From Deseret News archives:

Bubble & Bee finds organic niche

Published: Monday, Nov. 3, 2008 12:26 a.m. MST
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BOUNTIFUL — The busy home of entrepreneurs Stephanie Greenwood and Steve Thomas smells of lemon, cloves and lavender.

White marker-boards cover walls of the home, which serves as headquarters of Bubble & Bee Organic. On one board is a list: "Due Nov. 15: Pit Putty = 800, Lip Balm = 1,800, Lotion Sticks = 600, Geranium Lime = 800."

The list is for products that the rapidly growing company will stock in Whole Foods Markets, after making agreements this month to stock products in 16 Whole Foods stores in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Idaho and Wyoming — an increase from four Utah stores in which Bubble & Bee has been supplying products since July 1.

Bubble & Bee makes and sells organic deodorant, shampoo, shower gels, soaps, lotion sticks, lip balms, salt scrubs and bath salts. Growth has been so fast that Greenwood and Thomas, who are partners in life as well as in business, are still not quite sure of their profit margins, how they want to grow, or even how big they want their company to become.

"One of our issues is we're kind of just going, and we're not able to say how profitable we are on a daily basis when things are changing," Thomas said.

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The couple began experimenting with personal-care products when they lived in Phoenix. Greenwood wanted products that didn't contain parabens and phthalates. She had suffered the effects of hormonal imbalance most of her life, and through research, she learned that some of the chemicals in products that she put on her body, such as parabens and phthalates, could be contributing to the problem.

"They're estrogen mimickers," she said. "They act like estrogen in the body."

The products she could find that didn't have parabens and phthalates contained other chemicals, "and I thought, why can't I make something that's chemical-free?" she said.

Working in her kitchen, she developed a lotion stick made of beeswax, cocoa butter and essential oils. She gave them to family and friends, who encouraged her to go into business.

The couple moved back to Utah in 2006 to be closer to Greenwood's family. She took a job as a videographer at Channel 2. He worked in marketing at Eco Moto. They developed the personal-care products business on the side.

In the summer of 2007, Greenwood and Thomas began selling products at the Downtown Farmers Market in Salt Lake City to test the popularity of Bubble & Bee with the general public. They launched bubbleandbee.com in October 2007.

"Last Christmas was amazing," Thomas said. "We had just started the Web site in October, and by mid-November, we did $3,000 in sales."

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Peggy Wilson of Woods Cross mixes a batch ingredients for organic bath and body products in a Hobart mixer at Bubble & Bee Organic.

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