Meeting the needs of our family and our community

Rachel Sankey

Staff

April 2, 2024

GREEN BAY — Amy and Josh Woods said they founded Favoryt Brand “on necessity, and meeting the needs of our family and our community.”

“My husband went bald at 22 years old,” Amy said. “Over the years, he was trying to grow his beard out, and then got creative with that.”

As Josh was buying different beard products to try out, Amy said he realized many of them weren’t safe for sensitive skin — as they had a lot of fragrances and other irritating chemicals.

“He was dealing with bumps, dandruff and (being) itchy-” she said. “He was like, ‘well, let me try to start making my own.'”

At the time, Amy said Josh, who was working full-time as a welder, would be up until 2:30 in the morning most days researching the best ingredients for sensitive skin — eventually making his own beard products for him and his brother.

“His brother is a barber,” she said. “And his brother was like, ‘this stuff is good — my clients could use it.'”

Amy said one thing led to another, and before they knew it, Favoryt Brand was born.

The business, however, didn’t stop at beard care.

“I have autoimmune diseases, and our four kids all have sensitive skin,” she said. “At one point, our daughter had about half her body covered in eczema. And so (Josh) started expanding into other skincare and haircare products, and he was coming up with innovative formulas.”

Amy said Josh created their body butter sticks “almost by accident.”

“He was messing around, and he was like, ‘well, this would be good for the kids when we’re on the go or we’re headed out the door — something they can use to moisturize and we can use without making a big mess,'” she said.

Favoryt products
The Woods have created a large variety of different products to meet the needs of their consumers, from body butters, hair and beard oils and sugar scrubs to curl jelly, styling balm and lip butters.

One of Favoryt’s most popular items, Amy said, is its Soothe Stick, which helps combat severe dry skin and eczema.

“It’s formulated with blue tansy oil, which makes it unique because it helps with all types of things — scarring, burns, overall skin healing, (such as) eczema and psoriasis,” she said. “People also use it for its soothing properties for bug bites and sunburn (or) tattoo care.”

Blue tansy oil, she said, is also a natural mosquito repellent, which makes it great for those who spend lots of time outdoors during the warmer months.

The Soothe Stick is also nut-free, which Amy said means it can be used on all ages — even newborns.

Another top product, she said, is the Artic Oil, which is also formulated with blue tansy oil.

“(Blue tansy) is what we call a dry oil — what that means is it’s moisturizing, but it doesn’t leave your skin greasy at all,” she said. “It’s designed to absorb well, so people use this on their hair and their skin as a normal regimen daily.”

The Artic Oil is meant to help with acne flare-ups, face inflammation and redness and dry scalp, Amy said.

Other top sellers, she said, include Favoryt’s Sinus Stick, an alternative to Vicks Vapor Rub, and the Recover Me pain relief stick.

“I have fibromyalgia and arthritis- (which) flipped my world upside down,” Amy said. “Josh spent about eight months developing a pain relief balm stick that’s based in Arnica butter. It’s got camphor, turmeric — all the things to help with joint and muscle pain.”

The product, she said, is especially popular among athletes.

Right now, Favoryt Brand is available for purchase in retail locations across Wisconsin (including Hy-Vee in Ashwaubenon), Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, California, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Texas and Bermuda.

Amy said though they no longer have their storefront in Seymour, their manufacturing space is still based there — and a new location is in the works.

“We’re excited about the space we’re going to open in Green Bay,” she said. “It is going to be a collaborative space, so we will not be the only ones there. It is going to be a community-centered space.”

Taking care of the community
Amy said she and Josh are very passionate about the Black and Brown community in Green Bay and throughout Northeast Wisconsin, which is why it’s important for them to extend the business beyond its products.

One of the ways they do that, Amy said, is through her involvement with the nonprofit Lovin’ The Skin I’m In, which she is one of the founding board members of.

“We seek to empower and uplift the youth of color in our area, so Black and biracial youth,” she said. “It started as a girls’ group, now we have a boys segment under our umbrella- A lot of the group is made up of students that may be the only Black or Brown person in their class, or their school or their neighborhood, and so getting them together gives them a sense of community.”

Favoryt, Amy said, also donates 5% of the profit it receives from its Stay Stick — a two-in-one wax stick — to Lovin’ The Skin I’m In as well.

Amy said Favoryt also supports the community through education.

“You’ll see us at a lot of health vendor fairs,” she said. “We also started leading a class with a couple of braiders in the area, and we do classes for foster parents or adoptive parents, and that’s through the county. We’ve been to Brown County and Outagamie County and (will) soon (be in) Manitowoc County.”

Amy said because Black and Brown children are more likely to have eczema — and at a more severe level — a lot of parents have reached out with struggles when it comes to skin.

Favoryt, she said, also aims to educate the community more about best skincare practices.

At shelters and other organizations throughout the area, Amy said she has found a lot of the products donatedare cheaper and can be harmful and irritating to the skin.

“We do a lot of product drives throughout the year, particularly to Freedom House,” she said. “People can go on our website, use a code and get $40 off their purchase if they donate to Freedom House, and it will ship directly to (Freedom House).”

Amy said Favoryt also donates to other causes, such as Future Shot’s fundraiser, where kids and their families can participate in a soccer shooting contest and corn-hole tournament.

The nonprofit organization aims to create opportunities for young players from low-income and underserved communities.

Being able to serve the community through a variety of different facets, Amy said, is an integral part of who she and Josh are.

“I was adopted,” Amy said. “I grew up in this area, and I dealt with a lot of what our kids are going through — and I didn’t have that community yet. There were no resources for adoptive families when it came to hair and skincare.”

Amy said she hopes Favoryt Brand provides a safe space for parents to come ask questions and receive help.

“(We want to) provide them the support and resources they need to thrive with their children,” she said.

The impact of the business continues to have on the community they call home, Amy said, inspires them to keep going.

“It’s not a huge community, but it’s growing,” she said. “To see how much we’ve come together over the last couple of years, I’m seeing the impact in that — in our children who are seeing Black business owners doing well in that area.”

Continuing to learn
Though it’s important to the Woods to educate those around them, Amy said they are always continuing to learn as well.

Josh, Amy said, went back to school this year and is studying to become a skincare specialist.

“He’s been in an intensive full-time program,” she said. “He graduates this summer and then he’ll be able to offer services- acne treatments, he’ll be able to do some wax services. A big part of what he’s going to be doing is consulting for people, giving them recommendations and then doing skin treatments.”

Amy said she recently graduated from the Packers Mentor Protege Program, which pairs emerging Wisconsin businesses with well-established companies to provide guidance.

The experience, she said, was “phenomenal.”

“The amount of resources and knowledge I’ve received, it’s changed the way I view our business in a lot of ways,” she said. “Any business owner who goes through it, you get out of it what you put in, and if you are asking the questions and showing up for yourself, they’re there to help. It’s a good program.”

To learn more about Favoryt Brand, visit favoryt-brand.myshopify.com.