Skin trouble the catalyst for launching Indie Goat Soap

Heather Collins suffered from problematic skin. When she couldn’t find any successful treatments, she took matters into her own hands and created her own soap company, Indie Goat Soap, with her business partner, Amanda Marino.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Collins moved to Naples, Ontario County, 11 years ago when she and her husband bought a farm.

“We basically bought the farm in order to live more naturally,” says Collins. “Then after doing research on goat’s milk, we were driven to use the goat’s milk, and the soap company was created as a result of me having problematic skin.”

In 2013, Collins began playing around with different soap recipes using goat’s milk, and by 2014 she had developed a solid formula. What came out of Collins’ work is the company’s founding soap—the Deep Cleansing Bar—and Collins says “that’s what really helped deliver the nutrition from the goat’s milk that my face needed.”

Belying her talent for chemistry, Collins’ background is actually in graphic design. She graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 2007 and was working as a freelancer as well as a stay-at-home mom before starting Indie Goat. However, when it comes to producing the soaps and the chemistry behind it, Collins is “100 percent self-taught.”
“I originally studied herbs. Herbalism is in my background as self-taught as well,” she says.

Collins, noting that goat’s milk is easier for humans to digest due to its similarity to human milk, realized that applying goat’s milk to the skin would be similarly beneficial as it soaks into the pores.

Furthermore, goat’s milk naturally provides a plethora of vitamins such as A, C, D and B12, which are all necessary for the human body—and skin—to thrive.

When Collins and Marino met, collaborating seemed like the perfect growth opportunity. Collins is co-owner of the company and in charge of product development, while Marino came on board as co-owner and head of brand strategy. Indie Goat was officially founded under their partnership in 2016.

Marino, whose background is in marketing and financial services, was running an online retail store called Gifts from the Finger Lakes when she and Collins joined forces.

“When Heather and I met, I jumped into Indie,” says Marino. “I think at that point it went from just being a soap line to seeing that there was more potential for the brand.

“There are new opportunities that we keep discovering that change the direction of where we initially saw the company going,” she adds. “The products that we have this year are completely different than the products we had last fall, with the exception of the soaps. The soaps are a staple and always will be.”

Indie Goat’s skincare lines are focused on different skin concerns, whether it’s blemishes, dry skin, oily skin and everything in between. There are currently 10 different soaps available as well as facial oils for moisturizing, face masks and body oil.

“Everything is geared at naturally nourishing your body,” says Marino. “It takes you through all the skincare routine steps, from cleansing to moisturizing, to lock that nourishment and hydration into your skin and help you with any skin challenge you face.”

Much of the first year was spent at different festivals around Upstate New York such as Park Avenue Festival, Naples Grape Festival and the Canandaigua Christkindl Market. The two agree that setting up shop at these events definitely helped spread the word about the brand and get their feet off the ground. They acquired many new customers who are still customers to this day.

“I think the festivals helped launch our brand on a local level. We even met some of our resellers through the festivals,” says Marino. “This year we’re taking a little bit of a different approach, so we’re not participating in the festivals like we did last year.”

For their second year of business, Marino and Collins are continuing to spread the word about the brand and are seeking to delve deeper into retail. Currently Indie Goat products can be found in places around Rochester like Luxe Salon, Spa & Laser Center and A Creative Touch. The duo has also gotten Indie Goat products on the shelves of stores in other areas of New York such as Naples, Hammondsport and Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County.

“We want to continue to increase awareness of our brand and meet new customers and help them with their skin concerns and, much to our chagrin, slowly and organically grow,” says Marino. “My husband always picks on me because I want things yesterday. We have to remind ourselves that we’re moms and we’re trying to grow this brand on our terms and at our pace without sacrificing the values that are really important to us. We want to make sure that our numbers are improving every year, we’re helping more customers every year and that we’re expanding outside of New York State to a more national level.”

In terms of product development and production, Indie Goat has gone from producing 200 bars of soap in a batch to 1,500 bars. Collins says that keeping everything fresh and continuous education is what she is focusing on in year two.

“With any new herbs or carrier oils that are coming out, I’m always educating myself and figuring out what we can add to make our product even more superior than it is,” says Collins. “Secondly, goat’s milk is totally an educational thing for our customers, so making sure they’re educated that it’s superior to water would be my No. 1 goal.”

According to Collins, goat’s milk is naturally saturated with vitamins and minerals. Unlike water, you don’t have to add anything for a product to incorporate those properties. Additionally, goat’s milk is full of alpha hydroxy acid, or AHA. When used on skin naturally—meaning without AHA being derived from a chemical formula—it is a natural exfoliant for the skin.

“When you naturally exfoliate like that, you’ll have a brighter skin tone; you’re letting your skin naturally rejuvenate without being harsh,” explains Collins. “We want people to know that it’s doable to do a skincare line without toxins and all of those chemical formulas. You can do it by nature.”

Marino says that building this company from the ground up has been her favorite part of co-owning Indie Goat. She enjoys the thrill of having an idea and being in command of turning that idea into something tangible.

“Not a lot of people get that opportunity, and to watch something that you write down on paper develop into an actual company and a brand and know that you’re part of the reason that happened—that’s a pretty awesome feeling,” says Marino. “Being a mom of two little girls, I want them to grow up believing that they can do anything, and now I have the opportunity to live that example.”

But results don’t happen overnight, says Collins. Patience is imperative when it comes to starting a business.

“It’s definitely a marathon and not a sprint. You will cry, you will laugh, you will question yourself, but always go with your gut. Somehow your gut never leads you in the wrong direction,” says Collins. “Starting a business is definitely not for the faint of heart. Find something that you love and create that.”

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 Small Business is a biweekly feature focusing on entrepreneurs. Send suggestions for Small Business stories to Reporter/Editorial Assistant Nicole Sheldon at [email protected].