SOAP Refill Station's Vending Machine Brings Affordable Refills to the Ozarks

The Problem

In 2016, when Anne Dezort and Adam McKay started working on their business plan for Springfield’s SOAP Refill Station, they “had to think about the end from the beginning, and guess what the problems could be,” Dezort says. The biggest roadblocks were soap’s ready availability everywhere, plus pricing. With the expense of having a storefront, in addition to rising costs over time, Dezort and McKay knew they needed a future-proof way to encourage people to refill.

The Big Idea

If products could be readily available for quick refills outside of a storefront setting, those costs could be more stable and products more accessible. Thus, the idea of a soap vending machine was born. “The vending machine idea lets us put affordable SOAP refilling where people already are,” Dezort says. “They shouldn’t have to go out of their way to find a storefront for the quick refills.”

The Learning Curve

“For our story, a lot of it is Adam’s inability to stay away from a good idea,” Dezort says. “I have seen him go all in so many times that at this point I’m numb to the thrill of it. We have been rewarded more than not by going all in on ourselves. We love ourselves and our own brains and our own ideas, so why not prioritize them?” While the prototype vending machine, located in The Coffee Ethic, took six years to create, Dezort re-emphasizes the importance of a strong early business plan.

The Takeaway

“We feel like we succeeded already because we made this thing happen,” Dezort says. “But I guess the real measure of success is if folks use the machine. I want people to remember that on a Sunday, they can run to The Coffee Ethic and get their SOAP in a quick, easy and affordable way—10 cents per ounce on laundry, 14 cents for dish soap and 16 cents for hand soap, and you just pay for the amount you get. We are currently building more machines and are excited to pepper them around the Ozarks soon. Where would you like to see one? If this takes off we would love to put them all over the country—but, baby steps!”