Wholesale Melt and Pour Soap Base & Glycerin Soap From SFIC and Crafters Choice

Please keep in mind, when choosing a melt and pour soap base each of our soap bases have different pros and cons. Many people like the natural SFIC line because of it's natural ingredient listing. Many new customers prefer working with the Crafters Choice line though because of it's ease of use and physical properties. It really is user preference.

When it comes to picking the right melt and pour soap base, information is everything. Many of our customers are constantly asking us what the difference is between all the wholesale bases out on the market today so we figured we would cut through all the confusion and explain the entire melt and pour soap base market.

To start, there are basically three main bulk soap base manufacturer's that distribute their bases here in the USA. Most of the big soap making supply companies offer one of those lines and a good portion of them offer it as their own line. They claim that they are the manufacturer of the melt and pour base, but the reality is, almost all of the suppliers out their use one of three manufacturers.

The first is SFIC. In the U.S, SFIC is probably the largest and most well known. They pride them self on offering all natural melt and pour bases that are made the same way soap has been made for hundreds of years. They use the hot process method and use lye to break down oils like coconut oil into a glycerin soap base. This base is then filled into various size blocks and sold to many soap making supply companies in the U.S as a bulk melt and pour base. Because of the fact that SFIC uses the tried and true hot process method for making their soaps, plus use high quality ingredients, their soap base has become one of the most well known and loved melt and pour bases on the market today. A reputation that is well earned.

The second oldest and largest suppliers of wholesale melt and pour base in the U.S. is Stephenson. For years Stephenson, had a large market share of the melt and pour market, but today much of that market share has been stolen by other suppliers. They actually are a European company that distributes their products through a couple of the larger soap making supply companies here in the U.S. You will find that we don't currently sell the Stephenson soap bases. It is not because of the quality, we just didn't feel that the soap they manufacture offered enough value to our customer's in order for us to carry the line.

The newest up and comer in the soap making market is the Crafters Choice melt and pour soap base line. Crafters Choice came on the scene and is quickly becoming one of the most well known bulk melt and pour soap bases in the USA. If you take a look at the ingredient listing, you will notice surfactants and ingredients like propylene glycol. For some customers that are in the all natural market place, these ingredients are a bit of a turn off. Some people insist on an all natural soap base such as the SFIC line but a growing number of our customers are looking at the Crafters Choice as an alternative because of their ease of use and physical properties. Many of our customers simply like working with them better than an all natural soap like the SFIC products. In fact many commercial soaps on the market use a soap base similar to Crafters choice. Tom's of Maine is just one example of a company that uses a formula similar to the Crafters Choice line. In addition to slightly different physical properties, Crafters Choice wholesale melt and pour bases also offer more stability in turbulent commodity markets. The SFIC soap bases are very market driven when it comes to their pricing structure which makes it very difficult for large consumer brands to rely on their soap when launching a new product at mass retail. In our opinion, that is why Tom's of Maine chose to go with a soap formula more similar to the Crafters melt and pour bases.

Although, three main companies pretty much monopolize the wholesale melt and pour market, there are countless other manufacturers that offer some pretty good melt and pour bases. Some are smaller companies that are simply trying to break into the soap making scene, others are companies that think they can just make a better base. Still others, are companies that are looking to cut every bit of cost they can. Bulk Apothecary is one example of that. Although, we sell a lot of SFIC soap base as well as Crafters Choice soap, we also manufacture our own line of products for are larger commercial accounts. We realize the need to cut costs when it pertains to large customers that sell their product in mass retail, but we also see the value in offering bulk melt and pour soap bases from some of the larger, more well known soap manufacturer's out there. We realize that it takes time and energy to build a brand and that is why we offer the two most well known and most well respected soap base lines on the market today. We just offer them at better wholesale prices than our competition and try to offer a better selection with better customer service. At least we like to think so.

Hopefully this brief rundown on the soap market allowed you to get a better understanding of how this industry works.