Specialty Bath Soaks Company Finds Time and Cost Savings from Custom Pouches

Unplugged Essentials is a company born from a love for floating. What started as a vision for a therapeutic float center turned into a blossoming brand of specialty retail bath soaks that, as the company states, “nurture and heal the body and mind.” 

The Birth of a Bath Soak Brand

In 2016 Kevin Rose, Jr. set out to open a flotation therapy center, but faced some financial hurdles getting it off the ground. So instead, he decided to focus on his long-term goal of selling a take-home bath product. He figured he would start with the retail product first and open the therapy center later. 

“We had the branding and the idea of doing a take-home product. So, we figured we would get our feet wet in the digital marketplace first, and build the brand from there,” says Rose.

And the plan paid off. Rose began manufacturing and packaging the soaks in-house in Massachusetts, from thoughtfully sourced ingredients. While exploring the best way to package the soaks, Rose decided on the pouch with the objective to be as “sustainable as possible while also creating the best experience possible.”

In June 2017, Unplugged Essentials officially launched, selling its bath soaks directly to consumers on its website. Through grassroots efforts, the brand sought to launch and grow virally. And even with limited resources, the brand strived to, as Rose put it, “make it look like a million-dollar brand” by always focusing on quality for not only the ingredients used, but for the bath soak packaging, as well.

“We always put the product first. We set out to make the brand look great from day one because the best package appearance helps to prove the brand’s value,” says Rose.

Unplugged Essentials Gets an Essential Packaging Upgrade

In 2018, Rose saw that the bath soaks were well received in the market, but he knew that he could make them better. At the time, Rose was packaging the soaks in stock bags and hand labeling each one, so he sought to upgrade the packaging for bath soaks to not only save time, but boost the look and feel of the brand.

“From the beginning, I was looking for a fully custom package, but in 2017, I couldn’t find an affordable option. Order minimums were high, and set-up fees were way too expensive. At the time, we had four SKUs and were faced with a 10,000-order minimum for each one,” explains Rose.

Deterred by the high fees and high order minimums, Rose decided on stock pouches and labels to keep costs down while launching the company. But as the company grew, it became time to revisit the packaging. Searching hard for the right partner, Rose couldn’t find a company that could accommodate the smaller orders he needed. 

Until Unplugged Essentials found ePac.

“ePac was just coming into Boston. We had a conversation and the price points were right. The overall customer experience was really good… for the lifetime of my business, I would love to work with ePac,” says Rose.

ePac was able to offer a solution to a lot of Rose’s ordering problems, with much lower order minimums overall, and one order minimum for the total order, not per SKU, like the other suppliers. Also, with no set-up fees, or set-up time needed, the brand was able to save both money and time.

“ePac let us play with SKU numbers, so we could order 3,000 of one SKU, more for another, or less with another. We were able to trim some of the fat that way,” says Rose.

Currently, Unplugged Essentials is utilizing the soft touch, stand-up, resealable pouch for the majority of its product line-up. Since purchasing ePac’s quality digitally printed pouches, Rose says that the packaging process is much simpler and the transition to the new bags has been seamless. The new pouches, in fact, have solved some of the struggles Rose and his team were facing when initially packaging the product.

“We’re experiencing a lot of time savings since we aren’t applying a label anymore. And now we don’t have to worry about consistency issues, that the label is crooked, or that the seal is bad,” explains Rose.

Also, since moving to fully custom pouches, the brand has received a ton of positive feedback. Customers like that they’re resealable, sustainable, and just a better bath soak pouch overall. Rose says that the consistent quality, more professional look, and the incredible shelf impact really delivers a positive and unique brand experience.

“We get compliments on the package pretty consistently. The soft touch just feels different. We wanted to offer the best experience, while playing with the senses,” says Rose.

Today Unplugged Essentials sells 12 SKUs of its specialty bath soaks across the three main product lines: relaxation, recovery, and detox, and all are packaged in 6 and 12-ounce resealable stand-up pouches from ePac. The soaks are available for sale at the brand’s website, as well as in stores in select states. 

ePac was able to offer Unplugged Essentials a better price, better quality, and a simpler ordering process for the start-up brand. Are you looking for custom packaging for your company, but didn’t think you could afford it? Call us today for a free quote and a better packaging solution.