Location to mark first of 20 stores for locally-owned, hand-crafted natural soap and skin product company
ALBANY, N.Y. – Stuyvesant Plaza today announced that RAD Soap Co. will open its first permanent retail storefront at the popular outdoor lifestyle shopping center. The store, which will offer the brand’s unique line of all-natural handmade soaps and skin products, is expected to open in October 2016.
The Stuyvesant Plaza store will mark the first step in a strategic growth campaign for the Menands, NY-based RAD Soap Co., which was founded in 2009 by Sue Kerber in her home kitchen. The family-run business plans to open 20 stores in the coming years, including locations in Brooklyn, New York City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
“RAD Soap Co. is a perfect complement to the diverse array of stores and restaurants at Stuyvesant Plaza. They have an extraordinary vision that is matched by their dedication for producing the highest-quality soaps and body products,” said Janet Kaplan, vice president of real estate for Stuyvesant Plaza. “We look forward to welcoming RAD Soap Co. and to watching them grow, anchored by their flagship store at Stuyvesant Plaza.”
“Having spent years developing a unique and highly interactive retail store, we are confident that there is no better location to launch our flagship store than that of the prestigious Stuyvesant Plaza,” said Kerber. “We are overjoyed and eager to introduce a new RAD experience to Stuyvesant Plaza and our future customers in the Capital Region.”
RAD Soap Co. will take over the 1,200 square foot space formerly occupied by Sorelle Gallery. Approximately seven new full- and part-time employees will be hired to staff the operation, overseen by a senior retail management team hailing from the body care industry.
The store will be designed by Adirondack Studios, an Argyle, NY-based company known for its innovative work with The Walt Disney Co., Universal Studios and Six Flags. The design will offer interactive areas for guests to experience the products and will be complemented by steampunk-style copper and stone features, as well as unique porcelain mosaic artwork.
From its early stages as a small company beginning in a miniscule kitchen and selling at local farmers markets, RAD Soap Co. has brought a twist to the natural body care market. The company’s highly advanced proprietary method for the manufacturing of natural body care products and utilization of obscure and unusual ingredients, such as hemp, mushrooms and home-made botanical plant cell extractions, have allowed the founders to develop and launch a fresh new line for the natural body care industry.
The RAD Soap culture was born when Kerber dedicated long hours to finding a natural relief for her son’s eczema. Today, the company remains firm on its initial values and beliefs and maintains a 100 percent natural, 100 percent vegetarian, 98 percent vegan, and 100 percent cruelty-free product line.
RAD Soap Co. products are available at over 200 wholesale locations nationwide, including Whole Foods Markets, Mrs. Green’s Natural Market, and Central Garden Distributors, as well as in select international markets, such as South Korea.
RAD Soap Co. complements the wide variety of retailers at Stuyvesant Plaza, including the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Different Drummers Kitchen, Evoke Style, Hippo’s, G. Willikers, Pearl Grant Richmans and Ten Thousand Villages.
About Stuyvesant Plaza
From one-of-a-kind shops to the finest nationally known names in retail, Stuyvesant Plaza is home to Talbots, Ann Taylor Loft, White House│Black Market, Eastern Mountain Sports, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers and over 50 other unique shops and restaurants in a spectacular setting. In 2009, Stuyvesant Plaza commemorated 50 years as the premiere lifestyle shopping center and professional office park in the Capital District.