Alabama

For Natasha McCrary, a simple lesson in running a business for her children grew into 1818 Farms, a flourishing flower farm and handmade beauty brand rooted in sustainability and community.

What started with four Babydoll Southdown sheep and a few handmade creams mixed in her kitchen has blossomed into an award-winning line of bath and body products, from botanical wax sachets to the beloved Whipped Shea Crème.

Since joining Amazon Handmade in 2017, McCrary has shared her zero-waste, small-batch creations with customers across the country, turning one family project into a national brand.

The idea for Gaines Family Farmstead, a brand of healthy, single-ingredient dog treats made almost entirely from ingredients sourced on American family farms, took hold after the CEO and founder Dewar Gaines lost a dog to raw hide poisoning. After years of bootstrapping the business and dehydrating sweet potatoes to sell at the farmer’s market from his garage, Gaines launched in the Amazon store, and swiftly saw an uptick in sales.

“We make more in a month with Amazon than we did in our first two calendar years combined,” he said.

Jeri Anne Huffstutler, founder and owner of Southern Natural, was able to use her experience overcoming a debilitating skin condition to develop skin products that have created a successful farm-based, small business. By partnering with Amazon, she’s transformed what was originally a local market-only product into a widely available product line that’s seen 60% year-over-year growth.