The average gross margin for laundry detergent in the home care industry typically ranges from 40% to 60%.
Based on the article, gross margins are generally above 30%.
For laundry detergent, the total active matter content should not be less than 15% for ordinary products; for products labeled as concentrated, the addition level must exceed 25%. However, what you often buy at low prices on platforms like Douyin typically contains less than 6%—essentially close to water.
Under the above industry standards, the hard cost for one kilogram of laundry detergent is approximately 5.8 yuan. This includes about 2.5 yuan for formula costs, 0.8 yuan for production expenses, around 1.5 yuan for packaging materials, and roughly 1 yuan in taxes and warehousing fees. For three kilograms, the total cost amounts to 17.4 yuan. Adding about 6 yuan for shipping brings the overall cost of a three-kilogram product well over 20 yuan.
In other words, laundry detergent priced at 2–3 yuan per jin (500g) is still quite reasonable. After deducting a 30% gross margin and assuming zero brand profit, you can still expect to buy a jin for around 1.7 yuan. Anything cheaper becomes difficult to justify.
