BearMoon Soaps is a family founded and funded business started in 2016 with a simple question - "Can great natural handmade soaps be created, distributed, and sold for a fair and reasonable price?".
Our entire family has been using natural handmade soap and cosmetic products for a long time because of the many benefits they hold over their commercial counterparts. Over the years a few of us noticed the price of handmade soaps started to become ridiculously high while the size of the soaps was starting to shrink as well. The challenge was on.
Harnessing the various entrepreneurial backgrounds and career experiences of the BearMoon founders and family we began a journey to answer this question.
Our brother Dean took the bull by the horns and researched how to make handmade soap and began experimenting in his kitchen "laboratory". Simultaneously we visited various handmade soap makers and gained valuable insights into the soap making process as well as the business and industry itself.
After 6 months Dean was making awesome soaps that the rest of the family was using and enjoying on a daily basis.
At this point we all made the decision to move forward to officially start "BearMoon" in honor of our late mother Barbara Murray.
Within 2 weeks of our decision we secured a location to produce the BearMoon products and also built our production room ourselves.
While making soaps in our official location, we also worked very hard on product naming, packaging, and of course pricing.
We all personally felt comfortable with buying a handmade bar of soap for $5 so we set this as our target price with the following 3 goals in mind:
We are very proud to have accomplished all of these goals!!
After another 2-3 months here we are:
It was time to test our products on our most valuable family member - You!
Starting on July 12, 2017, we started exhibiting at the local farmer markets and introduced BearMoon to the world.
We listened to and very much appreciated your ideas and feedback. Overall we felt our summer launch was a success. Here's what some of you had to say on our Facebook page:
"I got soap for my grandma,which she loves, and ended up loving the lip conditioner I got as well. It has an awesome flavor and is is way better quality than the stuff you can buy in line at the checkout counter" - Kayla Lynn H.
"I go to the farmers market in Dekalb every other week, which is how I met Dean and tried his soap. Dean is very friendly and a joy to talk to while shopping. Initially, I purchased activated charcoal for my face. I received a free watermelon lip balm and mesh soap bag with my purchase. I've always used Dr. Bronner's bar soap on my face, but since using Bear Moon soap I won't be going back. I'm in love! I have incredibly sensitive skin and this soap leaves my face soft, clean, and irritation free. The lip balm is now my go too as well. Burt's Bees is now my second favorite. The mesh bag is a great touch and is perfect for extending the life of hand made soap. Today I purchased Pumpkin and Coffee soap! So excited to try them out. Dean, if you're reading this you should make a baby soap. Perhaps a nighttime soap with lavender? Calendula? Then I will convert my whole house to your soap!" - Malea Cuartas
"Wonderful soap! I have only tried the all natural ones so far but I'm really liking them a lot. Owners are so nice and very knowledgeable about how to make great soap. I highly recommend bearmoon soaps!!" - Donna B.
"Just tried the Oatmeal, Goats milk & Honey loved the smell and felt great on my skin!" - Bridget G.
"Great scents and beautiful soap! The friendlies
Dean Murray - Soap Maker/Designer/Sniffer/Jack of All
Kim Murray - Soap Designer/Sniffer/Jill of All
Keith Murray - Soap Sniffer/Jack of All
Julie Rude - Soap Designer/Sniffer, Jill of All
Kevin Rude - Soap Sniffer, Jack of All