Go green. The phrase is everywhere and the market continues to grow. People are now becoming concerned about what they put on their skin due to awareness of chemicals and their health. With consumer demand increasing, sales of natural and organic beauty supplies were expected to reach 14 billion worldwide in 2015. 

 

Long before it became mainstream, Clearwater business owner, Bethany Albers, found success in the organic beauty industry with her company, Purple Prairie Botanicals.

 

“I officially started Purple Prairie Botanicals in 2000,” Albers explains. “But several years prior to that I began having chemical sensitivity issues with products such as soaps and lotions.”

 

She started looking for alternatives, without success. So after reading about making old-fashioned, natural soap,  she decided to give it a try. She was able to use the soap she created without any kind of reaction and, although she wasn’t yet aware of it, Purple Prairie Botanicals was born.

 

Albers was having so much fun making her own soap she ended up with more than she could use. So she started giving it away to family and friends. They loved it so much she thought maybe she could sell it.

 

She began at craft shows, then started going to the Farmers Markets in St. Cloud and St. Joseph. Her products were a success.

 

She was also working fulltime and had three small children. She knew it was time to make a change, so she quit her job and started Purple Prairie Botanicals. 

 

“Purple was always my favorite color,” Albers said about naming her company, “and we live on a prairie, so the name just made sense.” 

 

In the beginning soaps were her only product, but customers began requesting other items and the product line grew rapidly from there. Her first products were all unscented, but as she learned about the aromatherapy benefits of essential oils she began adding them to her ingredients. Although essential oils have been used for thousands of years, it’s only recently that they’ve become popular again. 

 

“Interestingly enough I used to save my paper route money back in the ‘70’s to buy essential oils,” Albers said. “When I look back it seems like the calling was always there.”

 

In 2004 the company launched its website and that’s when things really took off. Today she sells Purple Prairie Botanicals worldwide. Nationwide her products are sold in 175 stores; locally they can be found at all Coborn’s and Cashwise stores in their natural and organic aisles, the Clearwater Travel Plaza and the Good Earth Food Coop.

 

Although she prefers making the products herself because she enjoys the process, Albers has three employees who help her with the business end, including processing orders, keeping the website current, packing and shipping.

 

She is proud of the fact that her company is certified by third parties, including Green America, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Leaping Bunny, which signifies products that haven’t been tested on animals. All her products have earned the lowest possible hazardous rating of 1 or less from Skin Deep, an organization that rates cosmetics and personal care items. 

 

Purple Prairie Botanicals will be launching a new line of hemp products by this fall. With medical marijuana becoming legal, she is now able to purchase hemp oil in the U.S. 

 

“The benefits of hemp have always been there and people are starting to accept it,” Albers said. “It’s a plant that has unbelievable benefits for both internal and external health.”

 

She has advice for anyone who wants to start their own business. “It’s always scary, but we all have a calling. Go with your intuition and what you love. Non-believers are always out there, don’t let them bring you down.”

 

For more information or to purchase Purple Prairie Botanicals, visit their website at purpleprairie.com. Products can also be purchased in Clearwater at Coborn’s and the Clearwater Travel Plaza.

 

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Albers disclosed. “I’ll probably continue Purple Prairie Botanicals for the rest of my life.”