They Took in 80 Goats and Accidentally Built a Skincare giant
Beekman 1802 is one of the most iconic modern CPG success stories, blending skincare, storytelling, and values-driven brand building. Founded by husband duo Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, the brand turned an unlikely beginning into a category-defining beauty business. What started on a small upstate New York farm has grown into a multi-channel retail powerhouse with millions of loyal customers. Today, Beekman 1802 is the #1 skincare brand on QVC and HSN and a major player in prestige beauty retail. At the center of it all are two unlikely ingredients: goat milk and kindness.
Live From Driving Performance in New York
On this episode of Driving Performance, Adgile cofounder Max Flannery sits down with Beekman 1802 cofounders Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell for a conversation that’s equal parts unexpected, heartwarming, and wildly entrepreneurial.
Josh and Brent share how their journeys began in small towns—Josh growing up in Wisconsin and Brent in North Carolina—before their careers took them down very different paths. Josh moved to New York City to pursue advertising, while Brent built a career in medicine and later helped launch Martha Stewart’s Health & Wellness division. A spontaneous apple-picking trip upstate would ultimately change their lives, leading them to fall in love with a small town and purchase a farm as a weekend escape.
Soon after, a handwritten letter from a neighboring farmer named John—who was losing his land and had 80 goats with nowhere to go—sparked what Brent and Josh now call the brand’s “original kindness.” They took in the goats, unknowingly laying the foundation for Beekman 1802. When the 2008 recession hit and both founders lost their jobs, they searched for a way forward, Googling “what can you make with goat milk” and landing on one answer: soap.
Armed with strong marketing instincts, early press coverage, and a willingness to take risks, they began making goat milk soap in the middle of a recession. That momentum eventually led to a two-season reality TV show, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, and their first major retail breakthrough with Anthropologie. From there, the brand scaled rapidly through TV retail on QVC and HSN, where Beekman 1802 is now the top skincare brand across both networks.
Today, Beekman 1802 has sold more than 60 million bars of soap, built a portfolio of 300+ SKUs, and holds an exclusive U.S. partnership with Ulta Beauty, with global expansion on the horizon. Brent and Josh also share insights from their newly published book, G.O.A.T. Wisdom, including their “51% Rule,” which empowers the most passionate person in any part of the business to take the lead.
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