Magen Bynum

Founder of Magnolia Soap & Bath Co.

Magen Bynum is the founder and chief executive of Magnolia Soap & Bath Co., a natural bath, body and home-fragrance brand based in New Albany, Mississippi. The company sells plant-based soaps and bath products through franchised retail stores, and in a May 2026 announcement it said it had grown to more than 50 franchise locations across 17 states.^[1][2]

A product built for one child

Bynum's account of the brand's origin is consistent across interviews: she began making soap in 2016 after her daughter's sensitive skin reacted to ordinary products, and she wanted plant-based alternatives she trusted. An August 2026 interview with 1851 Franchise describes her as a mother of four and notes that her sister and other relatives work in the business. That interview refers to her as Magen Morgan; other coverage, including the company's own press materials, uses Bynum.^[1][3]

Sources differ slightly on the timeline. The company and several outlets date the brand to 2016, while Franchise Times dates the founding of the retail brand and its first store in New Albany to 2018, which suggests the products came first and the storefront followed.^[1][5]

From one store to a franchise

According to the 1851 Franchise interview, Magnolia grew first through corporate stores, and its first franchisee was a buyer from Memphis who approached Bynum rather than the other way around. Roughly 40 locations came through word of mouth before the brand began working with franchise broker networks. The interview also describes the system as overwhelmingly women-led; growth figures quoted there are the company's own.^[3]

In a 2023 interview with SuperTalk Mississippi, Bynum said she had bought a former Ford dealership in New Albany for the company's operations and intended to keep the business in her hometown even though a larger city such as Memphis might make distribution easier. At the time the company had 37 stores and was targeting 50 by the end of that year.^[2]

By May 2026, payments company Square announced that Magnolia had chosen its platform to run point of sale across what it described as a 50-plus-location franchise in 17 states, quoting Bynum on how the system had grown with the brand as it expanded nationwide.^[1]

Disputes along the way

Rapid franchise growth has brought legal friction. Franchise Times reported that Buff City Soap sued Bynum and her company in 2020, alleging misuse of confidential information and intellectual property; the parties settled out of court in July 2022 and agreed to dismiss all claims.^[5]

In May 2026, the franchisee in Magnolia, Texas, rebranded her store as an independent apothecary. Bynum told WhatNow that the Magnolia brand was not closing, that she believed the former franchisee had taken the brand's recipes, concepts and designs, and that the matter was in litigation. Those are her allegations; the franchisee described the change as a move toward a community-centered shop.^[4]

Why she ranks

Bynum is on The Executive Review's Up & Coming list because Magnolia is one of the clearer examples of a founder-built retail franchise growing out of a small Southern town: a single-product origin story, a headquarters she chose to keep in New Albany, and a store count that has passed 50 across 17 states within about a decade of the first batch of soap.^[1][2]

On the Top 100 Franchise Owners

Magen Bynum is No. 84 on The Executive Review's Top 100 Franchise Owners 2026, in the Up & Coming band (Nos. 80–100) reserved for founders of smaller, fast-growing franchise brands. The ranking is editorial and independent; placement is never sold. View the full list.