How One Woman’s Passion for Skincare and Animal Rescue Created a Thriving Business with a Heart
By Yvonne Brown
I’m a city girl at heart and like to take full advantage of the infrastructure and convenience that surround me here in the Frisco bubble. However, the mere mention of the opportunity to spend time with donkeys, horses, and other cute animals, combined with some skincare education, makes me eager to venture off the beaten track, and recently, that very opportunity presented itself, and you bet I jumped immediately at the chance!
I didn’t have to travel far to find this piece of heaven on earth. Just off Highway 380, tucked away on the border of Frisco, McKinney, and Prosper, is a beautiful hilltop ranch known as the headquarters for FarmHouse Fresh. This natural skincare company offers farm-to-table spa treatment products made from house-grown botanical extracts for your face and body. The company’s main focus is on high-nutrition skincare, grown sustainably through hydroponics, aquaponics, and traditional organic farming, which requires no pesticides and uses very little water.
This ranch is a little different from your average Texas ranch because it is home to wellness enthusiasts, estheticians, massage therapists, product crafters, and, of course, farmers, all of whom have one mission in mind – rescue for two. Shannon McLinden is the founder and CEO of this successful business, and her entrepreneurial journey began at the age of eight. From a young age, she enjoyed crafting items to sell to neighbors and friends, relishing the idea of creating products that brought joy to others.
In addition to her passion for entrepreneurship, Shannon also had a deep love for animals, and throughout her childhood, she often brought home stray bunnies and dogs to care for. That entrepreneurial spirit and love for animals would ultimately become a world-renowned skincare empire and animal sanctuary that landed right in our own backyard.
Summer Soles to O List
She completed her undergraduate degree and MBA at Texas Christian University (TCU) and quickly channeled her entrepreneurial spirit into her first invention, created in the living room of her then-home right here in Frisco. That product, "Summer Soles," which are peel-and-stick sandal liners designed to make tacky shoes feel comfortable, almost like wearing socks, is where it all started.
Encouraged by customer requests for more foot care products, Shannon created her first item: a trio of sea salt foot polishes specifically designed to prevent cracked heels. After perfecting her formula using fine-grain sea salt and rice bran oil, known for its high vitamin E content, she partnered with a lab for production. Her product gained significant attention when it was featured by Oprah on her famous O List, with Oprah describing the scent as ‘something she would gladly serve over berries.’
“I mailed the product to several editors at Oprah magazine, and she put them on her O List. From there, we continued to craft natural and certified organic skincare, growing many of our own botanical extracts that are infused into our products, that today encompass over 240 products,” Shannon recalls.
As demand grew, Shannon received additional requests for her products, including one from a spa manager looking for a gallon of foot polish. This marked the beginning of a wonderful opportunity to supply spas, hotels, and resorts with professional-sized products, and the success of these partnerships quickly led to a surge in online consumer orders.
After attending several spa trade shows, Shannon soon discovered a gap in the industry: there were few U.S. brands and a scarcity of locally sourced ingredients for products. To address this issue, Shannon began to harvest fresh extracts and grow ingredients hydroponically, resulting in noticeable improvements in guests' skin.
Building the wholesale business required years of hard work, including traveling to over ten trade shows each year. For 15 years, she didn’t spend a single birthday at home. “Today we probably attend over 30 yearly - and we sell products and craft bespoke farm-to-table treatments for spas – we have roughly 4,000 accounts, not just in the U.S. but Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Middle East. We’ve been voted by spas among their favorite brands for over 12 years through American Spa Magazine,” Shannon explains.
Rescue for Two
On-site at the farm, FarmHouse Fresh has a hydroponic greenhouse where they grow approximately 30 varieties of herbs, including amaranth, watercress, kale, lemon balm, and red-leaf lettuce. They rotate, grow, and harvest these herbs daily. “The herbs are dried and delivered to our pharmaceutical lab for extraction,” Shannon adds. “We grow fresh greens daily, and our team of estheticians test and craft rapid-result skincare formulas that make a difference often in one use. The extracts are used within days in the products and nourish skin and truly sets our products apart from others. You look incredible quickly!”
The rescue mission, and subsequent set up of the Sanctuary, started as a way to give back. Instead of sending Christmas gifts to their wholesale accounts, Shannon and her team dedicated those funds to rescuing animals at local shelters, covering expenses like microchipping and spay/neuter services, and even completely clearing a handful of shelters. This experience reinforced their commitment to fostering compassion in children through pets and ensuring humane treatment for neglected animals.
Their 'Track your Batch' program means each product’s batch code stamped on every product is trackable on their website, allowing anyone who purchases their products to see which animals the batch is helping to rescue immediately after it comes off the production line. Funds are actioned right away, supporting their on-site animal sanctuary at the FarmHouse Fresh headquarters ranch and assisting rescue operations across the country.
“We like to say we provide rescue for two. We rescue complexions, and we rescue animals by actioning our customers’ purchases. For our customers, personal wellness includes fresh ingredients in their smoothies and in their skincare,” Shannon explains. “But the soul-stirring stuff – the truly glowy good skin we believe comes from within – making every FarmHouse Fresh product purchase bring healing and new life to animals who simply wouldn’t be here without our customers. Together, our customers have saved thousands of animals by just washing their faces and using a hand cream. It’s astounding what we do together,” she adds.
Today, the award-winning brand offers over 240 natural and certified organic skincare products. FarmHouse Fresh and its products have been featured on BuzzFeed and EOnline, as well as in Women’s Health, SELF, allure, Forbes, and People, and have been endorsed by countless celebrities. Ten to 15 percent of profits support their nonprofit farm animal sanctuary, and this year, they are celebrating 20 years in business.
It is a family-owned enterprise, with Hani Eideh, Shannon's husband, serving as President and Delia McLinden, her sister-in-law, as Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales. Notably, all of them are graduates of TCU.
Looking Ahead & Getting Involved
Looking to the future, Shannon explains that they have many exciting new product launches on the horizon. Each year, they typically introduce around 20 new products, collaborating closely with their customers to create solutions that promote healthy, natural skin.
Additionally, they intend to expand their animal welfare initiatives. This includes plans to enhance the sanctuary by building an event and education center, establishing an indoor equine clinic to address critical starvation cases, and creating a village-like environment for all the animals living and healing at FarmHouse Fresh.
“Customers can be a permanent part of helping countless animals to come - through purchasing memorial bricks, with naming opportunities for living quarters, gazebos, fence markers, and even providing children’s artwork that we will be printing and putting in our medical stalls to surround animals as they are healing. Together, we are creating a lasting legacy of compassion for many more animals in need – it truly gives me goosebumps!” Shannon admits.
Through the website, organizations and individuals can easily book a tour for just $10 per person, with 100% of the fee donated to the Sanctuary. They also offer a fantastic venue for corporate outings and pasture parties, where volunteers have the chance to help the Sanctuary team, brush donkeys, and leave with a T-shirt as a keepsake.
Additionally, the team at the McKinney headquarters hosts chef-curated lunches and dinners for groups of up to 35, with all profits going directly to support the animals. At the end of the evening, guests can meet the animals and even shop the skincare products, where 10% of all purchases will also be donated to the Sanctuary.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please sign up on their website! They offer unique ways to help, whether for two hours on a weekend or any day during the week. Additionally, if you’re interested in corporate outings, chef lunches, or pasture parties, your fee will be a donation to a worthy cause; you’ll also have the chance to interact with the animals that day.
One wouldn’t necessarily think that skincare and animal rescue go hand in hand, but at FarmHouse Fresh – they do. And they go together very, very well. The products are as amazing as the sweet souls of the animals they’ve rescued, and knowing the whole operation is just down the road from us here in Frisco is perhaps the coolest part. If you have a few hours to spare, plan to hang out and volunteer on the farm – you won’t regret a second of it. For more information on FarmHouse Fresh skincare, their volunteer program and volunteer opportunities, events, and more, visit farmhousefreshgoods.com.
Yvonne Brown is a Frisco-based freelance writer who enjoys lattes, authentic Italian food, preferably on a patio, and exploring all aspects of North Texas life with her family and friends.
Ariel Stewart
Head of Horticulture
Favorite FHF Product: Make it Melt
Ariel did not initially choose to work as a horticulturist, but she always had a passion for plants. She attributes inspiration to her grandmother, a master gardener, who played a significant role in her life, as the time they spent together was always outdoors, tending to the garden. As she got older, she worked at various nurseries in the metroplex, which helped her cultivate a greater passion and love for all things plants, flowers, and vegetation.
While working in the horticultural business, Ariel developed a strong interest in hydroponic gardening and began seeking new opportunities in that field. One day, she discovered FarmHouse Fresh. Although she felt underqualified when applying for the job, she was thrilled to receive an offer for the position that truly felt like a dream come true.
Ariel now oversees the day-to-day management of the microgreens, whose extracts ultimately go into each and every FarmHouse Fresh product. This includes tending to approximately 200 trays in the greenhouse, which go through various stages of growth, monitoring, and processing, including seeding, watering, harvesting, drying, and bagging, before being shipped to the lab for oil extraction to be used in skincare products.
Always looking for ways to improve, she experiments with understanding which microgreens thrive better in different types of soil. She researches new microgreens that may fit well into skincare formulations, along with other types of plants and vegetation to grow outside the greenhouse. Additionally, she plans to bring in raised beds around the perimeter of the space to allow for more room to grow full plants and herbs, rather than just microgreens.
Ariel is excited about the future and the massive potential for growth within the company, where she feels there are no dead ends. Ideas and plans are constantly evolving, and everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts and feedback.
The most rewarding part of her job is the motivation she feels every day working alongside the company’s values. She appreciates not working for an organization solely focused on making profits and truly appreciates the opportunity to voice her opinion and contribute.
“It has been such an honor to be participating in this collective web with so many others who have the same goal. We get to participate in saving the lives of animals,” Ariel shares.
Holly Wydra
Director of Treatment Engagement
Favorite FHF Product: Golden Moon Dip Moisturizer
With 25 years of experience in the spa industry, she has worn many hats as a therapist and spa manager at various salons. Her journey with FarmHouse Fresh began when she spotted an advertisement in a trade magazine, and it sparked her interest in new opportunities.
Leveraging her background as an aesthetics educator, she has the exciting job of training the team and keeping everyone updated on all the fabulous products. She needs to know every product inside and out, including the various ingredients, so she can inspire creative and effective treatment ideas! Plus, she works closely with the accounts and their marketing departments to make sure everything connects well in messaging to consumers.
She attributes much of the company’s success to Shannon's strong focus on listening to customer feedback. Whether she interacts with them in person or reviews their comments online, customers are very vocal – typically in a positive way. They express their love for the products on social media, and they often send direct emails with suggestions and ideas, which are taken seriously.
Therefore, the skincare line has largely been developed by paying attention to customer needs. Shannon frequently emphasizes the importance of addressing these customer concerns: "Are we solving a problem for the customer? That's what matters most."
Holly explains that the public is now much more educated about skincare. Customers want deeper insight. This emphasis on education is crucial, and Farm House Fresh has been professionally recognized for its efforts in this area.
After over 12 years in the business, Holly has witnessed significant company growth and has seen the training guide expand from just a few pages to more than 50! She is especially passionate about effectively representing the company and supporting her team as they engage with both existing and potential spa/salon clients and consumers.
“I’m proud to work for a brand that is as passionate about saving complexions as it is about saving animals. Every product we make has a purpose and a positive impact.” Holly explains.
Elise Khan
Animal Sanctuary Manager
Favorite FHF Product: Watermelonaid
Describing Elise as an animal whisperer doesn’t quite capture her amazing spirit! She took the Frisco Style team on an incredible tour of the Sanctuary, introducing us to so many lovable animals, each with their own name, and you could see just how much she cares for them like they are her children!
Elise is the heart and soul of the Sanctuary, managing everything and leading a fantastic team of eight amazing staff members. They work closely with local veterinarians to ensure all the animals get the best care possible. Some of the animals need a little extra attention and even hospitalization now and then, while others can recover right there on the farm, leading healthier, happier lives!
Every day presents new challenges, but at the core of Elise’s work is the management of eight dedicated staff members who share a passion for animal care. They handle daily feeding, administer medications and supplements, manage chores, and ensure that the animals receive exercise and playtime, along with an endless supply of cuddles and love. Some of the animals arrive without names, which provides the team with the fun opportunity to decide what to call them. Additionally, they host tours for visitors and groups to understand the work of the organization and participate in volunteering.
After visiting the farm, people often become deeply invested in the animals’ recovery and progress. Many choose to purchase products from FarmHouse Fresh and are delighted with the "track your batch" program, which enables them to receive updates on the animals supported by their purchases.
The most rewarding part of the job is seeing how the animals heal under the care we all provide. The first time they roll on the ground and are able to get up independently just gives me goosebumps, and I know it’s a sure sign they are happy and on the road to a healthier life. “Once the animals come here, we know they never have to worry about having a bad day again!” Elise explains.
Future goals for Elise include developing a bigger and stronger network across the state and country to help more animals even when they are at capacity. Even if the Sanctuary is at capacity, there are ways to help and find a solution for support and healing, and Elise makes a point of providing her direct number to people to support a better life for a sick or wounded animal.
“Every day, I get to be part of something bigger than myself—caring for animals, providing them with a safe place, and connecting with people who share that passion. It’s challenging, it’s rewarding, and it’s exactly where I want to be!” Elise says.
