'Bye Bye Monster' Debuts At the State Fair

It's a timeless trouble: children afraid of the dark and scared of the monsters under the bed or in the closet. No one knows what to do—no one except Kelly Lucente.

In fact, her solution to the problem became a hobby that quickly turned into a business she is currently promoting in the Grandstand at the State Fair.

The Bye Bye Monster brand started out in 2007 as the Bye Bye Shop. It began with a children's book that chronicles a little boy's adventures on Monster Street to learn about monsters. The book was researched and tested with help from local child experts, parents and teachers and has gotten national attention, along with the rest of the Bye Bye products.

Though the storybook, its plush toy monster and monster spray have become widely popular, it is the expanded essential oil, organic spray productsfor both children and adults that have captured many.

The Bye Bye Monster spray for kids is a non-toxic and has a calming, lavender scent that helps calm children while having a defense against the things that go bump in the night.

But it's the new sprays that have really taken off that not only include a similar lavender scent for a calming effect called "Hello Slumber," but also a pick-me-up spray called "Hello Happy." The first is sprayed on linens and the second sprayed in the air for best effect.

The first sprays created were an organic bug spray called "Bye Bye Bugs" and an anti-viral spray called "Bye Bye Germs," both have created their own buzz across the nation and the latter has been endorsed by celebrity mom Jenny McCarthy.

The entire Bye Bye business is self-funded, Lucente said. All the products are handmade and Lucente works with her brother and sister-in-law who have also helped at the fair booth where she has unveiled the Hello Happy and Hello Slumber sprays.

"But parents were also saying they couldn't sleep so we looked at ways to help them too," Lucente said. "The folks with the fair called me and I picked this all up again."

A branding expert, Lucente started the whole Bye Bye Shop as a way to help others, particularly children, to sleep better and feel good at bedtime. She also helps other entrepreneurs launch their ideas nationally, which she does in tandem with her own business.

The fair booth provided her an opportunity to promote her popular products and introduce new ones. The two new adult sprays premiered at the fair and have not been sold anywhere else besides the Bye Bye Shop website.

"The fair people called me about being here and I was like 'isn't there a waiting list' and they said 'yes' so I decided to give the products a facelift and come out," she said.

As a Minnesotan mom, her son Joey was already grown when she built the Bye Bye brand. Now that he is already 15 and off to Wayzata High School, Lucente has seen her products also grow up.

"I originally designed these for kids, but I have an equal amount of following in adults," Lucente said. "I sold the Happy Slumber to some law students who couldn't sleep because they were freaking about their bar exam and to an older lady who had recently lost her husband and couldn't sleep."

The older woman came back the next day to thank Lucente for helping her sleep.

"That's why I do this, to get feedback from people," she said. "I have high school boys who have bought this, even with its cutesy label. They want something more organic and healthy to help them sleep."

Her products are mainly sold online, but can be found at Nieman Marcus, the General Store and a variety of boutique shops.