Cedar Witch Goods, a bath and body products company owned by Katie Adams, has won the 2024 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year competition sponsored by Linn Area Credit Union. The competition took place at NewBo City Market on March 22 and 23.
“Linn Area Credit Union is thrilled to congratulate Katie Adams, owner of Cedar Witch Goods, on being named the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. The credit union is proud to help fund Katie’s dream of growing her small business and to further the mission of NewBo City Market,” said Andrea Brommelkamp, Member Development Ambassador at Linn Area Credit Union.
The competition featured educational seminars and networking on the first day, as well as a guest vendor fair the following day where the finalists sold their products and services to the public. The six finalists participating in the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year competition were graded on a series of criteria that included their business plan, booth display, and sales. Each finalist then presented a business pitch in front of a panel of judges from Linn Area Credit Union and NewBo City Market.
“I felt like I was incredibly prepared and that I had a really good shot at winning, but I also didn’t want to get my hopes up and then get crushed,” said Katie. “It still feels very surreal.”
As the winner of the Emerging Entrepreneur competition, Katie will receive a rent-free space at NewBo City Market for the next year, courtesy of Linn Area Credit Union. She will also receive one-on-one business development mentoring from NewBo City Market and the credit union.
“Having access to this grant is such a financial weight off my mind,” said katie. “It’s going to give me a chance to make mistakes as I learn to run a retail store for the first time.”
Katie first learned to make old-fashioned lye soap using modern colors and fragrances in 2013, and she started her original online business, Thumbprint Soap, the next year. As her business and product line expanded, she adopted the new Cedar Witch Goods moniker to better represent her brand.
“I have lived along the Cedar River for more than 30 years, and talk of witches and magic was commonplace in my family growing up,” she said. “My great-great-great-great grandmother was rumored to be a witch, and this encouraged a love of all things witchy and spooky from an early age.”
Katie has taken these two aspects of her life and combined them to create what she describes as “hippie witch-vibed” bath and body products like soaps, lotions, sugar scrubs, beard and body oils, lip balms, essential oils, and wax melts. Cedar Witch Goods is slated to open its first retail location in NewBo City Market in June.
“I’m really looking forward to the merchandising aspect of the business, and I’m excited for the opportunity to reach new customers,” Katie said. “Most of all, though, I’m looking forward to the community provided by the Market and building relationships with the other shopkeepers and market employees.”