Forest Doe Botanicals |
Springfield and Amherst
Kate Forest and Missy Doe first learned to make soap together in their kitchen, following tutorials from another artisan. What began as a bonding activity to celebrate Missy’s birthday flourished into Forest Doe Botanicals, a business creating plant-based organic body care and curating eco-conscious gifts with a mission: better for your body, better for the planet.
Today, Forest Doe Botanicals has grown far beyond its kitchen beginnings, with its home base at the Urban Food Brood in Springfield. Kate and Missy say they couldn’t have reached this point without the support of Valley’s small business team, and their guidance across finances, planning, marketing, and business strategy.
Learn more about Kate and Missy, the philosophy behind Forest Doe Botanicals, and how Valley supports their work in our interview below!
Missy Doe and Kate Forest, Co-owners of Forest Doe Botanicals
Q: The team at Valley is already familiar with the great work you do, but this may be some folks’ first time hearing of you. Please give us a brief overview of your business: What do you do, and who do you serve?
A: “We are Kate Forest and Missy Doe, and together we are Forest Doe Botanicals. We create plant-based organic body care, and we curate eco-conscious gifts for self-care and planet care. The biggest point of our philosophy is better for your body and better for the planet. We both care deeply about what we can do for the environment in our practice, and we want to share that with the world.”
Q: What do you love most about the work you do?
Missy: “I am so honored to use the products that we make on my body and to share them with the world. The other thing that’s been a really cool experience for both Kate and me is the connections that we make with our human family. Within this work, we have made so many connections and bonds with people; they have educated us, we have educated them, and it’s just a beautiful collaboration of working with so many different folks and just learning so much about what people are doing in our area in the Valley.”
Kate: “I love that Missy and I get to do this work together. One of our teachings is to embrace love and to resist hate. There’s so much to resist right now. There’s so much ugliness that we see every day. But we want you to know there’s beauty, there’s love, there’s joy, there’s connection.”
Q: What do you hope people feel or experience when they interact with your business?
Kate: “We want them to feel loved, cared for, heard, and seen…. This community that we’re building and that we’re a part of here at the Urban Food Brood and in Amherst: It’s growing, and it’s so hopeful and beautiful.”
Missy: “It’s been magical being here at the Urban Food Brood, amongst all these other small local artists and business owners. The support that we received from the community is really a blessing.”
Q: What part of Valley’s support has been the most helpful in how you manage and operate a small business (planning, finances, marketing, mentorship, etc.)?
Kate: “I’d have to say yes to everything you just mentioned. The mentoring with Eyad has been so gratifying and enhancing. I just found out last week that our business has grown 68% from this same time last year, and I had no idea! We don’t see that because we reinvest it, but that awareness of the numbers I think is probably one of the greatest awarenesses that I’ve gained.”
Missy: “I see more of the behind the scenes. Kate really takes charge of the business, and I am the She-E-O as we like to call. Kate meets with Valley and comes home so excited by the services that she is receiving and the wisdom that Valley is sharing. I can’t even tell you how much I have learned in the business aspect from Kate. It really has been an amazing experience to watch how Kate has grown and how she’s been mentored. And now she gets to mentor me as well.”
Q: Has there been a moment where Valley’s support made a real difference for you or your business?
Missy: “One of my moments was coming home from meeting with the advisor to share the good news about how, wow, we were doing better than last year. Really realizing that was a big deal. We were just like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re doing OK. We’re doing all right now.’
Kate: “Valley CDC has also been really helpful with helping Missy and I communicate about this. As spouses and business partners, it can be tricky to navigate both at the same time. Being able to have these conversations and articulate how I share this total excitement has been huge. I talk with Eyad about this—how do I share this? I want Missy to understand it, and I want our customers to understand it because they’re so excited for us too as they watch our growth.”
Q: What does growth look like for your business right now? What are you looking forward to next?
Missy: “We’re focusing on what products are going to be our focal point, narrowing our inventory so we can really focus on those best products. Maybe just eliminating a few here and there. We’ll definitely be refining the product line.
We’re also working on efficiency, and a big one for us now is marketing. We’re going to be working with Valley to enhance and increase our social media presence; getting out there more, and having more fun doing it.”
Kate: “Some really fabulous news for us is that we just got into the Mill District General Store in Amherst. We have an entire wall of our Forest Botanicals handcrafted body care line, along with our bamboo and eco-conscious gifts. It’s huge for us. We’ve wanted to be in there for a long time, and Amherst is such a cool community. We’re looking forward to being in that area as well—serving both the Springfield area and the Northampton-Amherst area. We’re expanding a little bit, and we’ll see where it takes us.
We’re also doing a lot more shows this year. We take our show on the road and bring our products. We’ve been traveling to New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and throughout Massachusetts.”
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?
A: “I’d love to encourage people to follow along this Journey with us. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @ ForestDoeBotanicals, or visit our website at ForestDoeBotanicals.com.
You can also find us here at the Urban Food Brood on Albany Street, as well as at the Mill District General Store in Amherst. We’d love for you to follow our journey and come see us. Take care of you, be kind to you. Bye for now. “
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