Making Mustache Mugs for Beardy Goodness
Anyone who is follicly gifted enough to grow a beard knows that it requires upkeep. Even a mustache takes regular grooming, unless you’re trying to look like you just survived being stranded on a desert island for six years. Luckily, there’s a small, Midwest-based shop that knows all too well that beard balm is a must. Enter Beardy Goodness.
The brainchild of partners Cody Clifton and Kelly Toepper-Smith, Beardy Goodness creates beard care products that soften and condition hair without being heavy or greasy. We spoke with Cody recently in a phone interview to learn how Beardy Goodness began and why they chose us for their stoneware beer steins.
Starting a Beard Balm Business with No Short Cuts
The idea for creating a better beard balm was based in a problem Cody often faced himself. When brushing his beard out and conditioning it, he found that other beard oils and beard balms he used weren’t up to snuff.
“We kept running into the issues that we were hearing about (competing products) when we sent out our samples,” Cody said. “This product is too greasy, or this is too heavy.”
Beardy Goodness started as a furlough project so Kelly had something to do, with a goal to find a better solution to all those heavy beard oils on the market. She had multiple recipes for beard balm with which she could experiment at the couple’s home in Wisconsin, so she got to work early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We sent out samples to give to friends, basically,” Cody explained. After receiving their samples, the couple’s friends liked the product so much compared to other beard oils they’d used that they encouraged Cody to make more and sell it to them. Cody and Kelly mulled over the idea for a few months. However, in a move any small business owner can relate to, they took a leap in August.
The business grew from there, with the couple hitting local farmers markets and other events to sell their beard balm. On top of these in-person sales, they sold the AmazeBalms online and continue to have a burgeoning presence in the digital space, with an emphasis on their lightweight, USA-made product. They’ve also expanded their product line into beard oil, mustache wax and shave soaps in a variety of scents.
Why Beard Balm Keeps Hair Healthy
While beard balm and beard oil might seem like recent trends that only came about as facial hair came back into style, there’s science behind using them. Like other types of body hair, shampoo takes some of the natural oils out of beard hair that protects it. While it’s still important to shampoo your beard on a regular basis to keep it healthy, conditioning is just as important to protect it.
The beard oil that Beardy Goodness makes is a blend of argan and jojoba oil, plus some essential oils for scent. For those with shorter beards, this beard oil is something to use on its own after a shower to replenish the natural oils lost when you washed it. However, those with longer or thicker beards may want to take an extra step before they’re ready to go out for the day.
“The balms are a little bit different,” Cody said. “They have the conditioning oil in them, as well as a shea butter, but they’re a beeswax base. So, when you put it in and you go out into the elements, the beeswax locks in the moisture so it’s not just immediately seeping out into the atmosphere.”
As Cody’s ingredient list implies, Beardy Goodness pushes to use natural and responsibly sourced products. All of the beeswax for their beard balm comes to them raw from a farm in Michigan, while much of the essential oils come from co-ops. To us, it just further drives home the point that Beardy Goodness makes with their slogan, “We care about your beard as much as you do.”
Trial by Combat
Tyler, our Director of Marketing decided to give Beardy Goodness’ Mountain Man Oil a try. “I’ve never used beard oil before but hey if it has potential to make my wife happier, let’s give it a shot” Tyler proclaimed. After two weeks of using no more than a dime size of oil daily, Tyler has reported that indeed the oil has a smooth non-greasy feeling, smells great and his coarse beard feels a bit more tamed. He is continuing to use it as part of his daily regimen after showering and will report back the results.
Making Mustache Mugs for Manly Merriment
Cody found Sunset Hill Stoneware through his own research online. He knew we were the pottery for him when he saw that we’re based in Wisconsin.
When the Beardy Goodness crew asked us to make mugs for them, we knew we could match their passion for taking care of facial hair. That’s why they turned to Sunset Hill Stoneware when they were searching for mustache mugs.
Unlike our typical stoneware coffee mugs, mustache mugs have an extra guard near the lip of the mug. Whenever someone follicly endowed decides to drink coffee, beer or any other beverage of choice, the mustache guard keeps their facial hair dry to the last drop.
While they were narrowing down the choices for the type of mug they wanted, Cody and his partner had questions. We can’t blame them; they wanted to make sure that their product met their standard for how much they cared about their customers. Gwen, a member of our sales team, helped them through every step of the process so they knew they were getting branded steins that matched their penchant for quality.
In the end, Beardy Goodness chose the Beer Belly in Sunfire Red as their first mug with their classic logo. However, they’ve also added a Tall Boy Tap in Cherry Cola to the collection, complete with a Mexicana-inspired sugar skull design to complement their existing artwork.
Attracting Brand Advocates
Just like with the beard care products they make, Beardy Goodness’ mugs have been a hit with the customers that have purchased them. They’ve received compliments on the quality of their custom beer steins. Even more, they’ve received video reviews for their steins from their customers.
“Everybody that’s purchased them so far has taken time to write me an email or send me a personal Facebook message to say they’re extremely satisfied with the quality,” Cody said. “They love that they’re not getting coffee in their mustache anymore.”
The mugs have helped Beardy Goodness pave the way to something they wanted to do with their business over time: foster relationships. Their relationships with their customers led them to having brand advocates. Knowing the role that quality products play in that process, Sunset Hill Stoneware is happy to help them attract more attention with a USA-made product that lasts a lifetime.