Oasis Street Food
When owners Naftaly and Ofer were unable to find the Mediterranean food they craved and grew up with, they decided to use their own family recipes to bring authentic falafel and hummus to Iowa City.
Iowa City, IA
Eco Lips
Type: Producer
Produces: Lip Balms
Location: Marion, IA
Miles from Coop: 6
Steve and Andrea, Eco Lips founders
"Eco Lips is deeply connected with nature, applying what we know about beneficial organic ingredients to better people’s lives."
"We believe in the power of natural, organic ingredients over products that are petroleum-based or loaded with chemicals.
This extends to packaging – our lip balms are packed in our exclusive Plant Pod. It’s 100% plastic free.
Plus, our production facility runs on solar power.
Clearly, we don’t give lip service to sustainability – we live it every day.”
Founded with Love
In the early 90s, Andrea Danielson began brewing small batches of natural lip balm in her kitchen for her friends and family. She took great care in handcrafting the balm and packaging it in small amber glass jars to preserve the freshness of the pure ingredients.
Andrea didn’t realize that by giving a sample of her natural lip creation to Steve Shriver her life would be changed forever.
In 1997 they married and began building a private label natural body care company focused on making high quality products for many other successful brands. Their company rapidly became a leading natural body care manufacturer in the Natural Products industry.
Later on, the team pivoted from making products for other companies to making their own.
Eco Lips had arrived.
"We’re restless at heart, so we keep exploring every corner of the world to seek out even better ways forward.”
One of those ways forward was in 2021, when Eco Lips purchased Simply Soother, the makers of the well-loved local brand "Bug Soother." The natural bug repellant has become an Iowa household staple, and the acquisition has allowed Eco Lips to expand distribution.
Now in their expanded manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, Eco Lips is able to formulate and produce new lines of natural bodycare products with sustainability in mind. Our team was able to tour the facility recently and was inspired by the large scale operation Eco Lips has grown into!
Eco Lips Products
Checkout these great products from Eco Lips
Other Local Producers
Be sure to check out these others great local producers!
Maestro Empanadas
When Christian Bejarano and Marta Hamity moved to Iowa from Argentina, they had trouble finding their favorite food: the empanada. They got cooking and quickly earned a cult following.
Coralville, IA
Seed Savers Exchange
Seed Savers formed a network of gardeners interested in preserving heirloom varieties and sharing seeds.
Decorah, IA
Echo Valley Farms
Echo Valley Farms, just eight miles outside Iowa City, produces certified organic, non‑GMO eggs on their family‑run farm.
Iowa City, Iowa
LIFE
Levi's Indigenous Fruit Enterprise is known for their aronia berries, which are native to Iowa, through sustainable farming practices that work with nature.
Keota, IA
Hue Hill
Hue Hill crafts farm grown vegetables into vibrant, live cultured, powerfully probiotic fermented foods.
Iowa City, IA
Cafe del Sol
With a passion for great coffee and sustainability, Stephen Dunham developed a line of coffees with a clean flavor and footprint.
Iowa City, IA
Cortado
People would say, ‘Show me what you can do,’ and I would make them a Cortado. The balance of it is great.
Iowa City, IA