Is my pricing unreasonable

[businessfromhome]

im going to start selling home made shampoo made from natural ingredients, 120ml for £15 from home. My reasoning is that people will pay that much for a gift for a friend. It costs me £2.50 a bottle to make before I go into any other costs but before you jump on my case Im not a mass producer who can afford to flog a bottle of shampoo for a fiver. Companies sell thousands of those, Ill only get to sell a few because that is what I can afford. I live in a touristy village. i put a fake postcode in to mumsnet as i wasnt comfortable answering, sorry! other people are selling things like vegetables and eggs and jam from honesty boxes. there are a few craft shops but I wouldnt make anything as theyd want to make a big profit and i wouldnt make anything. that being said I know things are only worth what people will pay so just to get opinions, how much would you honestly pay for what I am selling

I wouldn't buy shampoo from a random
Person, it could damage my hair or skin etc. Only buy shampoo and cosmetics from reputable companies.

Gosh also 120ml Is TINY! Sorry op, it's a big no from me.

How many are you producing at a time, that the actual bare bones ingredients alone are £2.50 per bottle? That is an insane amount to be spending on an 120ml pour. And then the packaging cost is also ridiculous- did you not buy/ make in bulk? Anyway to get those costs down to something reasonable, so you can sell cheaper and then actually start to make a profit?

I wouldn’t pay more than a couple of kinds for a small bottle of shampoo from someone’s house. I’m not sure this is really a business.

If you plan to do classes/workshops, make sure you have the relevant public liability insurance to do this.

I agree with everyone else I'm afraid - it sounds like you've been swept up in the idea but not looked at the reality. There's no way you can sell this sort of product from out the front of your house. Most small soap/toiletries makers start off going to shows, fetes, markets etc, as well as online. Starting with a few product lines, then diversifying as they gain a customer base.

i also don’t understand why it’s so expensive, making your own shampoo is easy, it’s just liquid Castile soap, water, a light oil like grape seed of vegetable, and some essential oil really, like tea tree, avocado, peppermint . I can see it costing 2.50 Inc packaging, if you didn’t source too good, but 7 quid?

The holiday cottage I go use the kind of things like you make. They have small bottles of locally made soap/shampoo/conditioner in the bath room, and you can buy them in the shop in the town too. And I always buy them because it's lovely and I can't buy them anywhere else.
Maybe if you get a contract with hotel/b&b/cottages to use them as promotion for their guest, they may like it and buy them like I do? But I wouldn't buy small bottle for that price though.

Do you have the cosmetic safety assessment for them and put them on the portal? If not, throw them in the bin

It would have to have another assessment

I have a friend who makes eco friendly skincare and other products. She works from home. She's been established for a couple of years and her 120ml bottles of shampoo sell at £3.99, it is SLS and paraben free, vegan and comes in a metal bottle, no plastic. Don't forget most will want a conditioner to go with their shampoo, I wouldn't buy it as a standalone product.
Despite her amazing products and ethics she's struggling to get her business off the ground. She places really well in Google in natural search results too. She's resorted to sending out free products in exchange for reviews.
It really is a hard market to get into, and you can't just stick a product for sale on the internet and make money. Especially when it's new to people. You need a lot of marketing and years of money behind you. I really don't think you've thought this through OP and definitely didn't research appropriately before you started.

@businessfromhome Don't lose hope. It is still possible to make it work.
Check the regulations and get your product tested and certified.
Your shampoo is expensive but so is Aesop and Aesop was not a known brand always but it was always expensive.
If you have an amazing product, you can sell it at a premium.

Like others have said it’s just too expensive. If it was £10 I would probably give it a go but is it targeted for a specific hair type or is it just natural shampoo? Plus I’d want a proper bottle or it’d replace my l’occitane which I keep in my suitcase for trips away and only gets replaced every 6 months. You must be able to reduce costs without just giving up?