In 2013, former firefighter Brad Kellum and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Ziemianin Kellum founded the plant-based soap company Buff City Soap. Since then, the pair — now married — have expanded to locations in 11 states, including Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia.
Buff City Soap’s Hermitage location is celebrating a year of servicing residents with natural handmade soap, and employees are pleased with how business has gone. “This is awesome,” says general manager Emma Lorenz. “It is the fastest year of my life, absolutely phenomenal. It doesn’t feel like a year has gone by. We are super busy.”
The idea of creating plant-based soap came to Kellum after reading what was in the soap he used daily.
“I had recently tried a homemade soap, and the experience was so different than the grocery store soaps I’d used my entire life,” Kellum tells the Scene by email. “It motivated me to research soap. I discovered most soaps were made from cow fat (literally), and I started experimenting with plant-based recipes in my garage back in Memphis.”
Before going nationwide, Kellum started off selling his product to his neighbors. After seeing their reaction, he expanded.
“I’d make soaps at home and sell them at [Nashville School of Law, where I attended] while my girlfriend Jennifer attended farmers markets back in Memphis,” he says.
Kellum took his products online, and in 2014 opened his first brick-and-mortar location. During Buff City Soap’s first year, he says, the company brought in $75,000 in sales. Overall, Kellum says the company has made more than $20 million in sales and has opened more than 200 stores nationwide. Kellum and his wife remain shareholders of Buff City Soap, but are no longer active in day-to-day business.
Paige Ross, Buff City Soap’s brand specialist, believes customers gravitate toward their products for a couple of reasons. “One, it’s healthier for you and safe for the environment,” she says. “Two, I think there is such a need for healthier products right now, and with COVID, self-care.”
Buff City specializes not only in plant-based soaps, but also bath bombs, whipped body butter, stick lotion, epsom salts and laundry detergent. Customers are also able to create a fragrance by combining multiple scents. According to Ross, the best seller is laundry detergent, and that’s due to the mixture it’s made from. “It has three ingredients in it,” she says. “Coconut oil, citric acid, washing powder. We don’t use any harsh chemicals or detergents, so people with allergies and sensitivities can use our products.”
Ross also says customers have noticed a change in how moisturized their skin is after using the plant-based products. She hopes that by the time the Hermitage location’s second anniversary arrives, more residents will come in and try the products.
Since launching Buff City Soap, Kellum and his wife have progressed as business owners and started another brand.
“Buff grew so quickly we took partners to help us navigate in 2019,” says Kellum. “Today Jen and I live in Colorado and work on our new venture, Bad Boy Boards, where we make cutting boards, charcuterie boards, chess boards, et cetera, from the available and renewable hardwoods found here. Look out for our website coming soon.”
