This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
Located in the heart of Centre County lies Whitetail Lane Farm, an 11-acre property just outside of Shingletown. As a way to clear off their newly purchased property, State College natives Jamie Cunningham and her husband, Nathan, purchased three goats from a neighbor to give themselves and their two children the opportunity to live the farm life.
When their small goat herd had produced a surplus of milk, the idea of making soap as an alternative to store bought products came to light. Now, over 12 years later, Whitetail Lane Farm serves customers across the nation.
“I started making goat milk soap for my family and myself because I wanted a product that I knew was safe and gentle for our skin, with ingredients that I knew were safe,” Cunningham said. “I believe others want that same thing for themselves and their families. With that belief in mind, I would not make or sell a product that my family would not use on themselves.”
Soon, the hobby had blossomed into a passion and the basement of their home was no longer big enough to sustain the operation. The Whitetail Lane team then moved its headquarters to a new facility in State College in 2024. Cunningham said this was paramount for the growth of the business.
“Since moving to the new location, we have been able to hire two new employees for a total of six, plus myself, and now have the space for all of our employees to work simultaneously without affecting their productivity,” Cunningham said. “Our home location was just not big enough for everyone to work efficiently. We have been able to make better use of our time, increase productivity and get orders out faster.”
With the continued popularity of Cunningham’s soap, she and the rest of the team have branched out to other offerings like hand soap, bath bombs, lotions, scrubs, steamers, lip balm and more. The business has also dipped into men’s-specific scents to ease popular demand as well as offer wholesale shipments.
Whitetail Lane Farm has seen incredible success with this venture as they wholesale and private label their products to about 300 businesses nationwide. One of the largest private label customers is a goat farm in Hawaii.
Cunningham is also a proud supporter of small businesses. As a business owner herself, she aligns her brand with other like-minded and family-owned businesses.
“We love to support other small businesses. Many of our ingredients come from other families that have small businesses,” Cunningham said. “We get our hay from our wonderful neighbors who have a beef operation and we supplement our milk supply from a goat dairy farm in Belleville.”
Cunningham can imagine a big future for her brand. Starting in August, she will be holding soap-making workshops for people to come and learn her process. In the more distant future, Cunningham talked about bringing the business back home to her family farm.
With aspirations of building a facility and shop on her own property, it would be a full-circle moment for Cunningham and the Whitetail Lane Farm business.
“Since most of us are women who work within the business, we love to say: ‘We’re a women-owned and women-run team — and proud of it!’ Each of us brings our own story, our own family and our own hands to this work,” she exclaimed. “From pouring soap to packing orders, everything we make is created by women who care deeply about what goes into the products we share with you. We’re not a big factory. We’re real people crafting small-batch skincare because we use it too.”
You can find Whitetail Lane Farm products at the People’s Choice Festival this weekend in Centre Hall, Potato Fest in Ebensburg in September and the business’s annual open barn just outside of Shingletown the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
Folks can shop their products in their State College facility at 2591 Clyde Ave. Suite #4 on Thursdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can also shop online at goatmilksoaper.com or on Facebook.
