When Northern Kentucky University student Hannah Wayne couldn’t find the perfect beef tallow skincare product, she decided to make her own.
Wayne, the founder of Carroll and Co., said she fell in love with beef tallow as a skincare ingredient after using it for about a year; however, she said she couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for in a product. As an entrepreneurship student at Northern Kentucky University, Wayne thought why not create it herself?
Beef tallow is fat rendered from cows and used for cooking and in various products, such as skincare. The type of product Wayne was interested in was a botanical infusion. She didn’t want to use essential oils or fragrance oils. Wayne said there are plenty of companies that avoid fragrance oils but heavily use essential oils, which can be too much for the skin and sometimes too much for the nose.
To aid in her business idea, Wanye applied and was accepted into the NKU INKUBATOR program. The program is a business accelerator that helps students and alumni launch or grow their businesses. That is done through mentorship, coaching, connections and access to resources. The program brings in speakers and mentors who are entrepreneurs, well-versed in starting, running, and growing a business.
NKU Director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Zac Strobl said students are applying to the program with their business idea, but they are all at different stages.
“The real secret is mentorship,” Strobl said. “What truly makes the difference is offering solid, practical advice and supporting entrepreneurs along the way. They’re the stars of the journey, and we’re just here to guide them.”
The program runs 12 weeks in the summer and was named a USASBE 2025 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education award winner.
The product that Wayne is focusing on for Carroll and Co. is her balm. The ingredients include beef tallow, botanical infusion, and a vitamin E oil blend, which includes sunflower oil.
Wayne said the vitamin E blend is a small amount that serves only as an antioxidant to prevent rancidity. It’s not a preservative, but it inhibits oxidation and has a similar effect on extending shelf life.
Moving forward, Wayne said she would like to get the balm down to only three ingredients.
Wayne has also introduced goat milk and tallow bar soap, as well as chapstick, but said she is not focusing on those right now. Within the next year or two, she would like to introduce more products in the line.
The ideation and creation of her products, Wayne said, she had already done before the incubator.
She conducted product testing in her idea validation class during the Spring semester because her classmates were very supportive and curious. That class is where she did most of her testing on consumer preferences versus her own personal preferences. Wayne gave classmates a jar of balm to take home and use for a while.
They would check in with her after week one, week four, week six, and Wayne would ask them if they were still enjoying it, if they were out of product, etc.
Wayne joined the INKUBATOR at the legal and compliance end of her business. She had already started developing things, but needed to make it legal, safe and acquire things like insurance.
“Hannah always gets the gold stars,” Strobl said. “She’s the most prepared, gets there early, asks really thoughtful questions, follows up with people, keeps me on track. Hannah has a level of maturity that others typically do not have.”
Additionally, Strobl said Wayne is figuring out a market that has a lot of attention. He said he is seeing more and more products coming out using beef tallow.
Wayne said she has looked at those products to see what ingredients they are using.
“It’s shocking what minimal ingredients mean to other people,” she said. “I’m happy if it’s under five, but that’s still too many ingredients for me. You tell me it’s minimal ingredients, and there’s 15 and I can’t pronounce any of them. Are you kidding me? No, that is just mass-produced.”
While in the INKUBATOR, Wayne worked on narrowing her idea down by looking at what market she was targeting and what values her brand is upholding and focusing on. Then she got into branding.
One of Wayne’s connections in the program linked her with a woman who did branding, and after a cup of coffee together, Wayne said she loved the story and the product and wanted to offer her services to start Carroll and Co.’s branding strategy for free.
Another opportunity presented to Wayne over the summer was a grant from the Incubator Kitchen Collective, a shared commercial kitchen space in Newport. Carroll and Co.’s products have to be made in a commercial kitchen.
“I didn’t have to ask for much,” Wayne said. “People just kept giving it to me based on these connections, and that was really powerful and moving. Just the validation that came from working on something that I love and enjoy.”
Strobl said when they work with students in INKUBATOR, they typically look at the person more than the idea or business itself.
“I think what people need to realize is a lot of these investments that we’re making, time and financially, sometimes it takes a decade to see the results come,” he said. “You have to have a longer-term perspective on these kinds of resources. These aren’t quick wins all the time, sometimes, yes, but bigger impact, you might be looking at a long-term investment.”
Wayne said she plans to focus on selling her product at craft markets. She said she thinks that at a craft fair or an art fair, people are more likely to buy one-off products, versus maybe a farmers’ market, where people go for habitual shopping.
A goal of Wayne’s is to create an online store; however, people can currently direct message her on Instagram to place an order. Wayne said she would also like to see her product in retail stores, most likely starting with small local boutiques, but eventually could see it in a larger retailer like Whole Foods.
“Just keep putting yourself out there and show up,” Wayne said. “It’s shocking how many people are eager to help if you just ask. That’s truly my biggest takeaway. In any situation, just continue to ask for what you need. Reach out, show up. People will see that, and they will be eager to help.”
