Bug Soother business sold

COLUMBUS JUNCTION — While Simply Soothing, the Columbus Junction-based Bug Soother manufacturer, has been sold to Eco Lips of Cedar Rapids, former owner Freda Sojka said customers won’t have to worry about getting their favorite Iowan green-bottled repellent.

The family-operated business was approached in 2020 about selling, but Sojka said her family was not ready to leave the business. Even with a drop in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the business did more than $4 million in sales. While the distinctive green bottles are common in Iowa, they are sold nationwide as well as in South America and Europe. As the family began thinking about the deal, the consensus was it was time for them to do something else.

“It had gotten bigger than what we were equipped for, and the stress was difficult for everyone,” Sojka said. “We are a very small company handling sales normally of a much larger company with more resources.”

While the company was listed nationally, Sojka said the family had been impressed with Eco Lips, which showed interest the year before. The company, which primarily makes lip balm, started in much the same way as Simply Soothing. It was also important to the Sojka clan to make sure the business remained in Iowa.

Sojka had previously run a business with her mother in the 1970s and thought it would be great to open a business with her daughter.

The beginnings of the business grew from a “scent shop” Sojka opened with her daughter Nikki Salek in downtown Muscatine in the fall of 2003 as Sojka was working at Monsanto. While the pair had moved between a storefront and working out of their basement, sales took off when the owner of a cosmetic company tried their shea crème and ordered a private label.

Bug Soother was born during the flood in 2008.

“We wanted to create a natural alternative to DEET for a 5-month-old grandson, so I started mixing ingredients,” Sojka said.

Quickly, the family learned their mixture drove off gnats. As people fighting the floodwaters learned of the soother, they quickly bought up all the family could make. Sojka recalls a story she heard about an umpire at a ballgame being eaten alive by flying insects. A mom from the stands sprayed him with the Bug Soother. The next day a little shop carrying the spray had people lined up to buy the soother and quickly cleared the shelves.

As the business transitions to Eco Lips, several family members are remaining for a few more weeks to make the transition smooth. Even with Bug Soother being the main product, the company had created many other products, some of which are being closed out. Sojka explained Eco Lips is completely natural and organic and some of the Simply Soothing products have preservatives and don’t fit the lineup.

The Sojka family’s next big adventure is already unfolding. She and her husband, Jim, bought a 53-acre church camp just outside of Letts, which they had dubbed Cedar River Ranch. It will become a resort and event center. There are 10 family cabins for rent starting Mother’s Day weekend and another five ready early this summer. A website will be launched soon.

The ranch will help support Cedar River Haven by employment and proceeds, she said. The haven is building a women’s transitional living home at the ranch able to take 24 women when completed. The haven is also opening a thrift store at 208 E. Access Road, Columbus Junction.