Packaging bath and spa products can be super cheap or super expensive. How much you end up paying will depend completely on your packaging needs. If you’re putting together a product as a gift or resale, packaging is as important as what goes into making the product. On the other hand, if you’re making a bath or spa product for personal use, you probably want the container you use to be the least expensive you can get. This post will show you some ways to cut costs on packaging for gifts and resale, and how to package super cheap for personal use.
Plunge top liquid soap and lotion dispensers as an example
You’ll end up paying $10 – $30 for a fancier liquid soap dispenser when you’re buying it to fill with your homemade liquid hand soap. This can significantly drive up the cost if you’re giving liquid hand soap as a gift. So, what do you do to bring down the cost?
You can go to your local second hand store and see what is available. I don’t really recommend that because pump dispensers are difficult to clean and sanitize. Instead, you can go to someplace online that sells pump dispensers on an each basis much cheaper. For instance, From Nature With Love sells their 8 oz aluminum pump dispenser for $2.35 (plus shipping). Brambleberry has their pet plastic 8 oz pump dispensers for $1.00 (plus shipping). These bottles are easily dressed up with pretty labels to make them gift worthy. Note: Pet plastic is the same kind of plastic used for soft drinks. One of our favorite supplier of bottles, tins and other containers is NaturesGardens.com. And, just so you know, we are not affiliated with Nature’s Gardens. We recommend them because they carry most everything you need and at a reasonable price.
If you’re packaging for gifts, you will want to cap the bottles and supply the plunger separate to prevent leakage. Nature’s Gardens is one of the few sites where you can buy just the caps. The only disadvantage to shopping there is that you must buy a case, but the case sizes are small and affordable. For instance, you must buy a pack of 10 pumps at $5 plus a pack of 10 pet bottles for $3.99 and a package of 10 lids for $1.20. That makes your per unit cost only $1.20 (plus shipping). It’s a great opportunity to stock up on all the bottles, tins, jars and other packaging goods you will need for your bath and spa creations. Egad, listen to me. You’d think I worked for them.
Though I don’t like to use plastic for my containers, pet bottles are a more practical option if you want bare bones cost or are planning on shipping a spa gift to someone. That’s my personal opinion anyway.
A word about shipping
Speaking of shipping, you might want to consider weight if you plan to ship your spa products. Teas, sachets, potpourri and 2 oz bottles of room or linen spray make for light weight shipping.
Gift basket supplier
For gift baskets and supplies I found another place I like called Hullabaloo Trading. If you go on a quest for these supplies, you quickly discover that most of the suppliers are wholesalers. Hullabaloo Trading is retail/wholesale. Check it out. Watch your shipping cost from any online supplier. That has to be figured in when you’re calculating the cost of your gifts.
Other great places to shop for baskets and creative containers for gifts are your local thrift stores and dollar stores. Garage sales can also yield some gems if you have time for them.
Conclusion
Sometimes the hardest part of a project is where to get supplies. I know we’ve done our share of wrestling with that problem. I hope this post has been of some help. After all, the goal is to have fun and create healthy bath and spa products. It’s not to stress over where to get stuff.
P.S. If you’ve discovered another great place to get supplies, let us know and we’ll check it out.
Now go have fun and relax.
Related articles:
Make Your Own Spa Gift Baskets
Hi there frugal mom,
Thanks for the suggestion. I would add one more thing to the coffee can solution: If you put the plastic lid on the bottom of the can, it will prevent a rust ring from forming on your counters.