Cream of the Crop

Interview with Stephanie Painter
Photos courtesy of Painterland Sisters

Stephanie Painter, who founded Painterland Sisters with her sister, Hayley, discusses the importance of farming and what makes their company’s skyr yogurt so unique.

What was it like growing up on your family farm?
Hayley and I are fourth-generation farmers on our family’s organic, regenerative dairy and crop farm. We grew up running around barefoot outside and tending to the animals and the land. By 9:30 a.m., everyone would have already put in a good workday, so our grandma, Lynda Painter, would make us a huge, hearty breakfast—think steak, potatoes, and a pie—every single morning.

Since it’s a family farm, we were able to be with our mom, dad, brothers, grandparents, and cousins every day, which is rare. We learned from them and worked with our hands. But we could also be wild and free, like taking a swim in the creek after haying all day with our dad. It was a beautiful way of life, and I couldn’t imagine any other.

You both left to attend college. Was that experience eye-opening?
I went to Susquehanna University here in Pennsylvania; Hayley did, too, until she transferred to Iowa State. In college, I found that people were so disconnected from the source of their food—which was shocking to us as farmers. We’ve since traveled to almost all the US states and over twenty countries and found that people do actually want to feel that connection to their food.

Does your product help foster that connection?
The majority of food on retail shelves is owned by ten major corporations. So being able to offer consumers food directly from a farmer is crucial. Every time we sell a cup of yogurt, it starts a conversation about the importance of sustainable agriculture and knowing your farmer, not just for the health of you and your family but also for the health of the environment.

How did Painterland Sisters come about?
Growing up on a farm instills a sense of pride; the generations who came before us paved the way. When it was our turn to take the baton, we told our dad we needed to soak up the world first so we could bring it back to the farm and, in turn, share our farm with the world. We wanted to bridge that gap, but you must understand where the disconnection is before you can connect.

After college, we traveled around the country visiting a lot of farms and learning how they were vertically integrating [taking more control of] their products’ supply chains. We knew there was a dairy crisis—dairy farmers are going out of business left and right—so, with our farm producing so much milk, how could we avoid becoming a statistic? We landed on selling milk products and educating people about milk being really good for them and, when produced the right way, really good for the environment.

We then connected with the Center for Dairy Excellence in Harrisburg, which gave us our first grant and introduced us to a consultancy service, Kitchen Table Consultants. We planned to produce cheese, creamers, milk … everything but yogurt. But we did a 180-degree turn, deciding instead to focus all our efforts on one product: organic skyr yogurt, the most nutrient-dense way to create a value-added product with milk.

What makes it superior to other dairy products?
Our yogurt begins with great milk that’s processed using ultrafiltration, which is gentler on the milk and maintains all of its thirteen essential nutrients and high amounts of natural protein—up to 21 grams per serving. We add a natural lactase enzyme, making our products lactose-free, and billions of probiotics and make sure the yogurt maintains 6 percent milk fat, an ingredient that’s good for your body and your health and makes our product super creamy.

How have consumers responded?
People are really interested in our product; it’s gotten great word of mouth. We started working on Painterland Sisters in late 2019/early 2020 and launched into retail in March 2022. We’re now in over 2,000 stores and growing. In our first twelve months of business, we hit $1.3 million in revenue. For 2023, we had a projection of $3.5 million.

Are more flavors coming? Are you ever tempted to branch out beyond yogurt?
Last year, we launched Savannah’s Peach, which is named after my six-year-old stepdaughter, and introduced 24-ounce multiserve versions of our plain and vanilla bean flavors. Our community has really loved having larger serving sizes that they can use for baking, cooking, or just eating. As for other product lines, we are keeping our eyes peeled for other opportunities down the road that would continue our mission. The sky is the limit!

What has this venture meant to your family and their farm?
I’m tearing up a little thinking about that. Our grandpa passed away about ten years ago, and right before he did, Hayley and I told him that we were going to come back to the farm and do something special with it. That promise has always been in the back of our minds.

It’s all about family. Two of our uncles and our dad own the farm, and our two brothers and a cousin work there. We’re able to take our destiny into our own hands as a family by working directly with the land and animals and selling our products ourselves instead of relying on someone else.

Does your success give you hope for turning around the entire industry?
One hundred percent. We want to sustain not just our family’s farm but all farms. We’re showing people that you can do this with your own product. If you grow potatoes, create a chip company. Just get out there and do it—because it’s possible.

Sustainable agriculture is so important for our health and the health of the planet, especially for future generations. We need to take control of this right now. Your choices as a consumer make a huge difference beyond your home.

How has your journey been as sisters?
We’ve come a long way from growing up together to being business partners. This is just a new facet of our relationship. We’ve always had the same vision of doing something different in the world. But we had to figure out how to be part of the world and part of the farm—that we could wear stilettos and lipstick when we wanted and boots and cowboy hats when we wanted. It’s been a fun experience, but we still have a lot to learn.

For more info, visit painterlandsisters.com