Entrepreneurship students junior Kaycie Traeger and sophomores Rebekah Dake and Madison Ziton have started their own soap company called L.E.M.O.N.

The trio started the soap business for its lemonade stand-inspired business project in its entrepreneurship class. The name L.E.M.O.N. is an acronym for the soap’s appeal.

“The reason we call it L.E.M.O.N. … (is) because it’s lavishing, essential, moisturizing, organic and natural,” Ziton said.

Ziton said the group chose to sell soap as opposed to other products because of the hygiene aspect. The assignment has a lemon theme, so lemon scented soap is the trio’s main product. The students also have snickerdoodle scented soap and are looking to add other scents to the collection.

Freshman Rachel Weber said if they expanded their variety in scents, she would be interested in purchasing soap from L.E.M.O.N.

“I’m not a huge lemon person. I prefer to stick to lavenders and vanillas,” Weber said.

As of now, Ziton said the group has sold almost 100 bars of soap for $6 a piece at a lemon-themed soap party at her house. She said the group received positive feedback from customers.

“We had one really good house party, and that was through friends and family to get feedback,” Ziton said. “All of our friends and family came and over 50 people came. And everyone loved it.”

Entrepreneurship professor James Ebben said selling products at art fairs and through house parties can be an effective business strategy.

“In that type of strategy, you can really get personal selling,” Ebben said.

Dake said starting a business and getting feedback isn’t easy.

“It’s a little scary sometimes and a lot of work,” Dake said.

Sophomore Lisa Northenscold said she typically doesn’t use bar soap, and $6 per bar is out of her budget.

“I probably would (purchase L.E.M.O.N’s soap) if I was rich and had extra money to spend,” Northenscold said. “I’m a poor college student.”

Freshman Blake Nelson agreed that the soap is out of his price range.

“Holy, God. Six dollars for a bar of soap? What am I going to do with a bar of soap?” Nelson said.

Ziton said the price is appropriate because of the luxury factor.

In addition to merchandising parties, Dake said the group hopes to get involved in local art fairs and salons.

Ziton said although women are their main customers, the team reaches out to other audiences, too.

“What we liked about the soap is that everyone can use it,” Ziton said. “I know guys and stuff can use it but the target audience specifically are people who like to have that luxurious feel.”

After some trial and error, Dake said the group figured out a successful process for creating the soap.

“We order base from a website called ‘Bramble Berry,’ and then it’s like an all natural, organic soap base,” Dake said. “Then we melt it and we add essential oils, fragrances, shea butter, coconut oil.”

To ensure consistency in the product, Dake said they use oval or rectangle molds to shape each bar.

Ziton said the group encourages its customers to pre-order the soap because of the intricate process it takes to make it and also to preserve the product’s freshness.

From a business standpoint, Ebben said using a pre-ordering system can be a smart business strategy.

“It reduces risk in a business,” Ebben said. “Especially with businesses like this or businesses early on, one of the things we really try to emphasize is the risk of not knowing what sales are going to be.”

Dake said for now, the group is selling the soap online and through social media.

Ziton said the group may keep the L.E.M.O.N. soap business going after the semester.

“We’ll see how the rest of the semester goes,” Ziton said. “We are definitely considering it especially because we are already looking into doing lip balm.”

Stephanie Dodd can be reached at dodd0474@stthomas.edu.