Luke and Lisa Vukmer

Who:

Luke and Lisa Vukmer, Pennsylvania natives-turned-Minneapolis residents and creators of Organic Grooming. Their certified-organic line of personal-care products offers men worldwide a high-quality green alternative to mainstream shave gels, deodorants, colognes, and soaps.

Across America:

What do you get when you combine a Pennsylvania log cabin, young and determined newlyweds, and a car full of organic soaps? The Vukmers’ life in 2000. Noticing a void in men’s organic personal-care products, the duo set out to develop their own brand. With Luke’s knowledge of organic foods and skin care, Lisa’s communications background, months of research on herbs and essential oils, and a tiny cabin to test their concoctions, the couple launched a line of shave cream and soaps under the moniker Herban Cowboy. A testament to their early innovation, their manufacturing operation was among the first in the country (in 2003) to be certified as an organic personal-care facility. “Everything we’ve done so far has been very grass roots,” Lisa says. “When we started, we had this clunky little Subaru we drove across the country to meet everyone we worked with. Because of that, people really believed in what we were doing. They understood that the American dream starts somewhere, and sometimes it’s with two people crazy enough to load the back of their Subaru with a bunch of soap and educate people.”

A Minnesota Move:

“Last year, we decided to reinvent the look, the logo, the formulation,” Luke explains. “We found that most of the designers and chemists who had worked with such great companies as Estée Lauder, Aveda, and Thymes were in or around Minnesota. We fell in love with Minneapolis. It’s a green town, but very hip, and people here are so creative and well educated.” The Vukmers relocated the company in late 2007, and with the help of local specialists launched Organic Grooming in January 2008.

What Lies Beneath:

“We wanted people to feel at home with the products, so they’re very mainstream and commercial-looking,” Luke says. “But hidden under that veneer is all this radical greenness. Anything that comes to mind—cruelty-free, soy-ink print, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO [genetically modified organisms]—you name it, it’s there. We wanted people to say, ‘Wow, these guys did their homework and I don’t have to worry if I can recycle it or if it’s organic.’”

You Are What You Eat:

The line—which includes the world’s first organic cologne—is packed with food-based ingredients, such as U.S.-grown carrots, cucumbers, rosemary, and ginger. Blended with superior essential oils, the result is a luxurious, naturally scented formula that gently cleanses, conditions, and refreshes. Added bonus: Nothing in the OG collection is more than $30. “By using ingredients that are ample and affordably priced, we don’t put anything in that would flex the cost of the product,” Lisa says. “It shouldn’t hurt your wallet to be more environmentally friendly.”

Looking Forward:

Less than a year on the market, Organic Grooming products are sold in stores and co-ops worldwide, but the Vukmers aren’t slowing down. “We’ve come up with two other brands that will launch in 2009—one’s a women’s line and the other is a new men’s,” Lisa says. “We’ve really utilized everyone here that understands green business.” Both will be sold under the Vukmers’ parent company, Organic Body Brands. “We think that Organic Body Brands is a new wave of cosmetic corporations,” she says. “In an age of consumerism, the environment has to take precedence over other core issues.

Available at Whole Foods Market, The Wedge, and online.