Slime has taken the world by storm, so it’s no surprise that there are thousands of sellers raking in 6 and even 7 figure profits every year!
And whilst lots of businesses require hefty upfront capital, this is one small business idea that doesn’t, and bonus, marketing is pretty easy too!
Slime videos go mega-viral on platforms like Instagram and Titkok, leading to a cult-like following within just a few months! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the steps to turn your passion for slime into a seriously profitable business.
And before you think there’s no way this simple idea can really turn into that kind of money, check out these sellers;
Slime Business Success Stories
- PeachyBbies – Making well over $50,000 A MONTH just on the advertising revenue on her Youtube channel alone! Her actual slime shop turns over approx $2.5 million every year.
- Karina Garcia – A 35 year old former waitress who was once living in a tiny trailer van with her young child now makes well over $2 million a year from her slime business! Between ad revenue, products and events, her business quickly shot to fame.
- Jacob Karram – A 17 year old student who started making slime videos from his childhood bedroom in Boca Raton, Florida. He invested $100 into his venture, using the money to buy basic supplies like glue and containers. Now, Jacob sells around 4,000 jars of slime a week and works out of a 2,500-square-foot warehouse with his 10-person team, making well over $1 million a year!
- Marisa – Another 17 year old slime creator who now makes $50,000 a week, shipping over 10 gallons of slime a day. Her creations went viral on social after adding in cute charms and beads!
And this is just a small selection of online sellers who are making this kind of money.
Let’s start with understanding the market.
Understanding the Market
Before diving headfirst into the world of slime entrepreneurship, it’s super important to work out how your products are going to stand out in this market – that’s the key to turning big profits.
- Which textures, scents, add-ins are you going to use?
- Are you going to make them cute and themed or super colorful and crunchy?
- Are you going to make them for a specific audience i.e. kids with sensory issues?
Take a look at the people who are currently doing well in the slime world, and see what’s selling under their best-selling categories – how could you put your own spin on this?
Related: 25 Most Profitable Things to Sell Online (That are Always in Demand!)
Types of Slime You Can Sell (By Popularity & Profitability)
To get you thinking about your marketing plan, here’s the ultimate list of types of slime that are currently best-sellers online!
- Glitter slime
- Fluffy slime
- Color changing slime
- Cloud slime
- Butter slime
- Glue-free slime
- Borax-free slime
- Crunchy slime
- Glow-in-the-dark slime
- Edible slime
- Soap slime
- Oobleck slime
- Clear slime
- Scented slime
- Magnetic slime
Notice how some of them are super specific and are clearly tailored to a children’s audience (this also means you’ll want to be careful with the gems or bead add-ins you’re using so children don’t accidentally swallow them).
Or if you want to avoid this altogether, just make slime for adults.
Any of these slime types can be modified or combined to your liking to create an entirely new type of slime, too!
In fact, slime-makers are always looking for new ingredients to use in their slime, constantly creating new combinations.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different recipes; you might just discover a new type of slime that people will go crazy for!
Related: The Best Things to Sell on Etsy To Launch a 6 Figure Business!
How to Make Slime to Sell
Whilst there are a ton of different methods to make slime, there’s a generally accepted basic base that’s accepted by the slime community and that’s often made with glue, colorant, and an activator.
If you want a shine, you’ll also want to add baby oil too. The activator ingredient can be several things, including contact lens solution, laundry detergent, and a Borax/water mixture.
Just so you’re aware, adding more activator typically creates a thicker slime, with less resulting in a looser slime!
To get you started, and so you have a base to play around with, here are the most basic recipes for creating the most common, yet best-selling slime types:
- Glitter Slime:
- Ingredients:
- Clear or white school glue
- Liquid starch or borax solution
- Glitter (choose your preferred color and size)
- Water
- Instructions:
- Pour the desired amount of glue into a mixing bowl.
- Add water to dilute the glue (optional, for desired consistency).
- Sprinkle glitter into the glue mixture and stir until evenly distributed.
- Slowly add liquid starch or borax solution while stirring continuously until the slime forms and pulls away from the bowl.
- Knead the slime with your hands until it reaches the desired consistency and the glitter is well incorporated.
- Ingredients:
- Fluffy Slime:
- Ingredients:
- White school glue
- Shaving cream
- Contact lens solution or liquid starch
- Food coloring (optional)
- Instructions:
- In a mixing bowl, combine equal parts of glue and shaving cream.
- Add a few drops of food coloring if desired and mix well.
- Slowly add contact lens solution or liquid starch while stirring until the slime starts to form and pull away from the bowl.
- Knead the slime with your hands until it becomes fluffy and holds its shape.
- Ingredients:
- Color Changing Slime:
- Ingredients:
- Thermochromic pigment powder
- Clear school glue
- Liquid starch or borax solution
- Instructions:
- Mix the thermochromic pigment powder with clear glue until the desired color is achieved.
- Slowly add liquid starch or borax solution while stirring until the slime begins to form and pull away from the bowl.
- Knead the slime with your hands until it becomes smooth and stretchy.
- The slime will change color based on temperature fluctuations, such as warmth from your hands or exposure to cold surfaces.
- Ingredients:
- Cloud Slime:
- Ingredients:
- White school glue
- Instant snow powder
- Contact lens solution or liquid starch
- Scented oil (optional)
- Instructions:
- Mix the instant snow powder with water according to the package instructions to create fluffy snow.
- In a separate bowl, combine white glue with contact lens solution or liquid starch.
- Add the scented oil (if using) to the glue mixture and stir well.
- Gradually add the fluffy snow to the glue mixture and knead until the slime reaches the desired consistency and resembles a cloud-like texture.
- Ingredients:
- Borax-Free Slime:
- Ingredients:
- White school glue
- Baking soda
- Contact lens solution or saline solution
- Food coloring (optional)
- Instructions:
- Pour the desired amount of glue into a mixing bowl.
- Add a pinch of baking soda and mix well.
- Add food coloring if desired and mix until the color is evenly distributed.
- Gradually add contact lens solution or saline solution while stirring until the slime starts to form and pull away from the bowl.
- Knead the slime with your hands until it becomes smooth and stretchy.
- Ingredients:
- Crunchy Slime:
- Ingredients:
- Clear school glue
- Foam beads or small plastic beads
- Liquid starch or borax solution
- Instructions:
- Pour clear glue into a mixing bowl.
- Add foam beads or small plastic beads to the glue and mix well until evenly distributed.
- Slowly add liquid starch or borax solution while stirring until the slime begins to form and pull away from the bowl.
- Knead the slime with your hands until it becomes smooth and the beads are well incorporated, creating a satisfying crunchy texture.
- Ingredients:
Where to Get Slime Ingredients From
When you’re first starting out though, it’s important that you only get as much as you need for a few specific recipes when it comes to ingredients.
You don’t need to have a wide product selection when you first open up your shop; start with a few reliable recipes at first and build up from there.
When pricing your slime, you’ll want to factor in the quality of your product, your target market, and your production costs (after all, you don’t want to be losing money).
Here are some general guidelines based on market trends and common pricing strategies within the slime industry:
- Basic Slime: For a standard slime with no special additives or features, you might typically sell it for $5 to $10 per 4-ounce container. This price range is common for basic slimes made with standard ingredients like glue, borax, and food coloring.
- Specialty Slimes: Specialty slimes with unique features such as glitter, foam beads, or scent additives can command higher prices. Depending on the complexity and cost of ingredients, you might price these between $8 to $15 per 4-ounce container.
- Premium Slimes: Premium slimes with advanced textures or special effects, such as cloud slime or color-changing slime, can be priced higher due to their novelty and higher production costs. Prices for premium slimes can range from $15 to $20 or more per 4-ounce container.
- Custom or Personalized Slimes: If you offer custom or personalized slime options, such as allowing customers to choose colors, scents, or add-ins, you might charge a premium for these personalized experiences. Prices for custom slimes can vary widely based on customer preferences and customization options but typically fall in the $15-$30 range.
- Bulk Discounts: Consider offering discounts for customers who purchase larger quantities of slime, such as multi-packs or bulk orders. This can incentivize customers to buy more and help increase your sales volume.
- Seasonal or Limited Edition Slimes: For special occasions or limited-time promotions, you might introduce seasonal or limited edition slimes with unique themes or features. These slimes can be priced slightly higher to reflect their exclusivity and limited availability.
Perfecting Your Slime Recipes
The key to success in the slime business lies in creating high-quality products that look pretty and fun to play with!
As you perfect your most basic recipes, try experimenting with various ingredients, such as glue, borax, shaving cream, and food coloring and charm add-ins, to develop unique slime recipes.
Consider incorporating trendy elements like glitter, beads, or foam balls to add visual appeal and sensory experience to your slime.
Investing in Quality Ingredients
To produce top-notch slime, I highly recommend investing in high-quality ingredients sourced from reputable suppliers.
Opting for non-toxic and skin-safe materials ensures the safety of your customers, especially if your target market includes children.
While it may be tempting to cut costs by using cheaper alternatives, compromising on ingredient quality can negatively impact the final product and over time tarnish your brand’s reputation.
I’d budget around $200-$500 for start-up costs.
Packaging and Presenting Slime
In a world of unboxing reviews, you’d be surprised how much packaging plays a crucial role in attracting customers!
Whilst it doesn’t have to be fancy, you’ll definitely want to invest a little bit of time in designing or curating eye-catching packaging that appeals to your target audience.
Consider using clear containers to showcase the vibrant colors and enticing textures of your slime creations.
You might also want to add a few clever ‘pack-ins’ too! One of the most important pack-ins to include a “slime care card” with full instructions on how the customer should care for their slime so that it lasts.
For example, different temperatures while shipping can quickly alter the slime’s texture, so you should include instructions to the customer on how to re-activate the slime (possibly with a packet of extra activator included).
You should also include your ingredients list, safety disclaimers (for legal protection reasons), and any maintenance tips, such as keeping the lid on and storing the slime in a cool, dry place.
Many slime shops also insert business cards (you can get a few hundred of these on Vistaprint for just $50) and fun extras like candy, stickers, and more.
Social Media & Marketing Strategies:
Use social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to showcase your products, share slime-making tutorials, and engage with your followers. Slime making tutorials and slime play videos in particular tend to go viral super quickly.
3-5 videos or shorts a week is a great place to start!
When recording videos of your slime for social media to show off how it looks, you’ll want to enhance each satisfying aspect of the video; this means bright-lighting, natural saturation (aka good color), and a high-quality microphone that picks up every small sound the slime makes.
A slime’s sound is an especially important selling point for those who experience ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, which is a pleasant sensation triggered by specific satisfying sounds and imagery (like the sound that slime makes).
You can also collaborate with influencers and slime enthusiasts to expand your reach and gain credibility within the community.
Or, if you want to increase brand awareness, why not try hosting slime-making workshops or attending craft fairs and pop-up markets to interact with potential customers face-to-face.
Related: How to Make Serious Money on Youtube (7 Lucrative Ideas)
Online Shop and E-commerce:
To start selling your slimes, you’ll want to create a professional website or online store where customers can browse and purchase your slime products conveniently – Shopify is a great way to do this!
If you’re also savvy with SEO (search engine optimization), you can optimize your shop for search engines to improve visibility and attract organic traffic – though this will take some time to build.
To encourage people to buy, knowing their cash is safe, you’ll also want to add secure payment gateways such as Stripe and Paypal (already included in Shopify!) as well as offer flexible shipping options to enhance the shopping experience for your customers.
Related: 17 Digital Products That Sell Like Crazy on Etsy (& Online!)
