A Memphis-based natural soap franchise is making its Atlanta entry. Buff City Soap, started by Brad Kellum in 2013, features a variety of both bar and liquid soaps, as well as other cleaning agents, all "free of harsh ingredients and full of nourishing plant-based goodies to make your skin happy." The metro Atlanta debut was initiated by the recent opening in Roswell and will this weekend be joined by a second location in Peachtree Corners.
Franchisee Stacy Sheffield is the owner of the Roswell location which quietly opened April 4th for curbside sales, and more recently opened for sanitary sampling and shopping facilitated by complimentary gloves. The Roswell location is situated in a roughly 1,600 square foot space in the Super Target-anchored Roswell Corners shopping center along Woodstock Road (Highway 92).
Friends of Sheffield's, Matt & Leslie Taylor, are the owners of the Buff City Soap franchise in Peachtree Corners. The similarly sized shop is located just off Peachtree Parkway on Town Center Boulevard in the new CMX CinéBistro anchored Peachtree Corners Town Center development. The Peachtree Corners shop will open this coming Saturday, May 2, for curbside sales only, with plans to open the shop up for "in-store" shopping in the coming weeks.
Soap, body butter, laundry soap [detergent is a bad word] and other body and hair care products are made fresh in store daily by "soap makers." The company offers some limited and seasonal options, but has several classic options always available.
Kellum has said he aims to be "the Starbucks of soap." [Starbucks currently has about 30,000 locations worldwide, while Buff City has about 35 locations nationwide.] Given that Buff City uses exclusively plant-based ingredients, their soaps are not as "cheap" as typical mass merchant options, but much like Starbucks, are "affordable luxuries."
The average 5.5-ounce bar of Buff City Soap costs $7. "Premium" bars like the shea butter-infused version of the company's best-selling soap "Narcissist," which has a golden streak running through its center and is scented with peaches, raspberries and patchouli sandalwood, goes for $8.50.
Buff City is not alone in the "better for you" soap game. Lush, a United Kingdom-based company, promotes their "fresh handmade cosmetics" in a similar fashion to Buff City, and has three locations in metro Atlanta: Lenox Square, Perimeter Mall and Mall of Georgia.
There are also a handful of local options such as Lilly Sage Apothecary on Alpharetta Street in Roswell and Mama, with locations in Krog Street Market and Avondale Estates. (Lilly Sage is open for both in store and curbside shopping while Mama's stores remain closed but are offering online sales and limited local delivery.)
Given the current COVID-19 situation, all businesses providing cleaning products, especially those that offer a more appealing option to those readily available, are sure to benefit.
Sheffield tells ToNeTo Atlanta that several other Buff City locations are "in the works" for metro Atlanta, but that there are no specific sites or timetables at this time.
Have you tried Buff City Soap? What is your favorite soap scent? What brand of soap do you use most often?
Please share your thoughts below.
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