May 9, 2025 • 8 mins
Jen Klaasen, owner of Soaring Suds joins Lauren Smith, Steve Kelly and Bret Bakita for a Talk of the Town!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM. She's Lauren Smith,
He's Brett Pikita. I'm Steve Kelly from West Michigan's Morning News,
and Brennan and I are primarily here just to enjoy
the aroma of our next conversation. If you've not been
downtown Grand Rapids, if you've not been downtown Rockford in
a while, Soaring SuDS is right dead square in the middle.
(00:22):
In fact, I think that's what you are here on
the city map, and it's Soaring SuDS. You can find
out more at soaringsudssoap dot com. Jenclawsen is one of
the owners along with your husband Michael.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Welcome, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to
be here today.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
This studio has never smelled better and you've only brought
a couple of samples in. Tell us a little bit
about what gave you this this idea and what you
guys do.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Absolutely, thanks again for having us. My husband and I
actually purchased Soaring SuDS about three and a half years ago.
We were up in the Up on vacation and the
lady who started it. It was a hobby for her.
She loved doing it. She loved making all the new
products and figuring out great sense that people like. And
(01:09):
so she grew it into more than what she wanted
it to be because she was a hobbyist, not a
business person, and so she wanted to sell and in
the up things closed for six months out of the year,
and she and her husband wanted to travel and this
was just a year round thing that was keeping her stock.
(01:31):
In the up so we just kind of said this
was right after COVID, and we both said we're looking
for something different. I think everybody was, and so we
said we just started praying about it, and we said, God,
if this is what you want for us, then help
it to be. And if it's not, then you know,
we'll keep our day jobs. So it took about three months,
(01:52):
but we finally purchased in December of twenty twenty one,
and we moved everything to Rockford and we were running
our business out of our baby for the first couple
of years. About eighty percent of our business is wholesale.
We sell to boutiques across the country, and we just
had our online website until we started doing like craft
(02:14):
shows and local artists and markets and fairs, and people
started coming to our house to shop. Like we would
have people just show up at our house and they're like,
is this Soaring SuDS. We're here to purchase, you know,
some of your amazing products. So that's kind of how
we got it started. And then we opened our storefront
(02:34):
in August, again just another huge step in the journey
that we've been on the last couple of years to
grow Soaring SuDS. Having a retail space where people can
walk in and smell everything and sample, it's just truly amazing.
And getting to talk to them in person too, is
probably my favorite aspect of having a storefront that's a
(02:57):
great store.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Isn't it wonderful? And you know, not even walking and
to smell the aromas, but a lot of times watching
Gen and Mike literally making the stuff because all of
your products are made right in shop, and you guys
have so many things that you offer.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely it's all handmade, small batch. So we make one
batch of soap will give us sixty four bars of soap,
but when we make shampoo bars, we get fourteen out
of one batch, so we have to make multiple batches
sometimes but we use natural ingredients. We're very transparent about
(03:29):
the ingredients that we choose. That's one of the things
I really love about Soaring Sids is just we make
a great product for a great value, right because we're
a family too, and we don't want to have products
that are so expensive that families can't afford them. So
that's one of the things I'm really proud of. And
(03:52):
just getting to choose, you know, the ingredients that go
into them is really awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
I want to talk to you about the guys line
because the fact that this part of the industry I
think is exploded. I don't know if it was due
to COVID or what orde to the ladies saying, hey, guys,
you smell and you know that, yeah you need some fragrance,
but it's amazing to me. And you brought in some
samples for Steve and I, Dusty Trail and everything. Talk
about that and what you've seen as far as the
(04:18):
growth of that.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Absolutely, I think men especially, but everyone is really looking
to reduce the amount of chemicals that they not only
put on their body, but you know ingest because of
you know, the health benefits and risks that are out there.
And we I think sometimes forget that our skin is
the largest organ in our body or on our body,
(04:42):
and so putting things on our skin that has natural
ingredients is very important. We make a variety of products,
but some of them use essential oils and some of
them use fragrance oils. The ones I brought today use
fragrance oils, but our fragrances are thalate free and pairbin free,
so their skin's safe and they're the really the best
(05:02):
ones that you can choose. But that's what I think
what attracts people right. Our goal, our number one goal
is to elevate your bathing shower experience. So for guys especially,
like my husband says, we had to make Amend's line
because he doesn't want something so fruity and florally, but
(05:24):
to have something that gets you excited to go take
a shower because you know you're going to come out
smelling really awesome. And for guys especially, hopefully that means
your wife will snuggle up a little closer. We went there,
I mean, who doesn't like a person that smells good?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
We should have started with that.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Store.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
So much help for you guys that's soaring SuDS and
down Rockford. We're talking to owner Gen right now. I
wanted to point this out too, because your local, your
family owned. My family loves your products. But you're doing
something pretty incredible with some of your soap line as well,
and it's something we talk about a lot the Mid
Michigan Honor Flights. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Absolutely. The lady who started staring SAIDs about five six
years ago. She actually was a pilot, and so she
started contributing to the Honor Flight Network through the sale
of her products long before we came along, and so
it was definitely something we wanted to continue. But we
(06:25):
for every bar of our Freedom Soap that we sell,
we donate two dollars to the Honor Flight Network. And
every year that Mike and I have been doing this,
we've been able to double our contribution.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So our hope is that this year we'll be able
to give even more than what we gave last year.
And it's just so neat to see that we just
had one in right here in grun Rapids.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Yeah, just a few days ago that returned from DC.
It's incredible stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
I want to talk about your retail location a little bit. Obviously,
I've got Ram Pride, I grew born and raised in
Rockfords committees now with her family at rock And was
it just coincidence or did you guys because you lived
there and kind of knew what that shopping experience was
that Rockford was a good fit for you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I mean, we love Rockford just because we live there
and we spend so much time there. We knew that
the space was coming available, and honestly, it was one
hundred percent a God thing that he opened up the
doors for us, because there's a whole line of i
mean people waiting to get into stores in Rockford. It's
(07:30):
a very tight knit community, very popular. It's a tourist
attraction for sure. About fifty percent of the people that
walk through our door are not even from Rockford. So
we were able to get bumped up to the top
of the list. And so that was just a huge
God moment, and the fact that my husband was able
(07:52):
to leave his job and do soaring sets full time
at the same time. It just everything worked out the
way God wanted it to be. And so now we
just we have this overwhelming sense of peace knowing that
we are doing exactly what we were meant to do, so.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Can't miss it. Downtown Rockford. Just open your car and
take a whiff. How's that? Storingsudssoap dot com. Soringsuds soap
dot com to find out more information. Jen Clausen, it
has been a pleasure. Thank you for coming in today.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Thank you, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
This is Talk of the Town on NewsRadio WOULD thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM.
It's Talk of the Town on news radio with thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM. She's Lauren Smith,
He's Brett Pikita. I'm Steve Kelly from West Michigan's Morning News,
and Brennan and I are primarily here just to enjoy
the aroma of our next conversation. If you've not been
downtown Grand Rapids, if you've not been downtown Rockford in
a while, Soaring SuDS is right dead square in the middle.
(00:22):
In fact, I think that's what you are here on
the city map, and it's Soaring SuDS. You can find
out more at soaringsudssoap dot com. Jenclawsen is one of
the owners along with your husband Michael.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Welcome, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to
be here today.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
This studio has never smelled better and you've only brought
a couple of samples in. Tell us a little bit
about what gave you this this idea and what you
guys do.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Absolutely, thanks again for having us. My husband and I
actually purchased Soaring SuDS about three and a half years ago.
We were up in the Up on vacation and the
lady who started it. It was a hobby for her.
She loved doing it. She loved making all the new
products and figuring out great sense that people like. And
(01:09):
so she grew it into more than what she wanted
it to be because she was a hobbyist, not a
business person, and so she wanted to sell and in
the up things closed for six months out of the year,
and she and her husband wanted to travel and this
was just a year round thing that was keeping her stock.
(01:31):
In the up so we just kind of said this
was right after COVID, and we both said we're looking
for something different. I think everybody was, and so we
said we just started praying about it, and we said, God,
if this is what you want for us, then help
it to be. And if it's not, then you know,
we'll keep our day jobs. So it took about three months,
(01:52):
but we finally purchased in December of twenty twenty one,
and we moved everything to Rockford and we were running
our business out of our baby for the first couple
of years. About eighty percent of our business is wholesale.
We sell to boutiques across the country, and we just
had our online website until we started doing like craft
(02:14):
shows and local artists and markets and fairs, and people
started coming to our house to shop. Like we would
have people just show up at our house and they're like,
is this Soaring SuDS. We're here to purchase, you know,
some of your amazing products. So that's kind of how
we got it started. And then we opened our storefront
(02:34):
in August, again just another huge step in the journey
that we've been on the last couple of years to
grow Soaring SuDS. Having a retail space where people can
walk in and smell everything and sample, it's just truly amazing.
And getting to talk to them in person too, is
probably my favorite aspect of having a storefront that's a
(02:57):
great store.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
Isn't it wonderful? And you know, not even walking and
to smell the aromas, but a lot of times watching
Gen and Mike literally making the stuff because all of
your products are made right in shop, and you guys
have so many things that you offer.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely it's all handmade, small batch. So we make one
batch of soap will give us sixty four bars of soap,
but when we make shampoo bars, we get fourteen out
of one batch, so we have to make multiple batches
sometimes but we use natural ingredients. We're very transparent about
(03:29):
the ingredients that we choose. That's one of the things
I really love about Soaring Sids is just we make
a great product for a great value, right because we're
a family too, and we don't want to have products
that are so expensive that families can't afford them. So
that's one of the things I'm really proud of. And
(03:52):
just getting to choose, you know, the ingredients that go
into them is really awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
I want to talk to you about the guys line
because the fact that this part of the industry I
think is exploded. I don't know if it was due
to COVID or what orde to the ladies saying, hey, guys,
you smell and you know that, yeah you need some fragrance,
but it's amazing to me. And you brought in some
samples for Steve and I, Dusty Trail and everything. Talk
about that and what you've seen as far as the
(04:18):
growth of that.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Absolutely, I think men especially, but everyone is really looking
to reduce the amount of chemicals that they not only
put on their body, but you know ingest because of
you know, the health benefits and risks that are out there.
And we I think sometimes forget that our skin is
the largest organ in our body or on our body,
(04:42):
and so putting things on our skin that has natural
ingredients is very important. We make a variety of products,
but some of them use essential oils and some of
them use fragrance oils. The ones I brought today use
fragrance oils, but our fragrances are thalate free and pairbin free,
so their skin's safe and they're the really the best
(05:02):
ones that you can choose. But that's what I think
what attracts people right. Our goal, our number one goal
is to elevate your bathing shower experience. So for guys especially,
like my husband says, we had to make Amend's line
because he doesn't want something so fruity and florally, but
(05:24):
to have something that gets you excited to go take
a shower because you know you're going to come out
smelling really awesome. And for guys especially, hopefully that means
your wife will snuggle up a little closer. We went there,
I mean, who doesn't like a person that smells good?
Speaker 1 (05:43):
We should have started with that.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Store.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
So much help for you guys that's soaring SuDS and
down Rockford. We're talking to owner Gen right now. I
wanted to point this out too, because your local, your
family owned. My family loves your products. But you're doing
something pretty incredible with some of your soap line as well,
and it's something we talk about a lot the Mid
Michigan Honor Flights. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Absolutely. The lady who started staring SAIDs about five six
years ago. She actually was a pilot, and so she
started contributing to the Honor Flight Network through the sale
of her products long before we came along, and so
it was definitely something we wanted to continue. But we
(06:25):
for every bar of our Freedom Soap that we sell,
we donate two dollars to the Honor Flight Network. And
every year that Mike and I have been doing this,
we've been able to double our contribution.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So our hope is that this year we'll be able
to give even more than what we gave last year.
And it's just so neat to see that we just
had one in right here in grun Rapids.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Yeah, just a few days ago that returned from DC.
It's incredible stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
I want to talk about your retail location a little bit. Obviously,
I've got Ram Pride, I grew born and raised in
Rockfords committees now with her family at rock And was
it just coincidence or did you guys because you lived
there and kind of knew what that shopping experience was
that Rockford was a good fit for you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I mean, we love Rockford just because we live there
and we spend so much time there. We knew that
the space was coming available, and honestly, it was one
hundred percent a God thing that he opened up the
doors for us, because there's a whole line of i
mean people waiting to get into stores in Rockford. It's
(07:30):
a very tight knit community, very popular. It's a tourist
attraction for sure. About fifty percent of the people that
walk through our door are not even from Rockford. So
we were able to get bumped up to the top
of the list. And so that was just a huge
God moment, and the fact that my husband was able
(07:52):
to leave his job and do soaring sets full time
at the same time. It just everything worked out the
way God wanted it to be. And so now we
just we have this overwhelming sense of peace knowing that
we are doing exactly what we were meant to do, so.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Can't miss it. Downtown Rockford. Just open your car and
take a whiff. How's that? Storingsudssoap dot com. Soringsuds soap
dot com to find out more information. Jen Clausen, it
has been a pleasure. Thank you for coming in today.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Thank you, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
This is Talk of the Town on NewsRadio WOULD thirteen
hundred and one oh six nine FM.
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