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Shannon McLinden talks FarmHouse Fresh, sustainability and business ethics

Shannon McLinden, founder of FarmHouse Fresh | Image courtesy of FarmHouse Fresh In the restaurant industry, one of the biggest trends is farm-to-table dining, which often refers to chefs utilizing ingredients sourced from local farms.
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McLinden and her team have worked to create sustainable, ecofriendly products | Image courtesy of FarmHouse Fresh
Shannon McLinden, founder of FarmHouse Fresh | Image courtesy of FarmHouse Fresh

In the restaurant industry, one of the biggest trends is farm-to-table dining, which often refers to chefs utilizing ingredients sourced from local farms. The term “farm-to-table” can also be used within the skincare industry to refer to moisturizers, creams and oils made with locally sourced ingredients. Founded by Shannon McLinden of McKinney, TX, FarmHouse Fresh is a collection of skincare products produced through sustainable harvesting and fresh extractions.

McLinden first founded FarmHouse Fresh in 2004. Two years after, she began sending samples of a foot cream she made to publications across the nation. One of those submissions would ultimately change her life.

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“It became one of Oprah’s favorite things,” McLinden recalls of her first foot cream. “It was a sea salt scrub with rice bran oil and it would keep my cracked heels from cracking. I was a jogger at the time and I had sent samples to Oprah Magazine. I was later notified that we were selected for her O list. Once that came out, business just exploded.”

McLinden later received thank you notes from readers of Oprah Magazine, thanking her for creating such an amazing product. McClinden cites this as one of her earliest inspirations. 

Since then, McLinden has created nearly 200 different products, one of which is a sweet cream moisturizer. After reading up on McLinden and her products, a spa director from Hyatt Hill Country called McLinden to order a gallon of her sweet cream moisturizer to share with guests of the resort. To this day, FarmHouse Fresh’s sweet cream moisturizer is a favorite among a-list celebrities like Courtney Cox. 

While rapid growth for a business is exciting, it can also pose a lot of challenges. There have been instances in which McLinden and crew have lost crops, and therefore, have failed to produce product. Luckily, FarmHouse Fresh has a great financial partner behind them.

“For us, it has always been a challenge of managing our growth,” McLinden says. “We’re a family-owned company. What that meant for us is that we would take a slow growth tactic to manage the company, so anything we made, we would put back into the company. We’ve worked really closely with Chase for Business and we have a credit line that grows with us as we’ve gotten bigger. That really has been the key for us to overcome the biggest challenge of our lives, which has constantly been consistent growth.”

McLinden credits much of her financial success to Chase for Business | Image courtesy of FarmHouse Fresh

FarmHouse Fresh pays all of their farmers in advance, that way, they can ensure that they will have the proper equipment to harvest and source the highest quality ingredients. 

“We focus on super high-nutrition skincare,” McLinden says. “What that means to us is ensuring that the extract that goes in the product has super high vitamin content and biochemical content.”

A portion of profits from FarmHouse Fresh’s sales are used towards helping rescue animals from abusive conditions. On FarmHouse Fresh’s headquarters, an actual farm, many animals roam the greens freely and happily. Many of the farmers McLinden works with are based in north Texas, however, she also works with a few farmers across the country. She tries to keep her partners as close as she can, as a means to reduce her carbon footprint.

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“We’re really focused on sustainability, so we try to keep as many of our ingredients as close as possible,” McLinden says. “It’s unusual for a company of our size to really try to make relationships with family farms, but that’s really what we do. We try to make sure that everything that we’re growing is super fresh because in our mind, why ship it from Thailand if you can grow it here?”

To shop FarmHouse Fresh’s farm-to-table skin and beauty products, visit farmhousefreshgoods.com.