Behind the Brand: Joy Breeders

1. What is the name of your company?

Joy Breeders

2. What is your title at Joy Breeders?

Founder

3. Where is your company located?

Denver, Colorado

4. What’s your personal current obsession? (book, show, drink order etc.)

Seinfeld and Gilmore Girls reruns, Labneh, camping in my pop-up camper, neurofeedback

5. How did you hear about Naturally Colorado? What made you become a member? Has Naturally Colorado helped you in any way?

We heard about it at Expo West 2024! We have come to networking events and made incredible friends!! We have never been in this industry before and we love the people more than anything. Everyone is so warm and helpful. It’s wonderful when your desire to help others is reciprocated!!

6. What size is your company?

8 employees

7. What inspired you to start your company?

I am a licensed psychotherapist and all I have ever wanted to do was help people… but I never dreamed it would be through a body product! I made our hero product, “Moist,” for my boyfriend’s dry skin condition. He was using chemical-filled lotions his entire life so I decided to research clean ingredients. I threw them together in a pot and that’s what we used for almost a year before anyone else tried it! When other people started trying it they begged for more so I listened to the universe and here we are. The feedback we get from our customers has been one of the most fulfilling and humbling experiences of my life. The way Moist has changed lives has been utterly shocking and completely unexpected, but it has been one of the biggest honors of my life!

8. Why did you choose to focus on the natural and organic industry?

I was raised by a mother who was ahead of the times when it came to organic, natural products – so living “clean,” healthy lives was ingrained in me at a young age. As I got older, I began doing more research and understanding what we see on our food and body product labels. I got pretty fed up with all these “clean” and “organic” products still having toxins in them – even the baby product options I had for my two daughters! I began making my own face washes, deodorants, toothpastes, etc. So, when I saw my boyfriend suffering in the dry Colorado climate, making a body moisturizer was the obvious next step.

9. Can you describe the biggest challenge you faced during the early stages of your company, and how you overcame it?

In the early stages of Joy Breeders, one of the biggest challenges we faced stemmed from the unique dynamic between our three founders: myself, my best friend Jill Hodges, and my boyfriend Jourdan Dufort. Working closely as a family-ish unit has naturally presented its own set of challenges. We’ve had to navigate personal dynamics while running a business, which required each of us to reflect deeply on our triggers, communication styles, and conflict resolution. Though it’s an ongoing process, the growth in our relationships and the way we collaborate today is a testament to how far we’ve come since our early days.

10. What keeps you up at night regarding your business?

What keeps me up at night is the operational side of the business—co-manufacturing, sourcing tins, managing our website, marketing, finances…the list goes on. Operations have been a steep learning curve for me since it’s not my natural strength. As a perfectionist, it can be challenging to embrace a learner’s mindset, but I’m gradually getting better at it. My true passion lies in connecting with people and making a positive impact, so I’m looking forward to the day when I can delegate these operational tasks and focus more on building relationships with our customers and industry partners.

11. What strategies can you share that have been effective?

12. How important is networking, and what strategies do you use to build and maintain professional relationships?

Networking is absolutely critical to our success—it’s been the foundation of every major win we’ve had. One of our core company values is connection, because without meaningful relationships, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We prioritize building genuine relationships over transactional encounters and are always engaging with others in the industry, not only to learn from them but to offer support where we can.

Networking is something all three of us value deeply, but Jourdan truly excels in this area. He attends every event he can, expertly sets up meetings, and nurtures an impressive array of relationships. His ability to stay connected with a vast network is nothing short of remarkable, and it’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to build such a strong foundation. For us, networking isn’t just a strategy—it’s the heartbeat of our business and our community.

13. What is one piece of advice or knowledge that has changed your life and why?

One piece of advice that has truly changed my life is to trust my gut. While there’s no shortage of opinions on how to approach every aspect of business, and I deeply appreciate the advice people generously share, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the variety of perspectives. At the end of the day, we have to choose the path that aligns with who we are and what feels right for us. The only way to do that is by tuning into our intuition. Trusting myself has been key to navigating the many choices that come with running a business.

Connect with Alison.

Learn more about Joy Breeders.

 

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More about Behind the Brand:

Everyone has a unique founding journey and we want to hear yours and share it with the community! Whether it’s how you started, your mission or the challenges you’ve overcome, we want to spotlight you and celebrate your success and journey. 

We will feature one brand a month on our website, on social media, and in our newsletter. In addition to connecting with the Naturally Colorado community, this is an opportunity to provide support and guidance to others! 

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The Naturally Colorado team will follow up with more information if your submission is chosen to be featured in the Behind the Brand series.