BathBar Soap offers nostalgia, experiences in its new store

Mother and daughter Corinna and Madison Mocahbee loved going to a soap store in Orlando, Florida, while on family vacations. The store—filled with unique fragrances and products—was a fun experience for the entire family.

When the Ark Encounter opened in Williamstown, the Mocahbees knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring their own bath and soap store to Northern Kentucky, beginning the journey for BathBar Soap.

The Start of BathBar Soap

The Mocahbees did not want to offer typical products—they wanted to give their customers clean, toxic-free soaps, bath bombs and candles they would feel good about.

“There are a lot of mainstream products that have a lot of toxins,” BathBar Soap co-owner Corinna says. “As we learned about a lot of toxic chemicals that are in products, we saw a need to bring more non-toxic products without the harsh chemicals or parabens, so that our customers could have healthier alternative options for themselves and for their families.”

The Mocahbees started researching more about bath and body products, which helped them decide whether they were going to personally hand make the products or if they were going to find people that already have the proper equipment and outsource.

“When we looked at the cost of everything and then learned the whole process, we decided to hook up with a soapist community and find people that already had all the forms, molds and huge kitchens to be able to do all of that … we work with local soapists that do this for a living and make sure that the products have natural-based ingredients and they’re hand making their products,” Corinna says.

Finding a Storefront

Before opening their physical storefront, the Mocahbees had been selling products at vendor shows for a year—getting to know their soapists and what products were doing the best. When they decided to open their store, they settled on their hometown in Grant County.

“With the Ark being here, we would visit downtown Williamstown, and it’s such a cute community here,” Corinna says. “It was so great to see it reviving from when I was younger. We just saw what a great opportunity it was and we wanted to add to the community and be a part of what is going on here.”

The store recently opened in its Williamstown location at 108 N. Main St. and the community has already been supportive of BathBar Soap, the Mochabees say. Locals enjoy having a store close to home, so they don’t have to travel to bigger cities like Florence or Georgetown. People traveling to the area—to visit the Ark and NKY—love stopping by and enjoying the store with their families.

Corinna says they have made the store interactive for everyone. Customers can try on lotions and create their own customized bath salts, giving them a memorable experience.

“It goes back to one of the reasons we started the store was to have that experience when people are on family vacations, like when we were in Orlando, Florida,” Corinna says. “It’s really cool to see those families having that experience while they’re on vacation here.”

Bringing Back Favorites

Some of BathBar Soap’s most popular fragrances include black raspberry, vanilla, cucumber melon and oatmeal. People especially love the cucumber melon fragrance since it was a beloved scent from Bath & Body Works in the ‘90s.

The Mocahbees say customers enjoy their natural bath soaps—available in 24 various scents—and shower steamers.

“All of our shower steamers have essential oils, so it creates an aromatherapy, spa-like atmosphere or experience when they’re taking a shower,” Corinna says.

Corinna says customers are drawn to BathBar Soap due to its variety of traditional fragrances that people love and trust.

“We have lavender and oatmeal milk and honey, lemongrass and eucalyptus. We have a lot of traditional scents that people can choose from when they think about natural soaps. We do have things like wild passion—things that are combinations that they would maybe find in mainstream—but we have stayed with a lot of the traditional scents that people you traditionally find in natural soaps,” Corinna says.

Corinna thinks people love bath and body products because it boosts their morale and spirits, allowing them to feel good about themselves.

“When people are in our store—because it appeals to their senses—you can see it lifts their spirits up,” Corinna says. “They’re happy when they come in here. They’re in a good mood. They’re smelling all these different scents, and so it appeals to their self-confidence. Even if they’re having a bad day, you can see that when they’re in the store, they’re happy and it boosts their emotional well-being.”

In the future, the Mocahbees want to expand BathBar Soap to other locations, particularly communities—like Williamstown—that will embrace and love the store.

“We want to grow and have multiple stores, but we also eventually want to have an online presence,” Corinna says. “We’ve had people message us that they don’t have the means to get out of their home … that they would like to have us have it online, so it can be shipped to them. I know that that’s also a future part of our business.”