Limited Production Shave Soaps...Why not?

[cleancut]

Why don't manufacturers like P&G and Yardleys have a limited production run of OS shave soap and Yardleys lavender shave soap. OS pucks go for $25 on the bay and Yarleys up to $90 per puck. I would think that most people on this forum and others like it would be more than willing to pay up to $35 - $45 per puck for either of these old time formulations. If packaged in limited run packaging using original formulations they would be instant collector items. Imagine the thrill of buying a "fresh" puck of tallowy goodness

 

[DavyRay]

First, you have the total lack of imagination. Secondly, the marketing departments are thinking in terms of millions of customers and minimal cost of production. They'd rather save 1 cent per product on an ingredient, than to increase market share using quality.

Companies like P&G buy popular products. They don't create them. They bought Old Spice, cheapened the formulation, and recently hired a creative ad agency. That's how they work. The ads are viral, by the way, but the product sales are not matching the buzz.

 

[nate]

Secondly, the marketing departments are thinking in terms of millions of customers and minimal cost of production. They'd rather save 1 cent per product on an ingredient, than to increase market share using quality.

I have to agree here. For these companies, it's all about profit...

 

[Sabre]

Why don't manufacturers like P&G and Yardleys have a limited production run of OS shave soap and Yardleys lavender shave soap. OS pucks go for $25 on the bay and Yarleys up to $90 per puck. I would think that most people on this forum and others like it would be more than willing to pay up to $35 - $45 per puck for either of these old time formulations. If packaged in limited run packaging using original formulations they would be instant collector items. Imagine the thrill of buying a "fresh" puck of tallowy goodness

A realistic minimum production run will be in the range of 800kg or 8000 soaps, the samples of a failed production run would fill your garage or shed for years ..... .

 

[Go West Young Man]

I have to agree here. For these companies, it's all about profit...

Isn't that the point of being in business?

 

[tet6t8]

The major corporations are there for profit and to feed the masses who fall for their advertising.
We,however,must rely on the small business artisants who take pride in their product and still try to listen to and interact with their consumers.
When you deal in the volume that the big corporations deal in our consumption is a small drop in a vast bucket. Why should they listen to us when the sheep flock to Wally World to buy the c#ap that they advertise and tell the flock it is the greatest thing ever.

Rant off now.
It is up to us to support and encourage the small businesses that listen and cater to us. When the soap maker comes on the forum and interacts with us it is a good thing. When is the last time P&G Corporate board listened to any thing we had to say.

 

[merchantbanker]

first, you have the total lack of imagination. Secondly, the marketing departments are thinking in terms of millions of customers and minimal cost of production. They'd rather save 1 cent per product on an ingredient, than to increase market share using quality.

Companies like p&g buy popular products. They don't create them. They bought old spice, cheapened the formulation, and recently hired a creative ad agency. That's how they work. The ads are viral, by the way, but the product sales are not matching the buzz.

+1

 

[SliceOfLife]

Why don't manufacturers like P&G and Yardleys have a limited production run of OS shave soap and Yardleys lavender shave soap. OS pucks go for $25 on the bay and Yarleys up to $90 per puck. I would think that most people on this forum and others like it would be more than willing to pay up to $35 - $45 per puck for either of these old time formulations. If packaged in limited run packaging using original formulations they would be instant collector items. Imagine the thrill of buying a "fresh" puck of tallowy goodness

Old spice and Yardley are unexceptional among vintage soaps. And there are plenty of "Fresh" pucks of tallowy goodness out there. Some of them are even good soaps. I'd like to see old spice come back aimed at the market it abandoned. IE Supermarket and pharmacy aisle carried, cheap as Williams. If it came out at $35, I'd laugh, and I use the vintage stuff. Yardley? I don't even use it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

X2 on supporting the small businesses that support us.

I've more or less given up on large corporations. A few are necessary evils (cell phone carrier, computers, gasoline, major utilities, etc.), but I keep my dollars away every chance I get. No more corporate food, I buy secondhand and I also DIY as much as possible. I buy local food and my next vehicle will either be a kit or a vintage one that I can keep running myself with parts from a variety of companies.

I love the small businesses I support. Most are very responsive to my needs and personal relationships are important. And no, I am not taking a swing at capitalism here. If anything, this is supporting a free market that needs to be more prevalent.

 

[michiganlover]

The current products in the shaving isle are designed to be idiot proof. Shaving soap requires a shaving brush, and requires skill to use. Thus they would need to sell the shaving soap in a kit with a brush. The number of complaints they would get from people who can't get an adequate lather would make the endeavor not worth pulling off in their eyes.

Besides limited run items sell better in specialty shops, not the likes of Wal-Mart/ Target. There is simply not enough volume to be sold for Proctor and Gamble to bother with it.

 

[DavyRay]

The complaint here is not that P&G is trying to make a profit, it is that they are so large that they can't hear the voice of the customer, when the customer base is not as large as the company.

The solution, as several have said, is to do business with smaller companies. Simple. It's a matter of appropriate scale. Smaller markets are ideal for smaller suppliers. The big guys do seem to cheap-out on established brands, thus sort of defrauding consumers until they recognize that the product is not as good as it used to be. It is a way of exploiting the brand identity for short-term gains. Makes the CEO of the week look good.

 

[SliceOfLife]

The complaint here is not that P&G is trying to make a profit, it is that they are so large that they can't hear the voice of the customer, when the customer base is not as large as the company.

The solution, as several have said, is to do business with smaller companies. Simple. It's a matter of appropriate scale. Smaller markets are ideal for smaller suppliers. The big guys do seem to cheap-out on established brands, thus sort of defrauding consumers until they recognize that the product is not as good as it used to be. It is a way of exploiting the brand identity for short-term gains. Makes the CEO of the week look good.

You mean that CEO's who run their companies into the ground didn't EARN their $15million bonuses and $50 million severance packages? But as the banks told us, if they didn't pay out ridiculous bonuses, they'd lose all that amazing talent that had ushered them unto failing. That's the kind of skill that only top earners must possess. The average drunken hobo can only financially ruin himself and immediate family on a good day. Those guys think globally.

 

[mretzloff]

You mean that CEO's who run their companies into the ground didn't EARN their $15million bonuses and $50 million severance packages? But as the banks told us, if they didn't pay out ridiculous bonuses, they'd lose all that amazing talent that had ushered them unto failing. That's the kind of skill that only top earners must possess. The average drunken hobo can only financially ruin himself and immediate family on a good day. Those guys think globally.

What does this have to do with shaving soap?