Badger Company, W.S.

Specialties

Badger is a family-​owned & family-​friendly company located in rural Gilsum, New Hampshire. We specialize in USDA certified organic and natural body care, and safe mineral sunscreens. We use organic and fairly traded plant extracts, oils, butters and beeswax to create healing balms, lip balms, hair oil, man care, baby care, oil cleansers, and more! Our products harness the powers of aromatherapy, vitamin rich oils, essential oils, and minerals to smooth your skin and soothe your mind. Our Philosophy of Formulation is simple: make products for people we love, and then share them with the world.

Almost all of Badger products are made here in our 23,000 sq. ft. environmentally-​friendly facility. If you come for a tour, you’ll be amazed at how wonderful it smells — even when we’re making Anti-​Bug Spray! Enjoy a 15% discount in our factory store, or browse our seconds bin for a whopping 50% off! Our facility also features a biodynamic garden, and workshops that range from soapmaking to mushroom foraging.

We take pride in the quality of our ingredients. Our certified organic extra virgin olive oil comes from a single estate in Southern Spain, and is used by Michelin Star chefs. And we eat the very same olive oil we put in our products — every day our in-​house cook provides all Badger employees a free, home-​cooked organic lunch. But that’s not all — many of us purchase it to use in our home kitchens, and it is available in our factory store.

History

Established in 1995.

Back in 1994, Bill Whyte was a carpenter working outside during the harsh New England winters. Many carpenters, including Bill, developed severe cracks in their hands that would bleed after a hard day of work out in the cold. Bill says, «My fingers were so bad, I started wrapping my hands at night in olive oil-​soaked socks covered in plastic bags!» Bill’s wife Katie, whose sleep was being interrupted by perpetually crinkling bags said «That’s pathetic, Bill — you can do better than that.» She was right! That night Bill dreamed of a cure for his winter chapped hands, and in the morning he mixed up some beeswax and olive oil in a pot on his kitchen stove. He then tried and experimented with the formula. His fingers were soon healed, and a business was born.

in 1995 Bill and Katie started making Badger Balm in the kitchen of their home with the support and help of their daughters Mia, Emily, and Rebecca. Now, 20 years later, Badger is a thriving business making a difference in the world.

Meet the Business Owner

Badger Bill W.

Business Owner

When I was a kid I checked out the fragrance of every stray blossom, fruit, leaf and herb I came across. When I was 12 we visited Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, and a young woman guided me about the colonial herb gardens and explained both the medicinal and aesthetic properties of each herb. I fell in love with both the guide and the herbs that day. Now, so many years later I get to experience some of the finest essential oils and herbal extracts the world has to offer.

Badger’s been my lifework for the past 20 years. Everyday I’m around wonderful people and fragrant herbs. We’ve had full contact badminton games, daily lunch together, opportunities to explore and challenges to transcend. It doesn’t get much better than this! And now I have my wife, two of my daughters and my son-​in-​law working here and my new super-​cute granddaughter Maya is here every day also. It’s been so much fun.