Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Gibbs
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In 2001, inspired by a chemistry class and her own sensitive skin, LaRee DeFreece developed and perfected our basic soap recipe. She named our company Herbaria, as everything we make is plant-based.
LaRee went on to practice law, and her husband, Ken Gilberg, guided the company for years until Melissa Gibbs and her husband, Blake Larson, became full partners with LaRee and Ken in 2018.
Today, we make shampoos, deodorants, moisturizers, insect repellents, candles, and other all-natural products. Our #1 product is one of LaRee’s original varieties—Lavender Oatmeal.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anyone in small business won’t say it’s smooth, or they would be lying. I believe our unique challenge is having a married couples who started the business and determined they wouldn’t be good day-to-day working partners now morph into the current married couple who are with each other 24/7. Is it perfect? Not. However, we both welcome the everyday challenges of making it work together.
As you know, we’re big fans of Herbaria. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Herbaria began in 2002. While there may have been 5-10 soap-makers in every state then, you now have hundreds of similar entities doing what we do. However, we hold to the authentic start of wanting to be kinder to your skin every day, and not everyone has as fiercely held to keeping the ingredients actually natural and plant-derived. Our prices stay competitive because we are not about making a huge profit, as if this is some luxury item to be saved for now and then. We believe in saving your skin by treating it the way it should be each and every day.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
We will stay true to the vision of our founders in the next decade. We love to make genuine connections with our customers who visit us in-store and take our tour. It has worked for who we are for over 20 years by making something pure and gentle for the most sensitive skin; we don’t have any plans to change that part. It will be essential for us in the next decade to keep evolving with the green movement and making decisions about how we make our products and with what and where from the more we know and learn about where all our goods come from, and their impact is made. Our store motto is “Know Before Whom You Stand,” meaning we stand before our planet and its current and future inhabitants.
Pricing:
- $6.49 a bar
- Buy 6, Get the 7th Free
- Free Shipping over $55 Online Orders
Contact Info:
- Website: https://herbariasoap.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbariasoap
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herbariasoap
