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How Painterland Sisters went from start-up to national distribution
A BUSINESS CONSULTING & MARKETING CASE STUDY
For Hayley and Stephanie Painter, the dream was to help their family's dairy farm thrive for generations.
They had a hundred ideas for how they might do it (cheese! beef! yogurt! online sales!) and enough passion to fuel a Mack truck—but they didn’t know where to start, which direction to go, and how to make it all click.
Today, Painterland Sisters is a national brand.
Their organic skyr yogurt is now on shelves in more than 3,000 stores in all 50 states.
How We Helped
Laying the foundation
Their journey together began with a $3,500 grant from the Center for Dairy Excellence, helping them set up their business structure and launch their brand. The aim was simple: build a sustainable and nutrient-dense product line that would sustain their family farm for generations to come.
One of the first challenges they navigated was deciding on the right business model: Should they invest in their own processing facility and focus on manufacturing, or partner with a co-packer and concentrate on marketing? With their team’s guidance, they opted for the co-packer route, allowing them to prioritize branding and market presence. When it came to product selection, they chose yogurt, not only for its efficient use of milk but also because market research validated the rising demand for locally made yogurt.
They worked together to refine the business plan and financial models by extending the forecast to 10 years. This included detailed margins by sales channel, unit production costs for the yogurt, yield projections, and labor expenses. The Painter sisters say that working with us repeatedly to push their business forward felt like working with family who shared their passion and vision. They even joked that working with Co-CEO Noah Munro felt like working with a cousin. Our efforts in refining the business plan were essential in helping the Painter sisters present to their community bank in order to secure a $1M line of credit, showing the bank they were ready and well-prepared. To strengthen their operational foundation, we brought in a CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) brand expert as their Fractional VP of Sales.
Years after launching their business, the sisters knew they needed additional funding to continue growing. Drawing on the solid foundation they had built—setting sales goals, developing a financial model, crafting a business plan, and earning early sales—they were ready to take the next step. After we connected them with a crowdfunding expert, they successfully raised $1.2 million through a crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder.
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Managing the Start-Up Load
Starting and running a business is a heavy lift, and the Painter sisters were inundated with tasks, especially in the earliest days of the start-up. Our team lightened the load with execution, guiding them with coaching and helping them manage their limited time and energy. First, we identified the brand’s target market and developed messaging and brand guidelines to create a professional, unified feel. We then strategized which marketing channels to prioritize and what content to create. We coached the Painter sisters through marketing and sales systems, hiring an internal team, and more. As they grew, we provided essential support with marketing strategy, web, social, ads, and email management until their own team could take over.
From Vision to Reality
Thanks to strategic planning, detailed financial modeling, and expert consulting, Painterland Sisters transformed from a vision into a thriving national brand. Today, they continue to grow, with projections of $12M in revenue and ambitions to become a $30M company.
“We would simply not be where we are today if it weren’t for the supportive team at Good Roots.”
-Stephanie Painter
Highlights from their first year:
new retail locations
new web visitors
avg. email open rate
social media reach
media features
We worked with Painterland Sisters to develop an easy-to-use website that reflects the playful heart of the brand
A public relations campaign brought the brand attention from major industry media
