New year, new trends

So, here at Bubble Trouble we are Risk professionals by day and soap makers by night. I have taken some inspiration from things I do at my day job and incorporated into what we do at Bubble Trouble; things such as 'reflection time' and forecasting for the coming year, and I thought I would share what we do at Bubble Trouble with you.

Reflection

It sounds simple, and I remember thinking this when someone raised it at a meeting, that we need to reflect on what we did in the previous year. In today's world, we are so busy we never make time to reflect on what we did well, what we didn't do well and what we could do better.

This was like a lightbulb moment for me, it makes so much sense to just stop and think. This way we can improve our outcome by not repeating mistakes, learning from errors and just basically doing things better than we have done previously and continuously improving.

Now stopping and thinking sounds easy, but I tell you what - it is not! You may find yourself procrastinating; finding that there are orders in that you need to do, social media demands your attention, websites need updating, soaps need to be designed and made - the list goes on and on!

So it is all very well to sit and think, but this is about thinking with a purpose. I could quite happily sit and day dream about soap all day without a care in the world but it would not be productive by any manner or means. This is about setting out a spreadsheet or handwritten chart where you list the following:

-What we did well in 2017

-What we did not do well in 2017

-What we could have done better in 2017

From these 3 questions, you can then focus your attention on how to improve your business and build an action plan for 2018. Even for the things you have done well, there is always an opportunity for improvement as you can see from our plan for 2018. You then repeat these steps for the other 2 questions which will help you build an action plan (basically a to do list) for the coming year.

This also leads on to our forecasting for 2018.

Forecasting

This new year I thought I will have a look at trend predictions for soap in 2018. It is quite interesting seeing what predictions are made on different sites. As a soap maker, I take my predictions from past successes and failures with a little inspiration from the predicted up and coming trends.

Trends from the web

Googling 'soap trends 2018' brings up a number of sites which offer predictions into what the trends are predicted to be in 2018. As a Stephenson's Melt and Pour soaper, the first site that caught my attention was www.stephensonspersonalcare.com blog post from August 2017 where they have had Mintel undertake their market research.

They named their top 5 predictions as:

1. Natural ingredients

2. Health and Wellness

3. Multiple Benefits

4. Anti Aging

5. Male Grooming

Please see link for more info on each trend.

Other sites have listed bar soap as a trend within the beauty industry, (which is good news for us all) especially those that promote natural ingredients. In one particular post by www.getthegloss.com, it states that bar soap will be the upcoming trend instead of liquid soaps.

Another forecast made on this site relates to 'functional fragrances' which I found interesting as it could

influence the way we scent our soap in 2018. It highlights that "fragrances will take on a bigger role in mood enhancement, stimulating senses, promoting relaxation and aiding sleep."

A free copy of the Mintel Global Beauty Trends 2018 can be downloaded at www.mintel.com - it is a very interesting read and looks as far ahead as 2020.

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has helped you in looking ahead in 2018 and can assist you in building to do lists and action plans. As always, if you have any questions or feedback we are always about to talk. Send us an email or drop us a message on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Here's to a prosperous 2018 for us all!