Shea Butter for Soap Makers
Unrefined Grade A in cartons and drums, the SAP value to use, and what shea's unsaponifiables do to your bar.
Summary
EMI Agro supplies soap makers with unrefined Grade A shea butter from its Ibadan facility, with a Certificate of Analysis on every batch. For lye calculations use the batch saponification value from the COA when it is reported, or the published literature range for shea; the saponification lye calculator does the arithmetic. Shea's high unsaponifiable fraction stays in the bar as a conditioning fraction — the reason shea soap feels creamy and why very high shea percentages soften lather. See all buyer types we supply.
- Recommended grade
- Unrefined Grade A
- Minimum / entry order
- Standard orders start at 20 tonnes. Trial lots start at 5 tonnes. Smaller volumes can still be requested — we review every enquiry against current production.
- Lead time
- Lead time is Ibadan production time plus ocean time to the named port. EMI Agro produces 40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter and can schedule rolling shipments. Exact weeks depend on the quantity on the purchase order.
- SAP value
- See batch COA
- Certifications relevant to you
- NAFDAC registered, SON approved, EU Organic (EOS) in pursuit, COSMOS in pursuit
- Start with
- Request a sample
What matters to soap makers
A dependable saponification value: the lye calculation is only as good as the number used. A batch SAP on the COA removes the guesswork; when it is not reported, use the literature range and say so in your batch notes. See saponification value.
Bar behaviour: hardness from shea's stearic acid, conditioning from oleic, and a creamy rather than bubbly lather because shea carries little lauric or myristic acid. Kokum is harder; coconut oil is the lather fat — those comparisons live on shea versus kokum and shea versus coconut oil.
Unsaponifiables: a published typical range for shea is 4–11 per cent, higher in some lots. That fraction does not saponify. It is good for skin feel and a limit on how much shea a recipe can carry before lather drops. Read unsaponifiable matter.
Colour and scent: unrefined Grade A gives ivory-to-pale-yellow bars and a light nutty note; refined N-RBD gives white, odourless bars for fragrance-led lines. Same saponification conversation; different claim.
Bulk formats that suit a soap room — cartons that can be cut and weighed, drums for factory lines — and shelf life long enough to buy ahead. Formats and remaining life are confirmed on the quote. For a soap maker the two numbers that matter on a shea butter COA are the SAP value and the free fatty acid — one sets the lye, the other quietly eats a little of your superfat.
Recommended product and specifications
Buy unrefined Grade A shea butter for the bar. Shea press cake is a second, lower-cost input for laundry or economy bars — confirm suitability with a sample. Refined N-RBD is the white-bar choice. Higher free fatty acid consumes lye on contact and lowers effective superfat; the batch value is on the COA.
Unrefined Grade A Shea Butter
The usual bulk buy for artisan and commercial soap rooms.
Shea Press Cake
Press residue for low-cost and laundry bars — sample first.
Published saponification values for shea butter sit around 170–195 mg KOH/g, which most soap calculators express as an NaOH factor near 0.128. Use your batch COA value when EMI reports it. Run the recipe in the lye calculator. Typical soap usage bands are confirmed on the quote and the batch COA, not as a single published recipe here.
Specification table for soap making
Parameters to write into your spec:
MOQ, format, lead time and certifications
- Certifications
- NAFDAC registered, SON approved, EU Organic (EOS) in pursuit, COSMOS in pursuit
- SAP value
- See batch COA
- Quality basis
- NIS 571:2013
Smallest order, pack formats, lead time, Incoterms and payment are confirmed on the quote. Conversations with soap makers usually cover cartons for the soap room and drums for a factory line; those become terms when they appear on the offer. Storage practice is in how to store shea butter.
From sample to regular supply
Request a sample, make a test batch, then order at the quantity on the quote. Scheduled supply follows once the recipe is locked. The sample-to-container playbook is the same path for every buyer type. Soap makers can buy EMI Agro unrefined Grade A by the carton or the drum once those formats are on the quote, with the same batch COA either way.
Certification status is NAFDAC registered, SON approved, EU Organic (EOS) in pursuit, COSMOS in pursuit. COSMOS and organic claims stay off the pack while those schemes remain in pursuit. See quality and certifications explained.
Why EMI Agro for soap makers
Manufacturer direct: cold-pressed in EMI's Ibadan facility from wild-collected nuts. Colour and scent are what you see in the sample — ask for a matching production lot, not a photograph.
Two products for two price points: Grade A butter and press cake. Free tools that fit the soap room: the lye calculator and the grade checker. Company and quality facts: about, quality.
Related pages
Indie Cosmetic Brands
Brands that formulate — many also make soap.
Distributors & Wholesalers
Container-load resale of both grades and press cake.
Saponification lye calculator
NaOH and KOH from a batch or literature SAP.
Saponification value
What SAP means and how it is measured.
Unsaponifiable matter
Why shea's fraction is unusually high.
How to store shea butter
Temperature, light, oxygen and rotation.
Unrefined Grade A shea butter
The bulk grade for soap rooms.
Quality
Certification status as issued.
Frequently asked questions
References & standards
- AOCS Official Method Cd 3-25 — Saponification Value — AOCS (accessed 13 September 2026)
- AOCS Official Method Ca 6a-40 — Unsaponifiable Matter — AOCS (accessed 13 September 2026)
- Honfo, F. G. et al. (2014). Nutritional composition of shea products and chemical properties of shea butter: a review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. — Taylor & Francis (accessed 13 September 2026)
Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.
Manufacturer-direct from Ibadan, Nigeria
Test a batch in your own recipe.
Request a sample of unrefined Grade A with its COA, run the numbers in our lye calculator, then order by the carton or the drum.
You have just read Shea Butter for Soap Makers. The next step is a real lot from the factory that produces it — EMI Agro, with factory-direct pricing and a batch Certificate of Analysis.
Trusted manufacturer
EMI Agro Industries Limited (RC 9364495) presses the butter in Ibadan — we are not a trading company.
Competitive factory-direct prices
Quoted EXW, FOB or CIF — the buyer chooses. You pay the factory, not a chain of middlemen.
Export-ready supply
We ship to European Union, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia, China, India, Middle East, Latin America. Load ports: Apapa (Lagos) or Tin Can Island (Lagos).
Documented lots
40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter, a Certificate of Analysis on every batch, NAFDAC registered and SON approved.