Ensuring client loyalty with quality beauty products

ARTISINAL soaps, especially those that aim to solve skin problems with its natural ingredients, have lately become a trending business. For the past years, several people have ventured into soapmaking which eventually saturated the market.

For Skin Bounty, the secret to thriving in a competitive industry is to remain loyal to your business’ advocacy and to keep a solid customer base by maintaining the quality of the products.

Before she started handcrafting soaps, former community nurse Frolaine Marie Melendrez-Bentayao has been buying artisan soaps with natural ingredients online for her son who developed allergic reactions to commercial soaps in the market. That time, these kinds of soaps were rare.

She eventually learned about the benefits of natural ingredients to delicate skin and became interested in making her own soaps which she casually sold online.

“Surprisingly, there are clients who were looking for products like mine,” she said.

She officially launched Skin Bounty in 2015. Her first products were face and body soap until it expanded to cosmetic products when she became a full-time mother in 2017.

“I invested in seminars like soapmaking and cosmetic-making. That’s why we also offer many cosmetic products like lip tints, tinted lip balms, clay blush, all-natural deodorant sprays. It was all sourced locally and made from an FDA (Food and Drug Administration)-certified local manufacturer,” she said.

“Mahirap po kasi kung ako lang gagawa ng cosmetics (It would be a risk to do the cosmetics on my own) and it is for the safety of my clients also.”

Aside from the soaps, she also handcrafted body scrubs, all-around balms and facial serums.

During that time, she is able to sell around 30 to 50 soaps in a week and earns about P1,000 to P3,000.

“It was already a good number for me. I try to produce small batches since soaps need to be cured at least four weeks before it can be used,”

She added she was selling the soaps on top of her job as a nurse.

Her sales grew to P5,000 per week, not because of increased production but of amped-up price.

“Mas mura po yung SRP (suggested retail price) namin before sa soap, around P80 each lang. Ngayon nasa P150 each na. Namaintain lang po yung number ng orders. Depende pa rin po yan sa season (We sell the soaps cheaper before at around P80 but now, it is already around P150. We were able to maintain the number of orders and the demand also depends on the season),” she said. She displays her products in a regular booth in a mall and also participates in various bazaars.

Her product line further expanded when Skin Bounty became a socially and environmentally-conscious brand beginning 2018. She advocated in lessening plastic waste and introduced shampoo and conditioner bars.

“From research sa among products, kabalo mi na ang packaging has a big aesthetic impact sa pag market sa product. But, as part of the community, narealize namo na naa tay social responsibility. Mao nakastart mig innovate ug zero-waste products (We understand that packaging has a big impact on the marketing we realized, we also have a social responsibility so we decided to innovate zero-waste products),” Bentayao shared.

It could be the right timing. People became conscious consumers and environmentally aware in the years that followed. But Bentayao admitted the trend did not make selling her products easy as it also gave rise to businesses similar to hers. She quipped; it includes opportunists.

“Right now, there are more competitors in the market, and some could easily claim that they are 'organic'. Yung iba inaabuso yung pagiging eco-conscious. Yung iba naman, sumasabay lang sa hype (Others also take advantage of the eco-conscious public while some are just riding the hype),” she said.

“Our sales for soaps really declined because the market became saturated. Most demands of the clients also are whitening products. There were times we do not have sales for soaps. That's why we added cosmetic products. I also opened slots for resellers which is a big help for me,” she said.

Bentayao figured out that there is no other way to thrive in the industry but by being transparent and being consistent with the quality to regular customers and gain more loyal ones.

“My clients since I started became my regulars. Reason nila, iba daw talaga effects ng products ko compared sa iba. They tried other brands daw pero iba ang results sa kanila, kaya bumabalik sila sa akin (They said they have tried other brands but did not get the desired result so they stayed with my product),” she said.

“We also inform and educate our clients about the ingredients of each of our products and its benefits which are all written on the labels, including the expiration dates. Other customers are also cautious, especially with those super sensitive skin,” she added.

Despite erratic sales, Bentayao remained motivated to continue her business.

“It is true that we are in this business for profit but it is more fulfilling to know that clients are interested to discover products like mine and they are willing to know more about it as well as what it means to care for the environment,” she said.

“The competition is really stiff but our drive to share our innovative products and make people environmentally aware pushes us to keep going,” she added.

Bentayao plans to put up a local zero-waste store which will sell food, household products, and skincare products, and other commodities.

“My main goal is for my products to help in addressing skin problems that are safe for kids, pregnant, and lactating moms. I also wanted to add environmentally-friendly household products,” she said.