The Story of the "Grand Champion" Soap

As a business owner when we run into a roadblock we tend to run into it head first. This is how I almost owned dairy goats when there was an issue with my goat milk supplier. Venting to a friend and livestock owner, she mentioned Stella would be a great person to buy dairy goats to start my herd. I was trying to figure out where the goats would live, and how I would milk them twice a day with my insane schedule. There was also that part of me that knew nothing about goats. 

I don’t exactly remember when I met Stella, I’m pretty sure she didn’t even have a driver's license yet. She was attached to the neighboring Blue River FFA Chapter, but she was in a home-school program so she could show dairy goats year-round. Talking with this young lady was wild, her knowledge was incredible, and her passion for goats matched mine for soap. 

Goat Milk Soap is my passion, in reality, I didn’t have time to care for and milk goats. After many long talks with her and my apprehension, we agreed that I could buy milk from her under a pet milk license. At that moment, an awesome partnership was born.

Over the next couple of years, I followed her journey across the country showing goats, building a breeding program, and continuing to serve her local 4-H and FFA chapters. Stella is open about the good and bad of being a dairy goat mom. There were days my heart broke for her and days I was so excited to see her achievements. 

Fast-forward to 2023, Stella’s senior year, and her last show in the Henry Co 4-H arena. I’d taken the day off to watch her show, I remember being nervous for her. She was up for the Grand Champion and her smile was just beaming. Watching her show was incredible! Her eye contact with the judge, how behaved her goats were in the arena with all the chaos around, and just her serious but relaxed demeanor. As I looked across the arena at her mom, I saw her arms shoot up in the air as the judge reached out and shook Stella’s hand. She’d been crowned Grand Champion Dairy Goat. I went over to congratulate her and her mom. She was getting ready to milk the goat there at the fairgrounds. Her mom and I could see this idea forming in our heads!  

That gallon of milk pulled off the Grand Champion Dairy Goat was carefully taken home and placed in my freezer. I instantly knew the color combination, it was a no-brainer. Green and white are a nod to the 4-H Clover logo, the purple for the grand champion banners the kids receive, and the gold for the writing on all the ribbons that are handed out at the county fair. Grand Champion was a soap 9 months in the making. Picking the scent was hard because I wanted a clean unisex scent. After a lot of sniffing, we agreed on a fresh morning rain scent that has notes of soft musk, amber, green ozone, and spring air. 

The Indiana State Fair starts today (Friday, Aug 2nd), and after a year we finally get to present this Grand Champion Goat Milk Soap to our customers. The journey to get this bar of soap started when a girl who had a passion for dairy goats started a herd. Is this a long description for a soap, yes. Was the journey to get here even longer, yes. My hope, with this bar of soap, is you see how passion can make magic. A customer’s support to a dairy goat breeder or soap maker is payment for years of learning and perfecting their craft. I can't thank you all enough for taking this journey with Stella and myself. 

As soon as the Indiana State Fair is over, we will have the Grand Champion Soap available for purchase on our website. Until then, it is available at both the Indiana Grown Market Place and the FFA Pavilion at the State Fair. 

**Please remember, I am a soap maker and not a writer.**