When in need of locally made bathroom and hygiene products, people often look towards Pocono Soap. Located at 7 Main Street, Stroudsburg, PA, The store has been providing the people of Stroudsburg with quality, naturally made soaps since 2014.
Soap isn’t the only thing that they sell, however, they also specialize in candles, lotions, oils, and more essential hygiene products.
The store has multiple locations besides the one on main street, visit their website for more information at pocono-soap.com.
This article will go in more depth with store manager, Amanda Beam, as we explore the logistics and history behind this beloved shop.
Amanda Beam on the importance of local businesses:
“I think it is what makes each town unique. We all know there are strip malls with the same stores now, and pretty much all of America, right? So you go to small businesses to find out about local culture, and it’s really the unique fingerprint of each town, a small business.”
Amanda Beam: I am the general manager here at Pocono Soap. I run the store and the production of all the candles and soaps.
Timones: Before we get into more questions, is there anything you wanted to say about the business, anything that comes to mind?
Beam: Just that we have been here 11 years, and we’re two-part deals, we are not just a store. We have a production facility a few minutes away, where everything is made locally.
Timones: Is there anything you can tell us about why the business was started?
Beam: It was started as a place to teach classes as a part of my mom’s sister company, Kitchen Chemistry, which was a bakery on Main Street. Then it grew into a light of its own here, and we kind of kept growing the gift shop into more and more space. We used to actually make everything in the back here.
Timones: Is there any reason why you chose soap?
Beam: It was just something that my mom likes to make and that we had made at home a lot. There was a growing need for natural skin care, and we were good at it and liked to make it. So, we started there, just really the need of it. There was nothing in the area that was a mass producer of high-quality soap.
Timones: Yeah, I agree with that. I am glad you guys are here, because your soap is pretty nice. What would you say are the most important ingredients for a good bar of soap?
Beam: The key is more of what you aren’t putting in. You’re not putting in artificial preservatives, artificial things. A lot of commercial products have stabilizers that make them feel a certain way, have a ton of bubbles, or all of those things that are different chemicals. We put in all the ingredients you know, like shea butter, coconut oil, and olive oil. It’s really just a few ingredients and eliminating all the unnecessary chemicals.
Timones: What’s the best experience you have had with the store?
Beam: That’s a hard one. I would say it was just being so humbled during the pandemic that we had so many people placing orders when we had to close. I remember sitting in the office and just posting that we were going to do pick-up orders. I was trying to get things online, and I heard ding, ding, ding. All of a sudden, all these orders in a small area because they were so afraid we were going to close. That was like “Oh my gosh, we actually have something here,” you know?
Timones: Yeah, that’s great.
Beam: Without all that, we probably wouldn’t be here.
Timones: That’s good. This one might be a little iffy, but what is the worst experience you have had with the store?
Beam: It’s really not bad here. I used to work at the crossings, and it’s much worse there. It’s just probably dealing with being in town, and you never know what’s going to happen. You know? Really, there’s no bad customer experience per say. Usually, the worst thing that happens is that there is a batch of soap that flops or something like that, and then we have to throw it out. It’s all like a science experiment, and soap is very, very scientific. That’s probably the worst, but there’s no crazy story, honestly.
Timones: Well, that’s good news then. Do you have a favorite bar of soap?
Beam: Honey Oat, for sure. That’s everyone’s favorite. It’s actually unscented, and it smells like honey and oats. It’s so soft on your skin, and it’s honestly every employee’s favorite.
Timones: Bestseller?
Beam: Honey Lavender, and all of the Pocono-themed ones. Winter in the Poconos, Summer in the Poconos, yeah, all of the Poconos ones.
Timones: Why Stroudsburg?
Beam: I grew up in Stroudsburg, so my family is from Stroudsburg. My parents moved here when I was five. So, it is a cute town, and walking downtown, there’s a lot of historical architecture. This building is 170 years old. So it was the right spot at the right time, kind of opened up.
Timones: If you have to give one piece of advice to people in business, in general, what would you give them?
Beam: To anyone wanting to start a business, I would say make a five-year plan and know what your end goal is. Sometimes it’s not to have a million dollars. Sometimes it’s just to have employment that makes you happy, and that is okay. So really, to have a goal of what you are doing this for? Then, of course, know your numbers.
Timones: That is a great answer. I appreciate it, that was actually very good. Thank you very much.
Beam: No problem!