Never underestimate the power of a good friend. Even if that friend is a cow. The owner of Cow Friend Soap, Alisha Benson and her husband, owned a search engine optimization business before the soap business. That is, until her husband had a heart attack. Benson found work at a potato factory and began to feel “completely depleted.”
One day, while looking through Facebook Marketplace, Benson found a soap making kit and decided to give the craft a try. She enjoyed it so much she bought a book on the science of soapmaking and continued to make her own soaps.
“I just knew I needed to do something that I can create from the bottom up and for me, it was soap,” Benson said. “It’s the most random thing, but it just completely sparked a new life in me that I thought was gone.”
Though Benson found a love for soapmaking, she was still trying to find a way out of a dark place. Soon she crossed paths with a “sweet male Jersey cow,” who she felt was always there to greet her on her walks.
“I’d say, ‘Hey, Cow Friend,’ and he’d perk his head up,” Benson said. “And then he would just come along to the fence and just walk with me up and down on our walks. What was really neat is that I just felt seen, seen in a different light. I wasn’t a worker, wasn’t someone’s boss, I was just a person that needed to be seen.”
Since meeting her Cow Friend, Benson quit her job and began her own business.
“Cow Friend Soap, the company, was just born off of the happiness that all of it brought me,” Benson said. “Cow Friend was that final touch, knocking me out of that depression and just seeing the light again. I’m just so grateful. So, we’re working on adopting him.”
Benson’s company has been producing soaps for two years now and has expanded to sell essential oils, beef tallow and lip balms. She said she loves using her creativity, but meeting the people who come to her booths and interacting with them is her favorite part of Cow Friend Soap.
“I had previously felt isolated and sad in my own depression. So, when I meet people, I make it a goal to make sure that I hear them, that they know they are important to me,” Benson said. “I just feel very grateful that I feel like I get to help people and I’m very grateful for people being willing to, in return, help me and support my business.”
To learn and hear more from Benson, listen to the full interview on BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.