You are shipping water — how much does it change the cost?

Freight per unit is high because most of the bottle is water. This is why concentrate and sheet formats exist at all.

Enzymes — how much does it change the cost?

A small inclusion at a high price, and the thing that makes it work. Cutting it is visible to the customer within one wash.

Concentration is the lever — how much does it change the cost?

Doubling concentration halves freight and packaging per wash — the biggest cost move available in the category.

What does it cost to make laundry detergent?

Q: What does it cost to make laundry detergent?

A 1L bottle, 30 washes costs roughly $3.1031 per unit to make ex-works at a run of 12,000 units — $2.2871 of ingredients, $0.4800 of packaging, $0.2100 of tolling and $0.0640 of inbound freight, divided by a 98% yield. Bigger runs land materially lower.

Cost to make, ex-works $3.1031 per 1L bottle, 30 washes, at 12,000 units

Per 1,000 units$3103.14

Whole run$37237.66

This is a realistic mid-market estimate, not a quote. The same product at 5,000 units and at 50,000 units are different businesses — run size moves tolling more than any other line. Use it to sanity-check a quote, not to replace one.

Where the money goes

Ingredients $2.2871 74%Packaging $0.4800 15%Tolling $0.2100 7%Inbound freight $0.0640 2%Yield loss $0.0621 2%

The formulation

Ingredient	Qty	Price	Overage	Per unit
Water	700 g/L	$0.02/lb	2%	$0.0315
Surfactant blend	180 g/L	$2.10/lb	3%	$0.8583
Enzyme system	12 g/L	$26.00/lb	5%	$0.7222
Builders and stabilisers	90 g/L	$1.40/lb	3%	$0.2861
Fragrance	6 g/L	$28.00/lb	5%	$0.3889
Ingredients per unit				$2.2871

What actually moves this number

You are shipping waterFreight per unit is high because most of the bottle is water. This is why concentrate and sheet formats exist at all.
EnzymesA small inclusion at a high price, and the thing that makes it work. Cutting it is visible to the customer within one wash.
Concentration is the leverDoubling concentration halves freight and packaging per wash — the biggest cost move available in the category.

What is not in here

Excludes outbound freight, which is unusually significant here.

Change the assumptions. Every figure above is an input, not a fact. Put your own supplier prices, your own pack size and your own run volume into the calculator and see what your product actually costs.

Open the calculator

Other products

Canned soft drink $0.1614 / unit Kombucha $0.5139 / unit Hot sauce $0.8867 / unit Skincare serum $2.8278 / unit Energy drink $0.1759 / unit Cold brew coffee $0.4184 / unit RTD cocktail $0.4067 / unit Flavoured sparkling water $0.1376 / unit Granola $2.3048 / unit Protein powder $11.4803 / unit Gummy supplements $2.3137 / unit Face cream $3.3752 / unit Shampoo $1.5113 / unit Candle $5.0816 / unit Pet treats $0.9522 / unit Ready meal $2.1280 / unit Chocolate bar $1.4098 / unit Liquid hand soap $1.0726 / unit Lip balm $0.5052 / unit

A cost you worked out once is already out of date.

Supplier prices move, co-packers raise rates, and runs yield worse than planned. NextBatch derives cost per unit instead of storing it, so it moves on its own.

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