07/06/2025
Thank you Hartford Courant for the nice article!
With a name like ‘Goatboy’ you know… this CT product must be a very popular one
Lisa Agee, is co-owner of Goatboy Soaps with her husband, Rick. The business is located at 1 Murphy’s Way in New Milford. (Contributed)
By PAMELA BROWN | Special to the Courant
PUBLISHED: July 5, 2025 at 5:30 AM EDT
Keeping clean can be fun.
That is, according to a Connecticut couple, when you use soap made from goat’s milk and other natural ingredients that are good for your skin.
“We want to be your everyday soap. Our creamy, long-lasting soap feels luxurious. Our customers love what it does for their skin,” said Lisa Agee, who is co-owner of Goatboy Soaps with her husband, Rick.
The business is located at 1 Murphy’s Way in New Milford.
“We can’t make medical claims, but if you compare our soap ingredients to the soap you find in a grocery store, you’ll see we’re truly soap, not a detergent with added chemicals,” said Agee.
Lisa Agee, is co-owner of Goatboy Soaps with her husband, Rick. The business is located at 1 Murphy’s Way in New Milford. (Contributed)
Open since 2001, the company makes approximately 35 different fragrances, including seasonal soaps. Agee’s product line includes a standard 5 oz. bar and “scrapples” – end cuts or just ugly bars, as Agee calls them, that is sold on their website at a discount.
In addition, she sells gift sets.
Goatboy Soap is a cold process soap, she said.
“We bring all the ingredients to a certain temperature and then combine them to start a chemical reaction. That takes place over a two-day period because it’s done in 100-pound batches. When the reaction is complete, we have soap. It’s then cut into bars and cured for a few weeks, then wrapped and sold,” said Rick Agee.
Their best-selling scents include Serious Citrus, Red Clover Tea, Aloe and Cucumber, and Honey Oatmeal.
For a fundraiser, they created a scent called GreenWave for a student athletic team in town that smells like Ginger Ale. “We made 100-pound batches, which gives us 250 bars, and they sold out of the first batch in record time,” said Rick Agee.
For the past 12 years, the Agees’ daughter-in-law, Michelle, has been part of the business and a happy customer.
“I’ve used the soap regularly for 13 years. As someone who has very sensitive skin and was prone to eczema breakouts, I haven’t had an issue in years,” said Michelle who is proud of the Agees’ commitment to the small family-run business.
“Lisa and Rick are some of the hardest working people I’ve met. They built an entire business from scratch and pour so much heart and energy into everything they do. It’s a reflection of their values, quality, and care the that they put into every bar.”
After discovering all-natural soap was not all-natural, Lisa Agee said, she set out to create her own World’s Best Goat’s Milk soap.
“When I started to make soap, I researched recipes and properties of different oils. For instance, olive oil is fantastic and we use a high percentage in our soap because it makes a soft soap with lots of creamy tiny bubbles,” she said.
Lisa Agee, is co-owner of Goatboy Soaps with her husband, Rick. The business is located at 1 Murphy’s Way in New Milford. (Contributed)
She formulated her own recipe using fresh, whole goat’s milk from her own goats; lye; olive oil for soothing moisture; coconut oil for lather; sustainable palm oil for a hard, long-lasting bar; and shea butter, a natural source of Vitamin E.
The Agees began making soap in 2000 when they got a few goats for her son, Bobby.
“He was born with anaphylactic food allergies but could tolerate goat’s milk. We nicknamed him ‘Goatboy’ and he developed an obsession with goats,” she said.
“I made a few batches of goat’s milk soap and gave it to neighbors and they loved it. Once customers get our soap on their skin they love the softness and the way it rinses clean without stripping all the oils from their skin.”
Her husband suggested she start selling it and they named the business Goatboy Soaps. The name was a huge draw as the family began bringing the soap and goats to farm markets and fairs and offering samples to small stores and farm stands. They grew slowly and created a website.
“Rick built a factory in the basement, followed his passion with the animals, and has attended to every birth and milked every ounce of milk on the farm for almost 25 years now,” she said.
Lisa Agee, is co-owner of Goatboy Soaps with her husband, Rick. The business is located at 1 Murphy’s Way in New Milford. (Contributed)
For Lisa Agee, Goatboy has changed her life.
“I was a stay-at-home mom. Without Goatboy, I would have probably gone back to work at a financial services company after my kids were old enough to be more independent. We’ve met so many people and made lifelong friends,” she said.
“Being able to share our goats and soaps has been a gift, plus having baby goats for my granddaughters to play with is so much fun.”
The family’s venture inspired them to establish New Milford GOAT Days (Greatest of All Towns), a three-day, town-wide celebration held on a field downtown featuring carnival rides, food trucks, vendors, farm animals, and more.
“The festival raises thousands of dollars every year for local charities, ones that can get lost in big-time funding. We turned it into a nonprofit so we can keep it going,” said Lisa, who also occasionally hosts Open Farm Days for people to visit baby goats and purchase soaps.
The Agee family is proud of what they’ve accomplished.
“We’ve survived and thrived for almost 25 years in what’s become a competitive industry. In the last few years, our costs have increased but we have a loyal customer base and we’ve done our best to keep our prices down,” said Lisa Agee. “I never dreamed we would be able to make a living doing what we love and being able to help a little bit, too, is extraordinary.”
