Siena Soap Company
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do:
Mary & Jessica: Siena Soap Company
Our Founder:
Mary, our founder, is a public health administrator with a graduate degree in Public Health Administration from the University of Minnesota and is the creative force behind the company. Mary started Siena Soap Company as a small hobby to bring natural relief to her multicultural family’s diverse skincare needs.
Co-Owner:
Jessica, a business graduate of the University of St. Thomas, saw a need for diverse natural skincare not only in her own family but also in her community. After seeing the relief and joy that Siena Soap products brought to customers, Jessica knew she had to join her mom and grow Siena Soap Company from a hobby into the business that it is today!
Let us know more about Siena Soap Company:
Siena Soap Company provides a full line of all-natural plant based skincare made one batch at a time here in Minneapolis. We offer products for all ages including aromatherapy soap, facial and shampoo bars, facial serums, shave bars, lotion bars, balms and salves addressing specific skin and health care needs, lip balms, magnesium oil, deodorants, laundry soap, bug spray, sunscreen, baby products and so much more. All handcrafted with love by a mother/daughter team. A portion of every sale goes to support survivors of sex trafficking here in Minnesota. Sharing our healthy alternative skin care with you is our great joy and passion! Experience the difference 100% natural skincare can make.
What makes your business unique to the industry?
When we say we use 100% natural ingredients we mean it. We never even use dyes (all color in our products comes from clay and herbs), preservatives, chemical filled fragrances (only use essential oils for scent) or any chemicals! Most companies that claim to be all natural will use all the above because it is much cheaper to use dyes or fragrances vs essential oils. That is why they will say 95% natural. All of our products are 100% natural and even safe to eat-if a toddler got into them than you don't have to call poison control!
What's been your biggest roadblock when it comes to business and how have you been able to overcome?
Starting and growing a business is like having a baby. There is no book on how exactly to do it.
So you need to wear many hats and be a little master of many different things. What helped me the most was growing my network and getting to know other local small business owners. We have created a wonderful community of small business owners here in the Twin Cities who all support each other and can go to for help!
How has your business had to adapt amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic? What are you doing to navigate the situation?
It's been tough for all us small businesses. We had to close our 2 retail locations unexpectedly while still paying rent. That was hard. We currently have only reopened one of our retail locations and it has been a slow start (compared to how well it had been doing pre-covid).
All of our big summer events that we rely on selling at have been cancelled or postponed which has also been tough. So instead we pivoted to farmers markets. Normally we only do the NE MPLS farmers market once a month in the summer. Now instead we are selling at 6 farmers markets monthly, since that is all that is open.
We have also focused more time on social media and online sales and it has been great to see that area grow!
What is your favorite part of what you do?
The freedom of being my own boss (even though I work more than I ever used to at my old full time job) and being able to help offer people natural and safe skincare! It is so rewarding to hear from customers that our products are helping them with skin issues that they have been struggling with for years!
What is your *must do* local activity?
Art A whirl at the Northrup King Building in NE MPLS (where we have a studio). It happens every year in May (except for this year) and over 500 local artists come together for this weekend event where people are able to see and buy their art- often times in their own studios where the items are made!
Where to find Siena Soap Company:
Website: www.sienasoap.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sienasoapco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SienaSoapCompany/