Awards: 2007

2007 Reader's Choice Awards GraphicOver 60 Suppliers across 8 Categories

2007 marks the launch of our Readers Choice “Supplier of the Year” Awards. Saponifier reader responses have been compiled and your votes tallied. The results are in!

It seems that soap and candle makers everywhere love to talk about their favorites. As individuals, we have favorite suppliers, supplies, ideas, and of course favorite products. In addition to our own personal choices, we have numerous customers, friends and family who let us know their favorite scents and products as well. We recently asked soap makers and chandlers to complete a survey on what they considered the best for 2007, and the responses came in immediately. Before we get to the results, we want to thank you all for your invaluable contributions. Without you, this would have been an impossible task.

We have gathered the data and counted the responses, putting them into an easy to read format that lets you explore your favorites while learning about new suppliers and supplies at the same time. Each question from the survey is listed, along with the most popular responses and a list of the common answers. We’ve even included user comments on the businesses and products to give you a full peek into the minds of other chandlers and soap makers.

When all is said and done, our industry offers us unlimited options in products, ingredients, and suppliers. As you may notice, larger companies are more likely to “win” categories than are smaller businesses. This doesn’t mean a larger company is better, just that they have more resources to use in advertising and so on, as well as a larger variety of products. Small companies may not have always gotten as many votes, but many customers prefer them to large ones because of the personal interaction and service. Total number of votes does not guarantee the best company, although it does help give reassurance that since your fellow soapers and chandlers voted for them, they must be of good quality.

If you are happy with your current supplier, whether on one of the “best” lists or not, this survey was not meant to draw business away from them. If, however, you are looking for a good supplier, or scents to provide your customers, or even an online list or forum to join, this may be a help to you. Simply the great number of companies, lists, scents, etc. mentioned shows what a great industry we have!

So without further ado, let’s go!

Categories

  1. Who is your favorite all-around supplier?

    If it were possible to order everything you use from one supplier, who would it be, and why?

    Incredibly, fifty-eight suppliers were voted as favorites, with voters citing
    such qualities as selection, price, and fast shipping. Proximity was an
    important factor to many, an understandably important factor not to be
    underrated. Still, the one that garnered the most votes is none other than.

    Honorable mentions: Soapers Choice, Southern Soapers, and Lotioncrafter.

  2. Who is your favorite container supplier, and why?

    Not surprisingly, customers are looking for a good selection at a fair price, and for fast shipping. The favorite here was none other than Bayousome.

    Honorable mention: Other companies often mentioned were Elements Bath & Body, Containers and Packaging, and Specialty Bottle. Element’s strong suite seemed to be in carrying what people want, having very good prices, quick shipping, and personal service. Containers and Packaging and Specialty Bottle were known for their selection and price.

  3. What is your favorite soap/candle online discussion list or forum, and why?

    This is one area where almost everybody expressed a favorite—or two. We seem to like our online resources for information and assistance, and thus the internet provides us with a multitude of lists and forums to get involved with. The attributes people often mentioned looking for are knowledgeable, friendly people, with discussion mostly centering around soaping/candle making, and where flaming is not tolerated.

    The runaway favorite in the soap category was Southern Soapers, for chandlers, it was Candletech hands down.

    Honorable mention: Other lists and forums that respondents voted for in multiples were: Soap_Makers, Lotions, Potions & Soap, Central New York Soapers, Wildtree FO Buys, Cream Soapmaking Group, and Hot Soap. Again, voters liked the information and friendly support present in these groups.

  4. Who is your favorite essential oil supplier, and why?

    This question was one of those that brought out a clear-cut winner,
    Essential Oil University.

    Customers spoke highly of the quality of their oils and reported that they felt comfortable placing their trust in the products.

    Honorable mentions: other often-mentioned companies were Wholesale Supplies Plus, Brambleberry, and Lebermuth.

  5. What is your favorite new product you used in 2007 and why?

    Being a vague question, it’s not surprising that almost as many answers as questions were entered. Nevertheless, the products most mentioned were.

    Dead Sea Mud – “Being able to formulate Spa Quality products”, “Dead Sea Mud for its fantastic healing and rejuvenating properties”,

    Foaming Bath Butter – “because I’ve been able to develop three new products with it”

    microderm abrasion crystals - “They work great in a variety of products from facial wash to foot scrubs”, “It is easy to make a fingertip microderm abrasion product that makes your skin look SO polished”

    Fantasy Cream Maker – “Fantasy Cream Maker (or Sepigel 305™). This is a no-heating emulsifier for lotions, creams, gels. It’s wonderful!”, “..so much quicker and easier to make a great lotion, cream, or butter without all of the hassle of the ewax and phases. It’s non greasy, and works great”

    red palm oil – “I love the color I get from Virgin Red Palm Oil and also from the Red Palm Butter, both of which I recently tried”

    allantoin – ” It has so many wonderful benefits and can be used in many different product formulations”

    Users liked the quality of product they could make with them and/or they were a huge hit with customers.

  6. Who is your favorite fragrance oil supplier and why?

    Again, the list of suppliers who were mentioned was large, covering both widely known and obscure companies, but the top three had nearly the same number of votes.

    The top votes went to Southern Soapers, with Brambleberry coming in close behind them and Oregon Trails bringing it to nearly a three way tie.

    What did respondents like about these companies? They loved the quality and selection of the oils. “Kelly has a huge selection, and I love the quality of her oils,” remarked Pat Tyson of Pitterpat Skincare. Brambleberry and Oregon Trails customers described how much they appreciated the testing these companies performed on their oils; the reported results let users know exactly what to expect from the products (such as discoloring, accelerating, and other effects oils can have on soaps) and even list the throw and other qualities important in candle making.

    Honorable mentions: Along with these three well-respected companies, Tony’s Fragrance Oils, Scent Works, and Sweetcakes earned a large portion of votes; however, we would be remiss if we didn’t report that Nature’s Cauldron, From Nature With Love, and Nature’s Garden all got multiple votes as well.

  7. Who is your favorite herb supplier and why?

    It appears that many soap makers and chandlers have green thumbs and those who don’t seem to rely on terrific local suppliers, as that is where the majority of the respondents purchased their herbs. Many cited the fact that they knew their homegrown herbs were fresh and organically grown, a worthy consideration; another oft-cited reason for this choice is that local sources consistently supplied a quality product.

    For those who ordered their herbs online, Mountain Rose Herbs was the most popular supplier.

    Honorable mention: Monterey Bay Spice Co

  8. Who is your favorite ingredients supplier, and why?

    The runaway favorite in this category was Soapers Choice, also known as Columbus Foods.

    Honorable mention: Florida Soap Supplies, and From Nature With Love showed well here, also. They each have very loyal customers who appreciate the selection and service these companies provide.

  9. What candle/soap molds do you like best, and why?

    For chandlers, the most popular molds are seamless aluminum and tins with tops, although a fair number also use silicone. Not many specific companies were mentioned, but those that were are as follows.

    Other types of molds mentioned include glass containers, such as jelly jars, ball jars, and apothecary jars. Non-glass molds included votive molds, clamshells, and mini-muffin trays.

    Chandlers have quite a selection when it comes to molds!

    Soapers have a wide variety of molds for their work, too; nevertheless, the most popular mold are those they make themselves, whether it’s handy husbands and fathers fashioning wooden molds or molds resourced from items found around the house. Of those with handy husbands, Suzanne of The Washtub explains, “My husband makes me wooden soap molds, so I love them best.” Most of us use log molds, but a fair number of us do use slab molds. Hinged molds makes us even happier.

    Of commercial molds, the most votes were for Milky Way Molds, and I must confess that I, personally, own a lot of them. “Soap always comes out so evenly. Molds last a long time,” says Linda Boyd of Springdale Spa, which echoes what most other MWM lovers stated.

    Many respondents loved the silicone-lined molds from Upland Soap Factory because they didn’t have to line them, and the soap unmolded beautifully.

    If you’re looking for a commercial batch mold, you might check out Soap Equipment.

    Candle Molds – Honorable mentions: Pourette, Candlewic, Carol’s Silicone, Supplies For Candles, and Pennywise Candles.

    Soap Molds – Honorable mentions: TLC Soaps, Misty Creek, and Creekside Soaps.

  10. What’s the best idea you’ve seen this year?

    (Something not already mentioned—product you received in a swap, seen online or in person, made yourself, a new container, anything that piqued your interest and inspired you).

    This question seemed to garner almost as many responses as responders, so it was difficult to find many common votes, but a few products did win out.
    Salt bars were the most popular, followed by
    cream and body powder.

  11. What is the best new product you’ve made this year?

    Again, respondents reported a large variety of products they introduced this year, and in the end, it was hard to determine a single biggest-selling product. Very similar products were grouped together again, as well. For instance, molded candles, whether they were pillars or votives, were categorized together; whereas, soy container candles were listed separately.

    Instead of a clear-cut “winner,” several products emerged as the best made in 2007. They include:
    body scrub, body butter, candles, Dead Sea facial soap, lip balm, perfume, facial serum, lotions, lotion bars, salt bars, Emu/MSM cream, and natural insect repellent.

  12. What were your best selling/most requested products for 2007?

    One of the things I learned while compiling the results was just how many products we all make. We have so many creative soap, toiletry, and candle makers happy toiling away at a huge array of products. In my counting, I ended up pooling similar products, just to simplify things somewhat. For instance, goats milk soap was categorized with other cp/hp soaps. If the product was different enough, though, it was categorized separately. For instance, lip balm is in a separate class from lip butter or lip gloss, so each has its own category.

    Overwhelmingly, you reported cold process type soaps that you sold the most of in 2007. This included reported
    goats milk soap, shaving soap, lavender soap, and so on.

    The next most popular product was lotion, including goats milk, oatmeal, facial, and so on.
    Body scrub/polish, which included variations such as
    salt, sugar, emulsified scrub. Lip balm was just as much in demand as was body scrub.

    Very often, respondents reported the following products:
    body butter, bath bombs/fizzies, body spray, perfume, candles, body cream, and whipped shea butter.

  13. What is #1 on your list to try?

    What product are you determined to try in 2008? If you’re like our survey-takers, liquid soap, cream soap, foaming bath butter, and candles are on your list. Also mentioned many times were: swirling cp soap, using extracts, mineral makeup, carbomer, lip gloss, and lotion or cream.

  14. What are your top ten selling or most requested scents of 2007?

    If you thought a plethora of choices for suppliers, lists, or products exist, you’d be amazed at the sheer numbers of scents given as favorites. This was a complicated list to compile for this reason, as well as the fact that so many blends are available, not to mention multiple names for scents. To the uninitiated, “Ocean Mist” might sound very similar to “Ocean,” or “Ocean Breeze,” but we know differently. The fact that essential oils were chosen as well as fragrance oils added to the already lengthy list and made the task more difficult.

    In spite of this, a good number of scents did emerge as favorites. Can you guess what the overwhelmingly most popular scent was? If you guessed Lavender, give yourself a pat on the back because you are correct! A huge number of respondents chose lavender.

    If you don’t offer it, you may consider adding it to your line as soon as possible, because it is almost certain to boost sales.

    Second in the survey were Patchouli and Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey. The other scents most popular to round out the top ten number more than ten, but it’s because of ties in voting. These scents are, in descending order, Vanilla, Lilac, Peppermint, Lovespell Type, Black Raspberry Vanilla, Cucumber Melon type, Pink Sugar type, and Chocolate.

    Other frequently reported scents were Jasmine, Lemongrass, Sandalwood, Coconut, White Tea & Ginger type, Plumeria, Green Tweed, and Orange.