Today we’d like to introduce you to Mera McGrew.
Hi Mera, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Over nine years ago, I launched Soapply with $5,000 and an admittedly audacious goal: to help end preventable child mortality simply by convincing thoughtful people to upgrade what’s sitting by their sinks. Today, I’m proud to say that every eight ounces of Soapply’s better-for-you, better-for-the-planet soap unlocks a $1 donation to fund handwashing initiatives around the globe.
Where It Started:
The genesis of the idea happened while I was working in East Africa. It is one thing to read the statistics, but it is another entirely to see firsthand how something as basic as access to soap is quite literally the line between a child having the chance to write their own story and a devastating loss from an entirely preventable tragedy. The global hygiene crisis stopped being an abstract concept for me—it became fiercely personal.
The “Aha” Moment
I returned to the States with a relatively straightforward plan: sell beautiful soap to fund getting soap into the hands that needed it most around the world. But once I started digging into the domestic market, the mission suddenly expanded. It turns out, we have a rather glaring soap problem of our own.
The American soap aisle was a minefield. From toxic ingredients—think known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors hiding cleverly behind “all-natural” marketing—to the staggering amount of single-use packaging waste, the standard was shockingly low. I saw an opportunity to not just fund a solution to the handwashing crisis, but to completely rethink an everyday essential.
Enter Soapply.
Our award-winning, refillable soap system is proof that you don’t have to compromise. Soapply is third-party certified, entirely safe for the whole family, and rigorously effective. We designed Soapply to be deeply sustainable from top to bottom—pairing elegant, reusable glass packaging with a time-tested recipe of pure, food-grade organic oils. It is an everyday luxury that elevates your sink, with global impact bottled right in.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The reality is the personal care and beauty industry is increasingly noisy. The biggest hurdle we face every day is the sheer volume of that noise. The frustrating reality is that massive budgets from legacy conglomerates and VC backed companies flood the internet with paid advertising and finance relentless PR machines. Those deep pockets inevitably drive sales, even when the product itself is wildly underwhelming, or worse when they actually come with questionable health or safety concerns for people or the planet.
As a small, female-led company, we don’t have a corporate war chest to manufacture hype. Instead, we take a fiercely holistic approach and invest capital into uncompromising details of the product itself and the impact it makes.
Because we can’t simply buy our way into the conversation, our growth has been entirely organic. It is driven by the people who actually use and love Soapply. Our success is entirely thanks to our community sharing Soapply—whether that is A-list Hollywood celebrities, influential journalists, discerning tastemakers, or, quite frankly, my mom.
That authentic, word-of-mouth momentum has gotten us to where we are today, and it is the ultimate validation that we have created something truly exceptional. But the math of our mission is simple: to make a bigger global impact, we have to reach more people. We have to keep cutting through the noise. The road hasn’t been completely smooth, but carving out your own path rarely is.
We’ve been impressed with Soapply, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Everyone needs soap. Soapply is more than soap. Simply put, Soapply is designed to be the best soap for you, your skin, our planet, and people around the world. We proudly take a holistic approach to delivering a better product and sustainability. We believe it’s critical to look at every step in the supply chain (or in our case, Soapply chain) to ensure the essential product we’re selling is safe for consumers, better for the environment, and has a positive global impact.
Soapply is proudly MadeSafe certified and EWG Verified. Crafted in Vermont using a 300+ year old method and a recipe updated to incorporate food-grade organic oils, our soap is formulated to keep your skin healthy and clean. Our sudsmasters, as we affectionately call them, have been making soap for over 25 years, bringing a true art and expertise to every bottle.
Soapply has always been bottled in refillable glass bottles. We know that every second, 20,000+ plastic bottles are produced. Your soap shouldn’t come in one of them. We care about our environment and our growing community of conscious handwashers do too! Our refillable (endlessly recyclable) glass bottles are silk-screened to ensure the bottles continue to look great over time as they are refilled and reused. We have worked and continue to work closely with the individuals in New Jersey who do our bottle decoration across the river from us in New York City. Their skill, craftsmanship, and experience are invaluable.
With the goal of helping raise awareness around and solving the global handwashing crisis at the center of Soapply and the motivation for starting the company, Soapply has a direct donation attached to every sale. More specifically, every 8 oz of Soapply is tied to a direct $1 donation that funds lifesaving water, sanitation, and hygiene programs around the world to ensure.
We believe in a world where the soap you reach for keeps you clean and healthy (and comes without worry that it contains ingredients that have questionable health and / or safety concerns), our kids children can walk a beach or swim in an ocean without plastic, and that everyone, everywhere has soap, water, and a place to wash up. We all need soap. We all use soap. The impact of the soap we use everyday can quickly add up.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Honestly the books on my nightstand, the podcasts in my queue, and the websites bookmarked on my computer are constantly in flux. I know a lot of founders have go-to productivity apps they swear by but when it comes to ensuring I’m able to think strategically and show up day after day authentically and fully, I rely on the basics.
Here is what I think of as foundational and continue to come back to: surrounding myself with the smartest most inspiring people I can that push me, making sure I get enough sleep (not always easy with a one year old), staying hydrated, moving my body, and when it comes to my own personal care regime investing in an effective three-step routine grounded in simplicity and efficacy that I start and end my day with (that obviously includes Soapply).
For me, the secret to doing my best work isn’t an app or downloaded life hack; it’s simply committing to the analog habits that keep me sharp.
Pricing:
- Get to know Soapply with the bestselling Starter Set $72
- The Flagship Bottle $25
- The Refill $43
- The To Go (bundle of 2 or 4) $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soapplybox.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapply/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soapply
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/25058326/admin/dashboard/
