaded, please” by Jane Houlihan. Below is a chart that takes a close look at the levels of lead (Pb) found by the FDA in lipsticks, the allowed level of lead in drinking water by the EPA and allowed levels of lead in candy.

Lipstick vs. Water vs. Candy

Let’s just say that long before the lipstick is going to kill you the water will have done you in. Even your favorite candy will kill you before the lipstick does. I’m sorry to say that if you are going to follow the direction of Skin Deep and throw out your lipstick then you are going to need a very large trash can. Make sure you clear your home of all water and any other drink that has water in it, chocolate and candies of any kind.

H ow much lead is too much lead according to the EPA?

“Federal standards initially limited the amount of lead in water to 50 parts per billion (ppb). In light of new health and exposure data, EPA has set an action level of 15 ppb. If tests show that the level of lead in your household water is in the area of 15 ppb or higher, it is advisable – especially if there are young children in the home – to reduce the lead level in your tap water as much as possible

. (EPA estimates that more than 40 million U.S. residents use water that can contain lead in excess of 15 ppb.)” (source: EPA)

Obviously the FDA has a lower threshold limit for lead and yet they are being beat up by Skin Deep once again. The FDA allows 20 ppm lead in straight undiluted FDA approved colors. But there is not a lipstick on earth that is 100% color. Most colors have even lower than 20 ppm lead and every batch of color must be approved by the FDA before it goes to market.

On September 2, 2009 the FDA updated their website: Lipstick and Lead: Questions and Answers

An important section of the update is included here:

“How has the FDA followed up on the latest reports?

FDA scientists developed and validated a highly sensitive method for the analysis of total lead content in lipstick and applied the method to the

same selection of lipsticks evaluated by the CSC. FDA found lead in all of the lipsticks tested, ranging from 0.09 ppm to 3.06 ppm with an average value of 1.07 ppm. FDA concludes that the lead levels found are within the range that would be expected from lipsticks formulated with permitted color additives and other ingredients that had been prepared under good manufacturing practice conditions.

An article on FDA’s testing method was published in the July/August 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Cosmetic Science.1 The article includes results for lead in all the lipsticks we tested. FDA’s testing method is now available for use by any suitable analytical laboratory for the determination of total lead in lipstick.

Is there a safety concern about the lead found by the FDA in lipsticks?

No. FDA has assessed the potential for harm to consumers from use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in its testing. Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use, is only ingested incidentally and in very small quantities. FDA does not consider the lead levels that it found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. FDA also notes that the lead levels that it found are lower than limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick.

It has been reported that levels of lead in certain lipsticks exceed those for candy. Is this a fair comparison?

No. The FDA-recommended upper limit for lead in candy is 0.1 ppm. It is not scientifically valid to equate the risk to consumers presented by lead levels in candy, a product intended for ingestion, with that associated with lead levels in lipstick, a product intended for topical use and which is ingested in much smaller quantities than candy.” (Source: FDA.gov)

The test methods that the FDA used for the most recent study can be found here and are available to the public.
Does the FDA take lead seriously? Can we trust the FDA to look out for the best interest of consumers?
Yes and yes. The FDA has been actively involved in setting standards and recalling products based on levels of lead being too high. Examples are these recalls made by the FDA for lead contamination:

Dagoba Organic Chocolate Recalls“Eclipse 87%,” “Los Rios 68%,” And “Prima Matera 100%” Dark Chocolate Products Because of High Lead Levels

Cost Plus World Market RecallsRed, Blue, Green, and Yellow Speckleware Beverage Containers and Glass Water Tank For Potential Lead Exposure Risk

State Health Department Warns ConsumersNot to Eat Chaca Chaca, Lead-Contaminated Candy From Mexico

Speaking of Candy

What about the difference in allowed ppm of lead in candy vs. lipstick. The Environmental Working Group chose the level of candy to compare to instead of water. The numbers sure look more shocking when you compare ppm of lead in lipstick vs. candy at first glance. But a realistic look at consumption of just one piece of candy vs. lipstick exposure takes all the thunder out of the exposure. (See above chart)

Don’t give up candy yet! For more information on lead in candy read the FDA’s page: Supporting Document for Recommended Maximum Level for Lead in Candy Likely To Be Consumed Frequently by Small Children and Guidance for Industry: Letter to Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors of Imported Candy and Candy Wrappers.

What does the FDA say on Lead Poisoning from Cosmetics? Read their web page dedicated to Kohl, Kajal, Al-Kahal, or Surma: By Any Name, a Source of Lead Poisoning.

Last Thoughts and Bottom Lines

Here is the bottom line – not one single case in U.S. medical literature of anyone getting lead poisoning or cancer from lipstick! For more information on why lead is found in food and lipstick read my blog post The Real Story on Lead and Cosmetics.

In her article Skin Deep activist Jane Houlihan says, “If it’s made for the lips and contains lead at levels that mandate a warning under California’s Proposition 65, why doesn’t the manufacturer take steps to reduce the lead in this “Made in China” lip gloss?” This question just goes to show how little Jane Houlihan and the Environmental Working Groups knows about cosmetics. California’s Proposition 65 requires that any product containing any one of 783 ingredients that trigger this warning statement put that warning statement on their label in order to sell cosmetics in California. The ingredients in theWink Strawberry Sangria Shimmer Lip Gloss that triggered the warning statement are: Mineral Oil and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The colorants used are NOT the trigger that required this company to put the Proposition 65 warning on their label even though she is trying to make you think that is the cause.

Please, please, Skin Deep a.k.a. Environmental Working Group educate yourselves on the cosmetic industry before declaring yourself the authority on the industry. Stop misleading consumers with your poor science and alarmist methods.

Why am I spending all this time sharing my insider knowledge? Because everyone deserves to know the truth and make educated decisions. Good companies are being harmed all over the nation by these twisted reports. During bad economic times the last thing these companies need to do is to lose sales over the misrepresentation of their products by Skin Deep and the Environmental Working Group. You need to educate your customers with the truth about this organization and their regular misinformation propaganda.

What about you? Are you going to quit wearing lipstick? Quit drinking water? Quit eating candy? Or quit listening to Skin Deep?

Author Kayla Fioravanti is a Cosmetic Formulator and Registered Aromatherapist. She writes for Demascope Magazine, Les NouvellesEsthetiques & Spa’s and NAHA. In addition to that, she is passionate about small business; she went to Washington DC with a committed group of small business advocates to talk about the small micro beauty businesses.

Happy Friday!

September 4, 2009 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Does anyone have exciting plans for the weekend? My plans you ask? I’ll be filming SoapQueen.TV. Follow me on Twitter so you can catch all the fun updates. The Bramble Berry team and I always have a blast on filming days. We usually have great muchies to snack on and we get the (uncontrollable) giggles at least 10 times through out the day. And, there will be cupcakes included in those munchies since my favorite cupcake place is at the Farmer’s Market tomorrow. I am really hoping for chocolate mint or red velvet … (drool)

Did you catch the Marbled Soap Tutorial yesterday? If not, check it out HERE.

Join us every Thursday for a step by step (photo) tutorial OR an episode of Soap Queen TV. Either way we guarantee you’ll learn something fun and inventive.

Hooray for Thursdays!

In other news, Bramble Berry has added some new fragrances:

Vanilla Oak

Summer Melon Spritzer

Bay Rum

Black Raspberry Vanilla

Lavender & Herb

In the sad news category, Fresh Baked Bread has doubled in price and will have to be discontinued when current stocks run out. It is truly one of my all time favorites so it breaks my soapy heart to do it but … get it while it lasts.

Finally, I made some soap yesterday with a really fascinating blend. I think it smells smashing but to be honest, one of the gals in the office swears it smells like diaper cream. I disagree but if you try it and think the same, don’t say I didn’t warn you:

2 parts Neroli

1 part Wasabi

2 parts Fresh Zucchini Flower

2 parts Spearmint

Fresh and herbaceous … or diaper cream. You be the judge.

Marbled Soap Tutorial

September 3, 2009 Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

For this week’s Soap Queen tutorial I’m going to show you how to make these complicated looking marbled soaps – but they couldn’t be easier! I love this project because you can use up leftover soap scraps and it makes a fancy soap from a plain tray mold.

Timing is the most important aspect of this project, so just make sure you don’t have any distractions so you can closely pay attention to the temperature and consistency of your soap bases as you create your marble soap.

Ingredients
2 lbs Shaving M&P Soap
Energy Fragrance Oil
Guest Rectangle Slab Mold
Opalescent Green
Merlot Mica
Copper Sparkle
Luster Black
Heavy Metal Gold Mica

Tools
Microwave safe container
5 small bowls or mugs for soap
Spray bottle of rubbing alcohol
Stir stick or spoon

Soap Cutter or Knife

One: Chop up the shaving melt & pour soap base and place in a glass container. Melt in a microwave in short 30 second bursts – stirring in between each heating.

Two: Separate the soap into 5 different containers. If you don’t have enough heatsafe measuring cups, try using ceramic coffee mugs. The key is that the containers need to be able to be heated if your soap hardens up on you.

Three: Add your fragrance and a different color of mica to each container. Stir to combine.
Tip: Try spraying the top of the liquid soap with rubbing alcohol if the micas aren’t mixing in well.Four: Drizzle a little soap from one of your mugs into the mold and spritz with alcohol. Leave lots of ‘blank’ spaces. These are where the next colors will go. You’ll do many passes so less is more.

Five: Once the soap is cool but not solid, drizzle another color on top. Continue alternating between soap colors until you fill up the mold. Spritz with alcohol frequently. Be sure to keep stirring the other colors so that they don’t form a skin on top before you can pour them into the mold. And, don’t forget, keep that alcohol spray going generously.

Six: Give a final spritz of the rubbing alcohol to the soap and allow to cool for 24 hours before removing from the mold.

Seven: Once the soap is set-up, cut the marbled bars into individual rectangles using a knife or soap cutter.

Be sure to check back next Thursday for another great step-by-step Tutorial!

"Leaves" from Whidbey Island

September 2, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

This cute little Etsy shop is run out of my neck of the woods, the beautiful Whidbey Island. Tabetha, the owner, started making soap just for fun. But when she was joined by her two teen daughters, Emma and Kaylee, the family business was up and running.

The packaging of the soap leaves really stands out. It’s sophisticated and classy. The soap leaves are nice one-time-use soap leaves that look gorgeous in a soap dish or can be taken on a backpacking trip.

I ordered Spring, Winter and Summer Soap Leaves, the Strawberry Bundt Cake, the Whimsical Watermelonand the Herbal Infusion bar soap. Everything was fabulous but the Watermelon Soap and Spring Soap leaves were the fan favorites in the Bramble Berry office. In fact, Holly in Customer Service loved the Watermelon Soap so much that I gave her the bar to take home.Follow Essence Aromatics on Twitter and visit Essence Atomatics on Etsy

Fig-and-Stilton Square Recipe (not soap)

September 1, 2009 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

This is another installment of the Father’s Day Cooking Extravaganza, complete with recipes. If you missed the Butternut Squash Turnovers, the amazing (delish, perfect, wow!) recipe is here. The Butternut Squash Turnover recipe was labor intensive and tasted out of this world. What I like about the recipe below is that it is super, duper simple and still tastes amazing.

Ingredients
One 14-ounce package all-butter puff pastry (thawed if frozen but still cold)
½ cup fig preserves (it’s sort of like a thick jam)

¾ cup crumbled Stilton cheese (4 ounces)

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 16-by-11 ½ -inch rectangle. Trim to form a 10 ½-by-15-inch rectangle. Transfer the pastry to a large rimmed baking sheet and cut into 1 ¾-inch squares; you should have about 48. Freeze the squares until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 12 squares on the sheet and cover with more parchment paper. Top the squares with another baking sheet, bottom side down. If you have another pair of baking sheets, repeat with 12 more squares. Bake the squares for about 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Transfer the squares to a rack to cool. Repeat to bake the remaining squares. Note: in my oven, 20 minutes was sufficient to get the pastry squares a nice consistency. But, I have a convection oven and supposedly, they heat differently than ‘regular’ ovens (shrugging shoulders).

Pastry squares topped with fig and stilton

3. Return as many cooled squares as will fit to a baking sheet. Top each square with ½ teaspoon of the fig preserves. Sprinkle with the Stilton. The Stilton sort of melts, sort of doesn’t. It’s a nice consistency when it’s warm. You can serve these fantastic appys warm or at room temperature but take it from me, they are best when fresh out of the oven. Makes 4 dozen squares.

Make Ahead The unbaked frozen pastry squares can be in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Bath Bomb Pricing Breakdown

August 31, 2009 Filed Under: Business Musings

How much does it cost to make each bath bomb cupcake?

Recently, a blog commenter asked great question about these bath bomb cupcakes and pricing them effectively. I’ve gone through and priced out all the materials either from Bramble Berry, or if we don’t carry it (bulk Cream of Tatar for example), priced from Amazon.com or your local Cash and Carry.

Citric Acid 50 lbs. $95.12/oz

Baking Soda 12 lbs $18.29.09/oz

Color 20 ml $7.65.38/ml

Fragrance 16 oz. $24.67/ounce

Cupcake Wrapper 50 $2.49 0.05/each

Powdered Sugar 4 lbs. $9.99 .16/ounce

Meringue 10 lbs $65.00 .40625/oz.

Fragrance 16 oz. $24.67/oz.

Vanilla Color Stabilizer 8 oz. $5.640.71/oz

SLS 15 lb $52.50.22/oz.

Cream of Tartar 15 oz. $8.99 .59/ounce

Jojoba Oil 7 lbs. $62.30.56/ounce

Witch Hazel 7 lbs. $14.13/ounce

Doing the math (and dividing the entire recipe to make 24 bath bomb cupcakes) I came up with this…

12 oz. Meringue: $4.92
14 oz. SLS: $3.08
4 oz. Jojoba: $2.24
16 oz. Powdered Sugar: $2.56
.7 oz. Cream of Tartar: $0.41
.5 oz. Fragrance Oil: $0.34
.5 oz. Vanilla Color Stabilizer: $0.35
32 oz. Citric Acid: $3.84
64 oz. Baking Soda: $5.76
Witch Hazel: $0.06
Fragrance: $0.35
Cupcake Liner: $0.05
Labcolor: $0.15

The total is $24.11 or right around $1 in ingredients for the bath bomb cupcakes.

I can make the entire recipe in about 1 hour total (including set up and clean up). Assuming I value my time at $28 per hour, this adds another $1.16 per cupcake bringing the total for the bath bomb cupcake to $2.16 with labor and ingredients. Assuming your overhead allocation rate (This is a fancy term that means you figure out your total overhead and divide by the number of units you make every year and then add this small figure to the total) runs under $.10 per cupcake and the wrapping ends up being $.50 or less (hang tag $.05, bag $.07, ribbon $.03) the total for your bath bomb cupcake is well under $2.75 with your overhead totally worked in. Assuming you wholesale the cuppies for $3.00, that is a 8.3% pre-tax net profit on each cupcake. You could make that 8.3% grow to 25% if you outsourced your labor to a $8/hour employee. And, if you sold these for the going retail rate of $7-$8 per cupcake bath fizzy? Over 100% net profit rate.

8.3% – 25% net profit on a product is adequate (8.3%) to wow! (25%) and 100% net profit is a triple wow! wow! wow!