Blog

At Blossom, we care about the Earth’s health. Our team continuously looks for new ways to reduce our impact on the environment. We use eco-friendly packaging and ingredients in our product recipes. All of our aloe vera soaps are wrapped with 100 percent biodegradable shrink wrap and packaged in recyclable and biodegradable boxes. Aloe vera is the obvious main ingredient in our handcrafted Blossom Aloe Vera soaps. Did you know aloe vera has several beneficial factors for your skin?

Benefits of aloe vera:

-Promotes healing

-Soothes itchy, dry skin

-Antimicrobial; helps fight acne-causing bacteria

-Rich in vitamins C and E which carry anti-aging properties

-Relieves sunburn

Aloe vera can be found in plenty of personal products such as lotions, shampoo, sunscreen and soap. Blossom has five full-size bars of aloe vera soap as well as our Happy Hour 3-Piece Soap Sampler and Citrus Delight 3-Piece Soap Sampler that contain our most popular aloe vera soap scents. Some of the main ingredients inside our Aloe Vera soaps include aloe vera gel, herbs and several types of essential oils. These ingredients combine to make the perfect solution for better, smoother skin.

Now until January 31, take 20 percent off ALL Blossom Aloe Vera Soaps with the code “aloethere”! Shop the Blossom soap collection here.

2019 was an eventful year for Blossom to say the least! With the help of our amazing team members and our community, we were able to impact the lives of the individuals with developmental disabilities who make our products.

Here’s a look at some of the things we were able to accomplish in 2019!

• 10 new jobs created
• 4 seasonal products introduced
• 8 events exhibited
• 5 local partnerships made
• 1,000 bars of soap wrapped
• 2 large rolls of biodegradable shrink-wrap used
• 23 total varieties of herbs, trees and flowers planted
• 26 dance parties

Our crafters have shown tremendous progress since the beginning of the year. Through the support of their leaders, they will continue to expand their skills and business knowledge. We have so many people to thank for helping kick off our first full year in business. Our leadership team helped grow Blossom from the roots up. Of course, we have our crafters to thank for their dedication to making our high-quality artisanal products!

We are so eager to see what 2020 will bring!

Be on the lookout for new products coming in the New Year at www.shopblossom.org!

At Blossom, each handcrafted soap, candle, bath tea and body balm is carefully made, inspected and packaged by our team members with developmental disabilities. Stephanie is a member of our team, and she takes pride in the work she does at Blossom!

We have known Stephanie for over six years. Her role with Blossom focuses on crafting our bath teas and labeling each product. She enjoys making bath tea and is happy that she gets to work with her friends every day. Her favorite Blossom scent is Orange Cranberry Clove.

As a Blossom team member, Stephanie has a lot of opportunities that would be hard to find elsewhere. One of those opportunities is helping exhibit at local events. She plans to start attending events in the future. Stephanie has a big goal that she is working toward. “One day, I want to learn how to drive a car. I want to drive on my own,” she said.

We certainly hope you can achieve your goal, Stephanie! Thank you for your hard work!

Blossom had a very successful first year in business. In 2019, we launched new products, welcomed new team members and partnered with local businesses to expand our reach across the Orlando community. We have much more to look forward to in the New Year!

In 2020, we plan on introducing plenty of new products! Our crafters have been hard at work specializing our most popular product recipes, and are eager to continue learning. We’re working on two top-secret products that we’re preparing to launch next year. Hint: they’re both great for the skin… Can you guess what they are?

We have many goals for 2020 including…

• Doubling our team numbers to provide more opportunities to individuals in the Central Florida community
• Connecting with other entrepreneurs within the community to cross-promote and support one another
• Expanding our retail offering locations in the metro area (If you’re interested in partnering with us, please visit our Contact page!)

We’re looking forward to getting new equipment in the New Year including an official Blossom vehicle that will be large enough to take our products to and from events across the Orlando area. Our production facility at Quest, Inc.’s training center in Orlando will be undergoing renovations early on in the year.

Our friendships and relationships in the community are very valuable to us. We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with Fleet Farming to teach gardening fundamentals to our team members through their garden education plan. We’re also excited about our recent acceptance into the Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator, which will take place in early 2020. This program will allow us to solidify our business strategy and introduce new practices to continue our mission of cultivating opportunities, crafting quality products and celebrating abilities.

Team member, Rob, says Blossom has a lot of growth ahead. “Blossom’s success continues to expand by sticking to two core concepts at the root of our program: finding opportunities for all who want to join our mission and leverage the unique talents of those who come onboard,” Rob said.

If you’ve visited a Blossom booth at one of our many regional events, you’ve most likely encountered our crew of budding entrepreneurs. Each one of these talented team members is part of the Quest Kids Academy Work-Study Program and crucial part of Blossom’s success! The program offers a learning opportunity for high-functioning students ages 16-22 with developmental disabilities. The main goal of the program is for students to learn new skills through the utilization of real work tasks to prepare for future employment.

There are six students in the program so far, but the goal is to expand in the future. Students learn how a business is run through their help with Blossom. They understand that working collaboratively as a team is necessary to complete recurring Blossom tasks such as product and packaging inventory, wrapping soaps, labeling products, and restocking soaps at Eola General in Orlando.

The biggest skill the students are learning is communication. As an executive functioning skill, it is transferrable to any job (and life in general), therefore invaluable to the students. When they ask for clarification during a new training, that’s when it is apparent that they have successfully acquired a new skill.

Dylan is a student in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program. “I do Blossom tasks with Ms. Frances and Ms. Lauren. I can help students fold Blossom shirts. I like wrapping Blossom soaps! I can also take inventory. I can count Blossom soaps to make sure that’s the right amount. I enjoy learning how to count Blossom soaps because it makes me feel like a counting expert,” Dylan said.

At Blossom, it’s the people on our team that make us a successful venture. James is a vital member of the Blossom team! He has been with Quest, Inc. for three years where he has expanded his skills by working with Blossom.

James’s specialty at Blossom is soap making. He also counts each bar to make sure proper inventory is accounted for and stored correctly. James has recently tried his hand at sales at local events where Blossom exhibits. “I like selling the products and talking to people about our soap and the ingredients,” James said. His favorite part of the day is when he and another Blossom team member, Rob, go on a coffee run together!

James has been hard at work making all of our artisanal products and gift baskets before the holiday season. His favorite Blossom scent is Coffee Vanilla! James says he has fun every day, and we certainly see it in his positive personality!

This holiday season, give the gift that gives back! We now offer holiday gift baskets perfect for that special someone who loves handmade, artisanal products. These baskets come in a variety of sizes and are customizable to match everyone’s favorite scents.

Our holiday gift baskets range from festive to jolly with the amount of products that you can choose in a basket! Not sure what to pick? Our most joyful basket includes 6 total Blossom goodies! Blossom holiday gift baskets can be customized to include different scents, or even your favorite Blossom scent in everything offered! 

When you shop Blossom, all proceeds from your order automatically go back to Blossom to support meaningful work opportunities for the individuals with developmental disabilities that create our products. Spread a little holiday cheer with Blossom! Take a look at the full variety of gift baskets here.

At Blossom, we encourage everyone to work hard to accomplish their goals. That’s why Nathan (pictured left to right: Nathan and Austin), a student in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program, has been so successful with Blossom! He is the go-to guy to help answer any questions that our customers have at our sales events. He is always enthusiastic in explaining everything there is to know about our many artisanal products.

Nathan has a lot of goals with Blossom. His biggest goal is to one day become the “President of Blossom”! He has been working very hard to prove he is capable of handling all of the tasks that are assigned to him. He was recently promoted to “Lead Trainer” where he trains and assists the rest of the students in the Work-Study Program with their special tasks. Nathan is thrilled about his new promotion and has high hopes for the future.

“Now that I am the Lead Trainer of Blossom, I can help my friends in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program do the tasks I know how to do. Training is sort of like offering help before anyone makes a mistake! It makes me feel proud! This is one step closer to becoming the President of Blossom! During the new task training session, I helped my friend Austin with the new inventory system. It was pretty amazing! I gave Austin clear directions and he did great! I also trained him how to do quality control and how to count the soaps the fast way,” Nathan said.