Indie Goat Soap Co. Gets A Very Indie Packaging Makeover

You can only milk passable packaging so much.

As Indie Goat Soap Co. co-owners Heather Collins and Amanda Marino made the rounds at their local retailers in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, they were getting tepid responses from buyers bothered by a lack of UPC codes and sleeves that could slip off soaps. Although the brand had already been through two packaging iterations, the duo decided to put around $20,000 toward a redo and equipment enhancements to win over the buyers they were wooing – and aim for those with national reach.

“Some of the local retailers were OK with the packaging, but we really wanted to set ourselves apart,” says Collins, who tends to the 20 goats supplying milk for Indie Goat’s products on a 10-acre farm in Naples, N.Y. “We wanted to end up more like the brands that we idolized and admired as opposed to the brands that look like they are from a hobbyist. We are building a brand, and it was important for us to look as professional and polished as possible to make our brand known and respected.”

Collins, a graphic designer by training, had spearheaded the previous packaging, but she and Marino concluded it was time to bring in outside design help. After interviewing three designers, they decided on Ashleigh Brewer, a freelancer with experience working for skincare brands. They were convinced she could execute on their ideas.

“We are trying to portray through our packaging that you can be confident and have fun with skincare, and it’s OK to be super feminine,” says Collins. “Especially when you are using milk, how more feminine can you get?”

The packaging’s color palette spans the earth tone spectrum. The earth tones are used at the tops of boxes, but fade into indigo at the bottoms. Indie Goat is named for the color indigo. Each box contains brand and product monikers, product benefits, key ingredients and skin types the product is intended to address. Product monikers were simplified to easily convey a product’s purpose. For example, a face and body bar that was called Daring is now called Conditioning.

“We went to every major retailer we could and checked out every single other brand on the shelf because we wanted to be sure ours would get noticed, and I think that, when you see our brand and its colors, it will get noticed,” says Marino. “When someone picks up our box, they can get a feel for who we are, what we are about and what our products are about.”

Indie Goat’s assortment spans 17 stockkeeping units, including the bestselling face bar Deep Cleansing. The second highest performer is the Detoxifying soap, and the Brightening Facial Oil is a top seller, too. Indie Goat’s prices range from $9 to $36, and the range hasn’t been altered with the packaging renovation. “It’s important to us that everyone can afford non-toxic skincare to feel better about what they’re buying,” says Marino. “We want to be a luxury skincare brand that everybody can afford.”

Indie Goat’s customers are often moms and working women in their 20s and 30s without crazy amounts of disposable income to spend on beauty and personal care. “They’re busy, and they’re looking for healthier options for themselves whether they be in food, exercise or skincare. Their values align with ours,” says Marino. Collins chimes in, “We want to be the first step when someone is changing to green beauty.”

To increase production, Indie Goat transitioned from equipment netting 200 soap bars a week to equipment yielding 1,500 soap bars a week. “If a retail company comes to us and says, ‘We want 1,000 bars,’ we would be ready to go,” says Collins, elaborating about the process, “Everything is cold-processed at a certain proprietary temperature for the active ingredients. We use all plant-derived ingredients, and we cure for six weeks on the low end. The longer that you let it cure, the harder and the more shelf stable bar you are going to have.”

With the changes to Indie Goat, Collins and Marino anticipate the brand could cross into profitability this year. They’re bullish because retail buyers and customers have heaped praise on the packaging update. “A lot of them say, ‘Wow, you look really professional,’ which is what we were going for, and that’s reassuring to hear,” says Marino. “The feedback has reaffirmed that making this move was the right choice for our brand.”