Success with Soap in South Mississippi
Paula Lindsay of Pass Christian, Mississippi started making soap at her home in 2001. Today, she is distributing it across the country and has been featured on Good Morning America, in national publications, and as part of the 2009 Grammy gift bags. Her road to success has not been an easy one, but she has come full circle – back home to South Mississippi, where it all started.
Years ago while shopping in local retail shops, Lindsay realized that there were no locally made bath products, mostly imports. So she started researching and mixing natural ingredients in her kitchen. For several years, she worked to create the perfect bath and body products, giving them as gifts and testing them on family and friends. When she was finally satisfied with her creations, she set out to sell them to stores across the Gulf Coast.
With the perfect packaging and a partner – her mother, Vera Blackmon – Lindsay’s venture quickly took off. She moved her business out of the house, hired a small staff and started filling orders, including an initial $10,000 order from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.
To more easily fulfill the increasing orders, Lindsay made plans to move her operation to Gulfport, Mississippi, close to Interstate 10. The same month of the planned move, her life changed. Hurricane Katrina came ashore, taking Lindsay’s home, business and community.
Eight long months later, Lindsay and her family moved to Daphne, Alabama. She rented a building, hired new employees and started growing the business back. While she loved the people and the place, Lindsay yearned to return home.
Finally, over three years later, Lindsay has moved her business back to Mississippi. She searched for a clean facility with heavy traffic and found it at Prime Outlets in Gulfport, close to Interstate 10 and to the location she had planned to retain before the storm.
Pass Christian Soap Company opened at Prime Outlets on April 2 of this year. Lindsay, her mother, daughter and employees produce the soap in the back of the store and sell the handmade, carefully packaged products from the front.
In addition to the Gulfport store, Lindsay hopes to eventually open a shop in Pass Christian. In the meantime, she has plenty of orders to keep her busy. The company is represented by sales rep groups all over the country, with products in more than 250 retail outlets. MGM Mirage now sells her products at all of its casinos. Internet and mail orders are also a large part of the business.
To learn more about the success of the Pass Christian Soap Company and purchase products, visit www.passsoap.com.
