Soapstone & Soapstone 2.0
Overview
Soapstone was released in 2020, mid pandemic as a sustainable alternative to single-use hand sanitiser bottles. In 2022 Soapstone 2.0 was released, offering a sustainable solution for carrying and using sanitiser and toiletries when on the go. Collectively Soapstone has raised £245k in pre-sales across Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdfunding and built an international stockist network.
The Team
My co-founder and I leveraged a roster of contractors: 3x Junior Designers, a Business Advisor, and a Corporate Strategist. For Soapstone 2.0, we entered into a royalty agreement with End2End.
My Role
As Co-Founder and Lead Designer, I directed both digital and physical design for our products and made strategic decisions in marketing, sales, fundraising and hiring.
Users & Audience
Our primary users were Kickstarter backers from the UK, USA, and Japan, aged 22-35, alongside Business Customers purchasing branded Soapstones for corporate gifts.
Soapstone
Conception
In 2020 co-founder Pete and myself were moved by the 26,000 tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste associated with the pandemic. The idea to provide a refillable, high-quality sanitiser dispenser was born.
We worked remotely, digitally sending each other napkin sketches and posting plasticine prototypes in the mail.
As our concept became more refined I started to produce conceptual thumbnail sketches, 3D prints and Renders to capture our design proposal.
DFMA & Assembly
We endeavoured to Produce the first Soapstone entirely in the UK. Components included stock pump mechanisms, machined aluminium and 3D printed recycled PLA plastic.
I oversaw the production of 2,500 units in-house by developing jigs and managing and supervising the assembly team to ensure quality.
Product Costing
I calculated product RRP from a bottom up approach and produced a comprehensive Bill of Materials, an RRP Costing Table, an Assembly Time Record, and several other Excel Sheets. These were kept throughout production and helped to ensure product profitability.
Fulfilment & Summary
Soapstone was shipped internationally to 2,000 backers and sold B2B to several international retailers. No further production runs occurred as our focus moved towards Soapstone 2.0 and producing an improved device out-of-house.
Soapstone 2.0
Research
We sent a survey out to the 2,000 Kickstarter backers that had supported our first campaign. User-feedback provided a road map for what developments we would focus on incorporating into Soapstone 2.0. They were:
An anti-spill locking mechanism, increased capacity and more colourways.
From a business perspective key development outcomes were also to create a product that could be produced at scale out-of-house, to a minimised manufacturing cost.
Pre-Kickstarter Development
I led the product development process. We dove straight into iterative prototyping and testing. Prototypes were produced in Fusion 360 and primarily fabricated via FDM and SLA 3D printing. Stock sample pieces for airless pump mechanisms were ordered from China and incorporated into these prototypes.
Our first sprint was to validate the new mechanical features for Soapstone 2.0. I then produced looks-like prototypes of all proposed colourways. These were to be used as props for our Kickstarter Campaign video and promotional images.
Kickstarter Campaign Creatives
I created a number of design assets for our Kickstarter campaign, including GIFs, infographics, co-directing the campaign video and social media ad content.
Post-Kickstarter Development
We released the campaign and upon its success dove into creating a pre-production prototype. I picked up from the last prototype and iteratively developed the CAD files and printed new components until we arrived at a fully functional to-scale model. Throughout, I prioritised DFMA principles and chose cost-effective solutions.
Packaging Design
I crafted the packaging for Soapstone to embody simplicity and utility, while emphasising our commitment to sustainability through the choice of materials and a natural colour palette. A circular cut-out on the front allows a glimpse of the product’s colour and texture. A QR code on the package directs users to online instructions, reducing paper use. The Soapstone 2.0’s nylon tabbing acts as a spring inside the packaging, dampening shock and removing the need for excess material padding. The packaging was die-cut on Kraft Paper.
Design Transfer
A copy of the pre-production prototype was produced and sent to our partner factory in China. Accompanying the physical model, I created a comprehensive handover document detailing the assembly process, component interactions, product functionality, and quality control protocols to ensure consistency and high standards in mass production.
Golden Sample
An iterative process of recieving product samples from China, testing them and providing feedback began. Our testing regimen included durability assessments, destructive tests, and user trials. To facilitate clear communication with our manufacturing partners I produced various documents and technical drawings..
We went through five rounds of this before settling on our “Golden Sample”.
Summary
11,000 units were produced across all colourways in several batches and shipped worldwide to our backers. Further commercialisation post-Kickstarter was explored and we exhibited Soapstone at Tradeshows and talked to retailers.
Despite some positive forecasts, we chose not to pursue retail distribution, as the product's premium nature and price point were better suited to Kickstarter's platform. This decision allowed us to minimize risk and redirect our focus toward new design projects.