Hidden Gems: Meet Felicia Hasal of M.A.R.S. BodyButter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Hasal.  

Hi Felicia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! It’s Felicia! A Full-time Software Engineer, a proud ‘BoyMom’, and the Owner/Buttermaker for M.A.R.S. Bodybutter. I want to tell you all about my body butter that I created in June of 2016; but to do that, I need to tell you about my only child’s skin problems. My Son had terrible eczema. His beautiful brown skin was covered in flaky dry spots and irritated sores. My poor kid would itch and scratch all day long with no relief. The doctors started prescribing one medicated ointment after another, but nothing worked. 

By this point, I had already gotten the dyes and harsh detergents out of my son’s clothes, sheets, and towels. Now, I was examining the lotion I was using on his skin. What is BHA? What is in Fragrance? Are Parabens causing cancer? Turns out all of this stuff and more is right there under the heading of “skin irritant.” That is when I Google searched “all-natural eczema relief.” That’s when things took off for the positive. 

I stumbled across a YouTube video where a woman was mixing homemade body butter. Then another video… and another video … and another video. 

These were all women of different ages, ethnicities, and life experiences, some telling their story of how healing this natural body butter is, others just sharing a recipe that involved only shea butter, cocoa butter, and essential oils. It wasn’t long before I had made my first batch. In a month’s time, my son’s skin was smooth and clear. 

Next thing you know my co-workers, family, and my family’s co-workers started asking me to make them jars of my homemade body butter. From here everything happened so organically and naturally. I created an Etsy page to have a central point of sales and an Instagram page to advertise. I also started taking business coaching classes with Kim Boudreau-Smith. Having her as a business coach kept me accountable and helped me ‘Level Up’ my business. Moving M.A.R.S. BodyButter from being a hobby to being a small successful business. 

That is how “Michigan-made Artisanal Rubs and Salves (M.A.R.S)” was born. 

Today, M.A.R.S. BodyButter is a thriving small business that can be spotted in a few stores in here Michigan and North Carolina. Not only do I make Luxury Sensitive Skin Care under the name M.A.R.S. BodyButter, but I also am the butter maker behind several private label brands. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road to creating M.A.R.S. BodyButter has been smooth sailing. I did not start to feel challenged until the pandemic hit. Even though M.A.R.S. has had some of its best years during the pandemic, however, there were so many new obstacles being thrown at me every time a new order came in. 

In March 2019, I was gearing up to start doing vendor shows. It was such a huge letdown when I had to start canceling vendor shows due to covid spreading. In response to the pandemic, I was preparing to slow down and focus on my family, how do you safely sell a product that people are going to want to touch and smell? Who is going want to buy anything in these uncertain times? 

Well, apparently lots of people! Many new customers were interested in my homemade body butter, which was the first challenge I encountered. Shipping your product all over the country sounds exciting until you have to start considering shipping costs. I fumbled and stumbled all over myself to find a variety of shipping options that fit my client’s needs. 

It is super exciting to triple M.A.R.S. sales for the year. However, when I had to restock raw materials and couldn’t get raw materials fast enough or even get a consistent supplier, the struggle felt so real. I ran into so many issues with finding my signature clear jars with aluminum tops. In 2020, my clients received green, purple, and blue jays with a variety of tops. I felt so unprepared for this rush of sales, but that motivated me to monitor my supplier sites closely. I started buying full cases and bulk of my raw materials. 

The last challenge M.A.R.S. is facing is Heat! M.A.R.S is made of 3 different butters that melt when the temperature is above 70 degrees. That makes shipping to southern states very difficult. It is even more difficult to ship to any state in the summertime. I have shipped products to some folks in Phoenix and Atlanta that received completely melted jars of product, which can be messy. Melted body butter is not uncommon but I want my clients to experience the light fluffy, creamy chocolate body butter I experience as I make it. Since the heat melts the product, I don’t ship out unless the temperature is below 75 degrees in the day and under 60 degrees at night. This does delay a lot of my summer shipments. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about M.A.R.S. BodyButter?
M.A.R.S. BodyButter is an all-natural product made with six ingredients that you know, love, and can pronounce. We’re committed to providing a product that is not only nurturing for your skin but also beneficial to your body and health. 

M.A.R.S. BodyButter uses the power of nature to heal your skin, whether it’s dry, damaged or just needs an extra little boost of moisture. It works on eczema, scars, rough spots, dark spots, tattoo aftercare, dry hands, face moisturizer, lips, babies, and even hair (that includes beards.) M.A.R.S. BodyButter comes to you from a working, single mom, who knows the value of being able to use one product from head to toe. 

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I am an avid reader and podcast listener. Here are a few that have inspired me: 

Books: 

‘Rework’ – by Jason Fried & David Hansson 

‘Talking to Strangers’ – by Malcolm Gladwell 

‘You are a Badass at Making Money’ – Jen Sincero 

‘The Art of Seduction’ – By Robert Greene 

Podcast 

‘Snap Judgement’ 

‘The Moth’ 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marsbodybutter.com
• Instagram: @marsbodybutter
• Facebook: @bodybuttermars