Nationwide, small businesses give back to their communities in a myriad of ways, including donating essential needs to non-profit organizations. The Promise Soap Company is one of these small businesses in the Spokane area. A successful organic hand soap venture was born out of an idea between friends to give back to their neighbors. The Promise Soap Company, launched in June of 2022, by Spokane natives Kurt and Jennifer Offereins and Chris and Alise Allen of Utah.
Before beginning this venture, Jennifer shared that both her and her husband had particularly challenging careers. She owned her own consulting group and said she “was on a plane every other week and her husband was involved with a Utah-based business traveling often as well.” Once covid began, they were not able to travel as easily, giving the couple time to reconsider their hectic lives. Jennifer said the couple had discussed owning a joint business for several years, however, they had no solid plans or ideas yet.
Promise Soap Company co-founder, Jennifer Offereins
She said when forming the business, she, and her husband first thought about their goals. She said she thought in terms of “what is it that we want to do? what type of impact do we want to make?” With the pandemic affecting travel, the couple were forced to slow down and think about these ideas.
When forming the product idea, Jennifer said “because it was covid, we were washing our hands a lot, and so we thought, oh, soap!” Questions pondered by the team were “how can we make this be about our community? She said “How can we make soap different? How can we think of soap in a unique way?
Although soap is in the business name, Jennifer said “that’s what we sell, however, it is about our community, about how we can make our communities better, how can we support one another?” She said the team of four were all in agreement that they wanted to start a business which gives back to their neighbors.
In a statement provided by Chris Allen, he said “When Kurt and Jen approached us about starting a business together, our vision of giving back immediately aligned and it didn’t take long for us to home in on the idea that became Promise Soap.”
In a statement provided by Alise Allen, she said “Starting a soap company with great friends that uses pure organic ingredients, decreases our impact on the environment, and offers the ability to give back is a dream come true.” Alise also stated that by switching to the glass refillable bottles, customers are making an enormous difference in their lifestyles.
So far, customer feedback has been positive, such as this statement found on the company’s website, “I’m replacing all my old soap brands with Promise Soap. It smells so good and lasts a long time. They help cut down on waste too. I love refilling the same bottle,” stated a customer by the name of Koria.
A customer named Rebecca stated that she loves being able to refill the glass bottles with the recyclable pouches that come in the mail. Other customers stated that the idea of less trash is very appealing, and so is the look of the kit itself.
The foaming hand soap can also serve as laundry soap and body wash and the scents are unscented, citrus, lavender, and there will be a new scent called evergreen. Customers order their subscription and make payment online. Customers may also wish to purchase the unscented soap and add their favorite essential oils, making their own customized scents.
In a statement made by Kurt Offereins, he said “Every decision we make is deeply rooted in the impact it will have on our community and environment, the type of products we sell, the packaging we send it in, who we partner with, etc…” Regarding the future of Promise Soaps, Kurt stated “We look forward to the collective impact Promise Soap and its members will have in the years to come.”
Although the soap is currently available to order online only, the company plans to eventually get retail space. Promise Soap was “born of a desire to give back,” according to co-owner Kurt Offereins. With every soap subscription purchased, the company donates to local non-profit organizations.
Promise Soap has a “promising” future and so far, they have been successful with their efforts. To date, they have donated thirty bottles of soap to local causes such as Project Beauty Share, welcome kits for the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and the Freeman school district.
The company will also be donating additional bottles to organizations in the Salt Lake City area. Hand soap subscription customers may also nominate an organization that they would like to see receive donations on the company website. You can find out more by visiting their website at www.promisesoap.com/pages/the-promise-club.
