CASSOPOLIS — In the fine print on the back of many name brand baby washes, words found in the ingredients can look like a foreign language. A quick search on Google shows these unpronounceable chemicals are not safe or healthy for a grown adult, let alone a newborn baby.

Like so many others, Jennifer Eby, of Cassopolis, made this revelation about nine years ago. Expecting a child, she began looking for ways to create healthier solutions on her family’s homestead, Eby Farms, family-owned pasture-based farms that specialize in grass-fed beef, broiler chickens and eggs. Unbeknownst to her, her solution would lead to a rapidly growing small business.

Not long after Eby began making her own soap, a family member took interest.

“She said, ‘I like that! Can I buy a bar?’” Jennifer recalled. “So we were selling bars to friends and family and somebody said, ‘you should do a craft show.’ I did a craft show in Dowagiac, and that was it. I was in love.”

Through what Eby calls her “stay-at-home-mom business,” she creates more than 15 scents of soap, a variety of body butters, deodorant and other personal items.

“Everything is made in small batches without additional ingredients. There’s no chemicals. There’s no preservatives,” Eby said.

The Ebys take a slightly primitive approach to living, opting for homemade, more organic items rather than purchasing mass-produced goods often laden with harmful chemicals.

“We’re really simple. We’re very practical,” Eby said. “We do what we do because we like to eat this way. We like to live this way.”

In addition to body soap, the family sells laundry soap, CBD and hemp products, lip and body butter, deodorant, and dry shampoo. 

“We only sell stuff that we use,” she said. “It went from soap to body butter because we needed something, and we couldn’t find ingredient-wise what we needed. We started making deodorant for the same reason. … All these different things are out of necessity.”

In addition to a list of common ingredients, on each bar of soap sold, a label declares the product was “made in cut in our Michigan kitchen.” Eby said the most popular scent is “Fresh Thoughts,” which smells like “a burst of lemon” and is made of lemongrass. Other scents include “Spring Showers,” “Lavender Swirl,” and “Clear Skies,” among several others.

Eby’s soaps and body products can be purchased at several craft shows throughout the year, as well as at businesses throughout Michiana.

“G&A Variety in St. Joe is carrying our soap,” Eby said. “There’s a chiropractor’s office in St. Joe that carries our stuff. Nutrition Works in Toscana Park, and Hickory Creek Winery [in Buchanan] sells a ton of soap out of their tasting room.”

For each craft show, the Eby family creates between 400 and 750 bars of soap. In August alone, Jennifer made 1,260 bars.

Eby, a mother of three, knows that moms are on a budget.

“I’m a mom. I can’t afford a $9 bar of soap, and it’s not really outrageous to find $8 and $9 bars of soap anymore,” she said.

Still, Eby offers her soap at a price closer to a parental budget — $4.25 per bar.

“If you come find me at a show, you can get a show special, which is 5 for $20,” she said.

In 2019, Eby’s eighth year selling soap, her sales have increased by about 20 percent. Though she said she does not know what specifically contributed to the uptick in business, she knows that the impact has been significant for her family. The growth has resulted not only in higher revenue but also more work to meet the rising demands of customers.

“Without my husband, Matt, wrapping and putting on the labels, and without my daughter, Catherine, we would not be this successful,” Eby said. “We really work hard together.”

Matt and Jennifer have been married for just more than 10 years, and, like a healthy marriage, Jennifer said a healthy business blossoms with strong partnership.

“Matt and I are a really good team,” she said. “It doesn’t work without the both of us.”

As the family prepares for another year of soap business, Eby looks forward to another year of growth. She will begin selling soaping supplies in January so others can purchase them to make their own soap. She will be making all of her own oils, and hopes to begin offering classes.

“When I think about where I started — I didn’t even know you could make soap. It didn’t ever occur to me that was something you could do yourself,” Eby said. “And look at me now! I’m the soap lady.”

To purchase soap or other Eby Farms products online, or to find physical locations to purchase the soap, visit ebyfarmsllc.com.