Serious Lip Balm, an all natural, locally made lip balm produced in Jacksonville, has been picked up by The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.’s “Close to Home” initiative for the 2017 holiday season. Bon-Ton’s “Close to Home” initiative is designed to help locally owned and operated companies expand product sales within their region. This will mark the second year of the “Close to Home” program, which launched in 45 Bon-Ton stores during the 2016 fall season. The “Close to Home” program will expand to include 100 Bon-Ton Store locations for fall 2017.

Serious Lip Balm will be made available to Bon-Ton shoppers in a variety of regional locations such as Springfield’s White Oaks Mall, Peoria’s Sheridan Village, Pekin’s East Court Village, Peoria’s Shoppes in Grand Prairie, Forsyth’s Hickory Point Mall, and Marketplace Mall in Champaign.

Serious Lip Balm is owned by Jacksonville residents and longtime friends Khara Koffel and Megan Luckey. The company was created somewhat inadvertently in 2014 when Koffel decided to make all natural lip balm to gift to her son’s daycare teachers. After recruiting the help of her longtime friend, the duo discovered a “serious” passion for lip balm, resulting in the creation of their company. Since then, Serious Lip Balm has expanded their reach to include wholesale, vendor fairs and online sales.

The Serious Lip Balm product line includes an ever-expanding and always changing array of flavored lip balms, lip scrubs and other healing balms, which Bon-Ton Shoppers will be able to purchase this season. According to Luckey, “We were working a Christmas show last year, and a friend recommended we research Bon-Ton. It was a lengthy application process, but it was worth all the effort.” Koffel agrees, adding, “To be asked to be part of a nationally-known store chain is a milestone we didn’t expect.”

To view the Serious Lip Balm line of products and learn more about the company, visit http://seriouslipbalm.com.