Suds and Serenity: The story of MelAsana soap

My name is Melanie Kaufman and I am the founder of MelAsana Soap, a small-batch plant based soap company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I grew up in Atlanta, GA but lived many places before settling in Charlotte. I received my Sociology degree from Appalachian State University.  I have taught yoga since 2007. I’ve taught in several places, including Atlanta, Costa Rica, California, Alabama, and finally Charlotte.  

From Necessity to Profitable Creative Outlet

I started MelAsana Soap in 2020 amidst the stay at home orders from the Covid-19 pandemic. All of the yoga studios where I had been teaching closed, and the only option we had now was virtual. I offered donation based classes on Facebook live and eventually my website. The effort it took to plan a class and the inability to see people’s bodies from all angles in a room just didn’t feel the same to me. I was home, unemployed and now didn’t have a class load to plan for. I missed those special in-person connections I had made with my students. It was a difficult time that changed my life and my career as a yoga instructor. 

My partner and I built some veggie boxes in our back yard and began to grow our own food. We built a chicken coop and raised four baby chicks! I became hooked on this lifestyle. I dream of owning land with a small greenhouse and a cute little soapmaking studio. I got a job in a plant nursery and helped run a small retail plant shop. I loved it! I was outside, digging in the dirt and learning so much about growing plants.

For years, I used essential oils in my personal life and my yoga classes. Essential oils are concentrated extracts harvested from plants, herbs, and trees, which are steam distilled or cold pressed. These oils are more potent than the botanicals from which they’re extracted. I began to grow herbs such as lavender, mint, rosemary and sage in our veggie boxes. I followed homesteaders online and started making everything I could teach myself to make. I had always been a consumer of handmade soap and struggled with my own set of skincare issues. I have very oily skin and hair and the summer humidity in South Alabama was not my friend! I came across a recipe that peaked my interest. I bought a melt and pour kit, added some essential oils and made my very first batch of soap. It yielded about 6-8 small bars. 

Doing something creative during this time, while saving money made me feel productive. I shared my soaps with friends and family-to rave reviews. I gave them as gifts and began to experiment with creating a solid base of 5 organic oils. Simplicity and affordability of where I purchased my oils was and still is very important to me. As I honed my soap making skills, I eventually decided to switch to the cold process method. A friend of a friend heard I was making soap and reached out. Heidi had a soap company previously and was interested in what I know now as “destashing” some of her molds and supplies. 

She was making soap on a much larger scale than I was. The size of her molds forced me to level up and Heidi helped mentor me on this journey. I am very grateful to her for helping me get started! She even sent a few customers my way. As I continued working on my business and creating a social media presence I was blown away by how positive and supportive the soaping community was! 

Marketing Reset and Shopify Launch 

I received positive feedback on my loaves in private Facebook groups and my Instagram page began to grow. I moved my yoga website over from Squarespace to Shopify. This is when things really began to feel real! I didn’t know how to build an ecommerce business but with Shopify’s fantastic support team, I was able to do it all myself. I eventually hired someone to audit my site and make recommendations which I implemented by myself. This became a trend for me. As my business grew, it was important to me that I not outsource my work. I didn’t have the funds for this either. My uncle Jeff created my logo for me based on a lotus flower. The word “asana” signifies a yoga pose or posture in Sanskrit. My sister Jess, friends and family rallied around me with unwavering support. 

 “Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.” – Unknown

I have been an animal lover my whole life and I knew I always wanted my soap to be plant-based and cruelty free. The next step was to get MelAsana Soap Leaping Bunny certified. This program provides the best assurance that a product is free of animal testing. In order to become Leaping Bunny certified, brands must comply with requirements in place that go beyond current laws. This was another major milestone for me! I am so proud to say that MelAsana Soap is Leaping Bunny certified for the third consecutive year! 

It was 2021 and at this point I had pretty much stopped putting in all efforts to teach yoga. The pandemic changed so many things for me. For years I had felt that the yoga community was unwell. In various circles, there had been numerous examples of misogyny, sexual assault, and white supremacy. There were also many conspiracy theories born out of the Covid-19 pandemic. I felt it was time for me to step back from the yoga community and work on healing my own relationship with it all. I was grieving my life as a yoga teacher but MelAsana Soap made that so much easier and in a way I was able to carry it over into my new business in a way that felt aligned. 

At this point, my business was profitable, but just barely. I was just happy to not be losing money. While the majority of my early Shopify orders came from acquaintances, a beautiful domino effect unfolded as these individuals started sharing my soap on their own social channels. This organic, word-of-mouth marketing became a powerful force, creating a ripple effect as friends of friends discovered and purchased my soaps, subsequently sharing them with their networks. The significance of this grassroots marketing cannot be overstated, and the best part is—it's entirely free. Witnessing my handmade soaps reaching friends across the country through these genuine connections brings me immeasurable joy. There's nothing quite like it. 

In 2022 my partner and I moved to the vibrant city of Charlotte. It was a fresh start for us in a new place. I was delighted to discover the overwhelming support for small and local businesses. This was quite a change from South Alabama. Charlotte had pop-up markets every weekend year round! I decided to put myself out of my comfort zone and sign myself up for a Small Business Saturday event at a little wine garden in our new neighborhood. I was welcomed with open arms into the local maker community in Charlotte. I met so many artists and creatives out there sharing their craft, some of them doing multiple pop-ups in a weekend. I immediately saw the value in connecting with people in person again. I signed up for more pop-ups. These same people returned to buy soap again. The hard work was paying off. I believed in my own product but there was a part of me that still didn’t believe other people wanted to buy it! I believe this uncertainty is a common sentiment among creators selling their products for profit. It is a very humbling feeling. Now I do pop-ups and festivals quite regularly. I’ve had shoppers say my soap looks good enough to eat. This happened enough times that I actually had to make signs reminding them it is not. My set-up is minimal so I can take it to events by myself in my trusty Toyota hatchback. I plan on doing even more this year.

Making Your Business Work for You

Running a business is a journey filled with unforeseen challenges, and there's no manual to guide you through every twist and turn. I experienced this somewhat when I was in the business of teaching yoga, but more so now as a soapmaker and solopreneur. Most people who have started companies will say the same. I have learned so much over the last four years. I have made mistakes and will continue to do so I’m sure of it. I look at these mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow and maybe do something differently the next time.  

The support I have received along the way was not taken for granted or under appreciated. There were plenty of naysayers of course, but I let their comments be the fuel to my fire. The soap making world is pretty competitive. There will always be negativity and those who do not return to buy your soap. You will not be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay! I learned this teaching yoga years ago.

Advice and Where I Am Now

My number one piece of advice to other makers is to stay true to yourself. Keep making what you want to make and just keep on making it! It won’t be easy but I promise it will be rewarding. The more risks I began to take and the more work I put into my business, the more I got back. I still feel this way today. The return is tangible and measurable and it motivates me even more. Life is such a wild ride and I will continue to make products that I believe in.

This year I am looking forward to returning to an event at a local farm animal sanctuary, another Fall Festival in South Carolina and I am so honored to be featured by Handmade Seller Magazine!

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