Make clean cash through toilet, laundry soap

The need to maintain a hygienic look and en­vironment makes it necessary to always bath our bodies and wash our clothes and kitchen utensils. Soap for laundry and toilet is one business that is always lu­crative as long as people wash something. Production of soap for toilet and laundry is one business that can be done and profitably too, in Nigeria. The country also boasts of all the raw materials and equipment and technology used for the production of soap but inciden­tally, the country still imports a huge quantity of the soap used by its citizens from other parts of the world.

Although it is well known that Nigeria as well as Malay­sia, Singapore and some other Asian countries have potentials for producing high quality toilet and laundry soaps, only Nige­ria still depends on import for their toilet and laundry soaps and even import a large quality of the soap used by its citizens from Malaysia and Singapore. At the moment, the Federal Government has placed a ban on importation of some com­modities including toilet and laundry soaps which should, ordinarily, make soap manufac­turing a more lucrative venture for investors into the business. However, the situation has only resulted in a hike in the price of the foreign toilet and laun­dry soaps available in the mar­ket while local production has not been able to match up with local demands.

Soap manufacture is one of the cheapest, yet highly lucra­tive investment items with the availability of raw materials and technology. With the clamour for job creation and under-de­pendence on foreign aids, soap manufacturing could be one business that will easily absorb a chunk of the teeming popu­lation of unemployed youths as well as rake in the deed reve­nue to finance other sectors of the economy. As was said ear­lier, the business is highly elas­tic in the sense that no mat­ter the strength of one’s purse, there is always an opportunity to operate a toilet and laundry soap manufacturing outfit. The business allows small, medium or large scale investors to en­gage in the business. Also, the business can be located in any part of the country since the raw materials are readily avail­able. Like every other business, what is most important in any business is to the attitude to the business. Toilet or laundry soap manufacture involves use of some technology which are available in the country. These technology get imporved from time to time which requires that the investor must be abreast of the development to make him more competitive. Like was said earlier, Nigeria has the po­tentials to make soaps that will meet international standard but the investors must be prepared to apply international standard in the manufacture.

Although profit-making is the basic reason for going into any business, it is always ad­vised that the investor must not put money as the first and only consideration. He must be aware of the fact that there is al­ways competition in every busi­ness and so the most important consideration would be how to establish an edge or advantage over the other competitors. The investor must first concentrate on manufacturing toilet and laundry soaps that will be­come brands in the market. It is only after that that the quali­ty of soap will attract the qual­ity of patronage that will po­sition the business for profits. How the business is positioned will determine the sustainabil­ity of the business. It is always advised to start every business project with a plan, or what is known as feasibility study. The study will show how to go about the business, whether it’s a small, medium or large scale that the investor wants to em­bark on.

Having concluded on the type and size of the business the next consideration will be sourcing of raw materials for the manufacturing. The inves­tor must identify the right plac­es to procure the raw materi­als and at affordable prices. It must be understood that the quality of raw materials could determine the quality of the fi­nal product so efforts must be

 

 made by the investor to ensure that he sources high quality raw materials for the business. All the raw materials needed for the business can be sourced lo­cally eliminating the problem of sourcing foreign exchange for importation. Some of the raw materials needed in soap making include animal fats or vegetable oil, chemicals, in­cluding fragrances, wrapping materials and cartons. The large stock of the raw materi­als guarantees sustainability of the business.

As is well known, soaps for laundry and toilet have wide acceptance and so can be found in every home and business en­vironment. Apart from this, it also has a by-product called Glycerin which is derived from soap production. This by-prod­uct used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics industries and labo­ratories also has a high mar­ket value. The investor can still make profit from selling the by-product after the soap produc­tion.

From the feasibility study, the investor will have clear de­tails of how much it will cost to install the soap-making machines. This, as said earlier, will depend largely on the size of the investor’s pocket. There are locally fabricated machines which can be used for the man­ufacture. They also have their imported equivalent which equally manufactures soaps but are more expensive to pro­cure. Being one of the products on the import-banned list, it is also one of the projects finan­cial institutions are willing to fund and so the investor can approach the banks for the in­itial startup capital. Given the viability of the business, the bank as well as the investor are sure to make profits on their in­vestment.

Some of the machines re­quired to set up the toilet and laundry soap business are steam generators, filter press, soap reactors, recovery ves­sels, oil storage tanks and ves­sels, drying machines, cooling frames, plodder, cutting tables, stamping machine and wrap­per. According to experts, the soap-making plants can pro­duce between 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons of soap per annum and can be increased depend­ing on the investor’s choice. Studies have found that the cost of establishing the soap making plant is determined by the scale and type of machines to be used. The imported ma­chines cost much more than the locally fabricated ones.

The production process for the toilet and laundry soap pro­duction involves pre-treatment, saponification, grinding, dry­ing and packaging. Although, all the process are very impor­tant and must be observed with caution, the packaging has been identified as one of the stages that could determine the profit­ability or otherwise of the busi­ness. A lot of times, consumers as well as traders place premi­um on the quality of the pack­aging of the product. Some­times some extra expenses are incurred in order to get the right packaging for the prod­uct. For soap manufacturing, a good product may make poor sales simply because the good product was packaged wrong­ly and so the investor must en­sure that he gives keen atten­tion to the packaging. Before embarking on the packaging the investor is advised to car­ry out a market survey of the trend in packaging the quality and type of packaging that is in vogue, the colour suitable for the products to ensure that he does not make losses as a result of poor packaging.

The manpower need in the business is equally essential. Nigeria does not have a short supply of skilled manpower in soap-making, as a result, the in­vestor must carefully select his team of workers. He must en­sure that they are disciplined and dedicated and he must also ensure that he is practi­cally interested in their wel­fare. One of the setbacks of a business is when good hands leave an employer simply be­cause he does not care about their welfare. The number of workers required to carry out the production could depend on the capacity of the business and the type of toilet and laun­dry soap to manufacture.

There is a huge market for toilet and laundry soap manufacture. There is a ris­ing demand for soap as the consciousness for clean and healthy living increases. More households are spending more for their toilet and laundry soaps and their purchase is de­termined by the quality of the soap and the packaging. Also, with the rising population, the demand for soap is far outstrip­ping the supply thereby putting the investor in a position to make quick profits. Of course, like was said earlier, the poten­tial to produce international­ly competitive soaps are there for Nigerian investors. The in­vestor has to explore the pos­sibility of exporting his prod­uct outside the country thereby making more profits Nigeria has a great potential in soap-making that can gain interna­tional acceptance, using local raw materials and technology. This, however, will depend on how the investor manages the business. The country is in dire need of investors who will help her break the jinx of over-de­pendence on imported prod­ucts. A determined investor can achieve this feat and create wealth and will in turn benefit the larger society.