C
aroline and Isabel Bercaw were once obsessed
with bath bombs. This was back in their mid-
dle school days, when their peers were equally
obsessed with the bombs—powdery, fist-size
balls that, when dropped in a tub, release an
eruption of fragrance and color and fizz. And
because the Bercaw sisters were student athletes,
they’d spend a lot of time soaking after practice
to soothe their sore muscles. Which meant even
more time with bath bombs.
And that led to a giant mess.
“A lot of times the bath bombs would stain our
tub, or even our skin, which was kind of scary for
us,” says Caroline, now 17. So she and her older sister started experi-
menting at home, creating their own bath bomb recipes and adding
a surprise in the center, like a small toy or piece of jewelry. They took
a batch to a local art fair in Minneapolis to see if people would buy
them. “We were definitely aggressive salespeople for 11- and 12-year-
olds,” says Isabel, now 18. “We sold out that first day and went home
to make more until 1 a.m.”
The girls spent the next year perfecting their recipe. They
returned to the annual art fair the following year, this time armed
with twice as much product. They sold out again. When a local
salon owner asked if they did wholesale, the sisters started to see
their bath bombs as much more than a hobby. “We realized it could
become a real business,” Isabel says.
They started pitching their product to other local businesses,
increasing their sales and learning with each new step. “We never
had any formal business education, but our education was really
our curiosity,” Isabel says. “We’d ask our parents questions, research
online, call business owners. We’d just reach out to anyone. And I
don’t know if it’s because we live in Minneapolis, but people were
super nice and willing to help.”
The young founders enlisted their mom, Kim, to drive them
around town with 40 pounds of product samples so they could
deliver them to store owners and leave business cards. (“She didn’t
want us to ride our bikes or take the Metro bus,” Caroline says.) By
2015, Da Bomb Bath products were being sold in 30 local shops, and
following a successful trip to Atlanta for an international trade show
in 2016, they had placement in stores across the country.
The Bercaws’ house, meanwhile, had become a nearly unmanageable
bath bomb factory. Two full-time and eight part-time employees helped
with production and administration. The living room and dining
room served as the packaging-and-shipping department. The upstairs
became storage. A bathroom was the test kitchen.
“Everywhere we turned, there were boxes of bath bombs,”
Isabel says. “We were making 20,000 bath bombs a month in our
basement.”Then Target called, and everything changed. “Caroline and I had
talked about Target as a big dream, and we thought maybe in five
years we would be in a place to pitch the company,” Isabel says. “But
then they came to us! And they wanted us in 1,800 stores. We knew
we had to get our act together quickly.”
Their mom stepped in as CEO while the sisters focused on prod-
uct development and marketing. Production and storage moved to a
nearby warehouse. They worked to grow their account base, and they
implemented software systems to boost operational efficiencies. And
the girls enrolled in their school’s On the Job program, which let them
use a certain amount of school time as work time.
“Our friends and school have been really supportive,” Caroline
says. “Some people who don’t know us will come up to us and be like,
‘Hey, you’re the bath bomb girls; how much money do you make?’ I’d
rather have them ask about what we do day to day, or what it’s like to
sell a product. They don’t understand the work we’ve put into this.
It’s not about money.”
Today, Da Bomb remains self-funded and generates more than
$20 million in annual revenue. As the bath bomb market has, well,
exploded, Da Bomb has managed to stand out among competitors,
largely thanks to its signature toy- or charm-surprise center—some-
thing the young founders long ago suspected would be a hit.
“Isabel and I were and are the market for these products,”
Caroline says. “We knew what was exciting for us, and we also knew
that a lot of products on the market focused on the relaxation aspect
of bath bombs. And that’s great, but we saw the opening for the idea
of fun and decided that’s what our brand would be about.”
In addition to bath bombs, the sisters have introduced a slew of
other products, from bath salts to bath shots to body scrubs. Aside
from Target, Da Bomb is now sold nationally at Ulta Beauty, Hot
Topic, and CVS, among others. A new licensing agreement with
Mattel has allowed Da Bomb to launch Barbie-branded items.
It’s a time of continued growth—for the company as well as for
Caroline, who’s now a senior in high school, and Isabel, who just
started her freshman year at a local college.
“I want to explore my interests, but entrepreneurship is some-
thing I’ve always been passionate about, and it’s what I’m majoring
in,” Isabel says. “Whatever Caroline and I do in our lives, we’ll be
able to take what we’ve learned from this business and apply it to
anything.” And while Isabel won’t be as involved in the day-to-day
of the business while she’s at school, she knows she’ll get constant
updates. Da Bomb is, after all, a family affair.
“We talk about bath bombs 24-7,” she says. “Sometimes we’ll be
out to dinner and say, ‘We just need to be a family for 20 minutes.’
But it’s brought us closer. We always have each other’s backs.”
Well, almost always. “I’ve been fired five times,” jokes CEO and
mom Kim.
“Only when you ground me,” Isabel replies. —Stephanie Schomer“Being an entrepreneur means doing a little bit of everything.”Caroline Bercaw, 17,
and
Isabel Bercaw, 18
Cofounders and co–chief creative officers, Da Bomb BathPHOTOGRAPHS BY ELIESA JOHNSON (PREVIOUS AND THIS PAGE)
September 2019 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / 31