Top 4 Reasons Consumers Are Turning to Natural Soaps
It is probably safe to say that most large and medium-sized cities in America are home to at least one small business producing organic and natural soaps. Such businesses are even popping up in small towns across the country. Why? Because growing numbers of consumers are making the choice to go all-natural and organic for both their liquid and bar soaps.
Data from 2017 projected that the organic and natural soap market would be worth some $260 million at the end of the five-year period concluding in 2022. Data from the following year projected that the market would expand by roughly 8% annually through the end of 2025. The data in both cases makes it clear that people want organic and natural soaps.
So what’s the draw? Here are the top four reasons consumers are turning to natural soaps:
1. A Desire for Natural Ingredients
By definition, all soaps are supposed to be made with natural ingredients. However, science has managed to stretch the definition by coming up with a small number of synthetic ingredients that can still be used to facilitate the saponification process.
We may not understand the science behind it, but we are smart enough to know that store shelves are fully stocked with synthetic soaps. More and more, people are turning away from those synthetic products out of a desire to wash themselves with natural ingredients.
2. More Soap Options
Next, the organic and natural soap industry is now burgeoning with artisan soap companies like Austin, Texas-based Kuhdoo Soap. These artisans are giving consumers exponentially more choices than they can find on supermarket shelves. Kuhdoo Soap’s beer soap bar is just one example.
Artisan soap makers are producing all kinds of bars and liquids. You can find organic and natural soaps made with lavender, lemon, mango, orange, and on and on. Even essential oils are being used to make natural hand soaps.
3. Better for the Skin
Growing numbers of consumers are choosing organic and natural soaps because they believe such products are better for the skin. Whether or not that’s true has not been confirmed by science. But science aside, perceptions play a key role in the decisions that consumers make. If they believe an organic or natural soap is better for the skin, they will buy it.
We know that natural soaps are made with animal fats and/or plant oils. Such ingredients are likely to be a bit gentler. That is a great comfort to people with sensitive skin or certain kinds of skin conditions that result in bad reactions from synthetic soaps.
4. Better for the Environment
As long as we’re talking about perceptions, there’s a general perception among many consumers that organic and natural soaps are better for the environment. As the thinking goes, natural soaps do not result in washing chemicals down the drain and into the nation’s water supply.
The question of how soaps are made is another concern. Some who prefer organic or natural soaps are concerned that the companies making synthetic products are polluting the environment in doing so. They believe that the process of making natural soap is more environmentally friendly.
How about you? Do you prefer organic and natural soaps over their synthetic counterparts? If so, you are among what appears to be a growing number of consumers who share your opinion. You have created a market that allows companies like Kuhdoo Soap to thrive. And if the data proves correct, you will be collectively spending hundreds of millions of dollars on soap products in just a few years from now.
