Thursdays Downtown vendor: Simple soaps for simple folks

(ABC 6 News) – Each Thursday this summer ABC 6 News has highlighted a different vendor at Rochester’s Thursdays Downtown. For the final week of the event, we’re introducing you to Simple Soaps for Simple Folks.

Business owner Shanna McCann has ten of her own goats and their goat milk is used to make her soap. She does not use any dyes or pigments in her soap either. She started by making soap for her family, and her business has been growing ever since.

After introducing the soap to her family, she then brought it to the Rochester Farmer’s Market, where the reception was very warm.

"I brought it to the Rochester Farmer’s Market, and from there I created a customer base. Here I am 14 years later making soap; never did I think I would be a soap maker," McCann said.

According to McCann, this soap has health benefits too.

The soap has proteins and vitamins in it that help gets rid of dead skin cells, providing softer and fresher skin. The main selling point of her business is not just about the health benefits; there is also a ton of variety between about sixty different shapes and forty different scents of soap; some of them are even seasonal.

"For Summer, seasonal scents I have Citrus Splash in the shape of a sun. I have a flip-flop and a shell. A horse to give to their favorite horse lover or a dog to give to their favorite dog-loving person," McCann said.

This is McCann’s 12th year attending Thursdays downtown, and she enjoys all the attention she gets whether it’s from locals or people stopping in town.

With so much growth since being founded in 2008, there is no sign her business will be slowing down anytime soon.