Liquid soap as a washing agent is fast replacing detergents in Kenya. Since the advent of liquid soap in Kenya, detergent producers have not found it easy to cope with the competition. This is because of the simple fact that liquid soap is fast gaining grounds for laundry and dishwashing. Liquid soap has several advantages over Soaps and detergents hence, its preference for laundry and dishwashing. This has created a huge competition between and among the producers thereby crashing the price of the product. Big players in the liquid soap-making industry have been forced to reduce their prices in order to blend in with the competition. That is to say that the demand for liquid soap or any other type of washing agent can only increase and never decrease because as long as people live on the face of the earth, they must continue to wash and if they must wash, they need a washing agent of which the liquid soap is one of such. Now the big question is. How can one tap into the opportunities that abound in the liquid soap production industry? Don’t forget that this business doesn’t require huge capital. It can be started on a small scale and gradually grow to a large scale. There are a lot of ways to market your liquid soap.
It can be used as a souvenir on Mother’s day and on many memorable occasions. For
business activities, you can drop it at, supermarkets, retail stores, and shops.
The following is a method you can use to prepare your own liquid soap at home. The
best part is that all the ingredients are available in the local market.
Materials needed:
1. Sodium lauryl ether sulfate,(Re-known chemical name-Ungerol). Quantity
needed: 500 mls.
2. Sodium chloride or iodized salt(Re-known chemical name-Normal kitchen salt).
Quantity needed:500g.
3. Cocodiethanolamide or CDEA, (Re-known chemical name-Ufacid). Quantity
needed:500 mls.
4. Water-soluble dye, (Normal food color). Quantity needed:20g.
5. Benzalkonium chloride,(Normal preservatives). Quantity needed:40mls
6. Fragrance,(Local varieties). Quantity needed:20mls
7. Distilled or de-ionized water, (You can boil tap water). Quantity
needed:20lts.
IMPLEMENTS.
1. Wooden or plastic ladle.
2. Medium-sized basin.
3. Measuring spoons and cups.
4. Gas stove.
5. Pot.
6. 500 ml pet bottles.
Getting started:
1. Put 5 liters of distilled water in a pot and boil the water for 15 minutes.
You have to use distilled water or de-ionized to avoid contaminating the liquid detergent mixture. Unboiled tap water has substances
that can cause the mixture to eventually emit a bad odor.
2. While waiting for the mixture to boil, put the Ungerol iodized salt into
the basin. Mix them thoroughly with the ladle until the iodized salt
is completely dissolved.
3. Once the water has boiled enough and the salt has completely
dissolved, gradually pour the water into the liquid detergent mixture. Stir. Keep on stirring until the Ungerol & salt mixture is dissolved. The liquid detergent mixture becomes foamy when stirred, which
means that the Ungerol is being dissolved.
4. Now add to the mixture the CDEA, benzalkonium chloride, and fragrance.
Don’t add the water-soluble dye. The water-soluble dye should first be
dissolved separately in a small container before being added to the mixture.
And make sure that the fragrance and dye are properly matched.
5. After putting in all the chemicals, mix until everything is dissolved. Let
the mixture cool until the bubbles subside. Then add another 15
liters of cool distilled water. Once the mixture has sufficiently cooled down,
the liquid detergent becomes clear. You can now pour the finished product into
the PET bottles. Cap the PET bottles containing the liquid detergent and set them aside. The
yield of the liquid detergent mixture is 20 liters. Using 500-ml bottles, you can produce forty bottles of liquid detergent from it.
BRANDING.
Choosing a brand is tricky, before you embark on a brand name, think about how
the name will fit into the everyday operations of your business, and what it will make others think and feel, your business name won’t
necessarily be more effective if it’s short, but it should be easier to
remember. Once you have established the right brand name for your product, you need to
design it, design and make it attractive, and should also stand out from the
crowd. You can use your wap enabled phone to design and subsequently download &
print it on sticker paper as a label.