We were very excited to talk with Bonnie, the founder of Make Nice Company! MNC is a small business originating from Vancouver, BC; making zero waste dish soap to keep your cookware sustainably squeaky clean!
What was the inspiration behind Make Nice Company?
Going single-use plastic-free isn't as easy as you think, unfortunately. When my partner and I decided to make a bigger effort to live more sustainably, we had such a hard time when it came to the kitchen. I was already using solid shampoo and conditioner bars, body wash soap bars and thought, why isn't there one for dish soap? I hate buying all these plastic bottles or refilling what is essentially mostly water! I then went on a rampage to make my own Solid Dish Soap, because why can't that exist? I had no idea what a small step for me would turn into what Make Nice Company is today!
Tell us about your creative process when it comes to designing and making your soap blocks!
After we launched our core line of Unscented and Charcoal Solid Dish Soaps, the Scrap Soap came naturally as our zero waste product. I had some slightly imperfect one or off cuts from production. I refused to do what 'normal' companies did, which is throw it out. It's all perfectly good soap! Instead, I just mixed it into a new soap to create what we like to call the Scrap Solid Dish Soap!
The newest product we have is our Mint + Eucalyptus Solid Dish Soap. This one was SO highly requested but took me quite a while to nail down. I tried a bunch of scent combinations over a couple months, of just essential oils and then in soaps, until we got it right! I'm so happy with what we have now and how calming and fresh it smells. The more you use it, the more scent you uncover!
What is your favourite outcome that came from starting your business?
Honestly, I'm constantly blown away by the support of what we do. I started this out of my apartment kitchen, can you believe it?! We're now in a warehouse and being part of such a great community of small businesses. I've had people tell me how great our soap is or having met someone new who uses or knows of Make Nice Company. It's been crazy!
What's next on the horizon for Make Nice Company?
We're working on some more scented Solid Dish Soaps! I'm hoping to launch another in the fall and hopefully a scented zero waste so shortly after as well! We're also working on some upgrades to our Soap Tray to be a new biodegradable material to be closer to our environmentally conscious brand vision. Always improving!
