Made in Tennessee: A Spotlight on Tennessee’s Creative Spirit
Sponsored by: Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee
Talented Tennesseans across the state showcase creativity and artistry through food, bath and body products, handmade gifts and more. Programs like Pick Tennessee Products and Made in TN help market locally made offerings so consumers know exactly who they’re supporting and where it’s coming from.
Here are nine products made in Tennessee to help you support local:
In This Article
Food Made in Tennessee
Country Fresh Fudge
Oliver Springs, Tennessee
Nothing satisfies a sweet tooth like homemade fudge. Pamela and Ed Stockton have learned a thing or two about the sugary treat since founding Country Fresh Food & Confections in 1989.
Before starting the company, the Stocktons owned and operated several convenience stores in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, near Oliver Springs, TN, where they sold homemade fudge. They received so much praise that they decided to pivot and sell the fudge full time, developing the perfect recipe and flavors.
Country Fresh Food & Confections offers bulk fudge, fudge mix and a variety of packaged fudge, as well as private-label options to fit their products into retail sites. Flavors include classics like butter pecan, chocolate black walnut and chocolate peanut butter, as well as unique options like banana pudding, blackberries and cream, and even dill pickle fudge. They also have sugar-free options and a non-alcoholic “spirits legends” collection with flavors like margarita, strawberry daiquiri and Kentucky bourbon.
Bratton’s Best BBQ Sauce
Shady Grove, Tennessee
Bratton Farms is a family-owned and operated livestock, soybean and produce farm in Shady Grove, TN, offering fresh greens like kale, collards and more that consumers can pick. They also make some very tasty barbecue sauce.
When Bonnie Bratton’s husband David unexpectedly passed away, she wanted to find a way to carry on his legacy. He had created a barbecue sauce recipe popular among their friends, and in 2016, Bonnie decided to start bottling and marketing it.
Every jar is hand-poured, bottled and labeled at Nashville Kitchen and Cannery, and customers can find it across the state as well as in South Carolina, Arkansas and Louisiana. Sweet and spicy with just a kick of heat, the sauce goes well with everything.
Cruze Farm Dairy
Knoxville, Tennessee
If you’ve never had ice cream fresh from the dairy, you’re missing out. Luckily, Cruze Farm Dairy in Knoxville has you covered, offering fresh-churned ice cream using milk from its herd of Jersey cows.
The family dairy is run by Colleen Cruze Bhatti and her husband Manjit, who took it over from Colleen’s parents. Cows are on pasture 365 days per year, and the Cruze dairy is a state-approved and inspected processing plant.
Cruze Farm Dairy has expanded with ice cream locations across Knoxville, as well as in Sevierville and Morristown, where consumers can stop in for a cone. They also offer churned buttermilk, whole milk, chocolate milk, seasonal flavors and more. Customers can find products locally in Knoxville and at Three Rivers Market and Whole Foods Market.
Bath and Body Products Made in Tennessee
Made on Acorn Hill
Jackson, Tennessee
Ashley Bausch and Mandy Holmes are the moms behind Made on Acorn Hill, an all-natural skin care company in Jackson offering goat’s milk soap, salves and more.
What started as a hobby of making homemade gifts for friends evolved into a business after word of mouth spread and people began asking for their goat’s milk soap, which became their first official product.
Made on Acorn Hill now offers natural lip balms, beard oil, body oil, baby skin care and herbal salves in addition to their soaps. Between the two moms, they have 11 children who help with creating, packaging and shipping products.
Customers can order directly online or find Made on Acorn Hill products at several retail outlets across Tennessee.
Little Flower Botanicals
Knoxville, Tennessee
Finding an all-natural product to help soothe her baby’s irritated skin proved to be a challenge for Sarah Bryant — so she decided to make her own. Thanks to a background in herbalism, Bryant combined plantain, comfrey, goldenrod and calendula to create a salve that not only helped her baby’s diaper rash but also relieved many other skin issues, and Little Flower Botanicals was born.
With the help of her husband, Jeff, Bryant began experimenting with natural herbs and plants to create affordable, clean products that are safe and effective. Today, they offer their original “baby bum balm” along with sunscreen, lotion, lip balm, beard balm and more. They still responsibly forage every herb used in their infused oils and products, which are handmade in small batches.
Consumers can find products at the Oak Ridge Farmers’ Market or on Little Flower Botanicals’ website.
Wilson Farm Soaps
Martin, Tennessee
Justin and Davida Wilson began raising goats in 2012 and, by 2015, had more milk than they knew what to do with. They decided to use it to create natural bath and beauty products, leading to Wilson Farm Soaps.
After some trial and error, the couple found the perfect soap recipe and now makes over 20 varieties in small batches with goat’s milk, beneficial oils and natural exfoliants. The Martin-based company also offers other all-natural bath products, including lotions, bath bombs, lip balms, scrubs and more.
Art and Artisanal Products Made in Tennessee
Memory Bear Girl Creations
Knoxville, Tennessee
Christin Hagenson knows that a physical representation of a lost loved one can mean the world to someone grieving. She started Memory Bear Girl Creations to help preserve those memories with handcrafted bears, pillows and more that are made from clothing of those who have passed.
Her Etsy shop, Art-is-Ann Creatives, lists all her product choices, and customers can send in clothing for their custom, handmade gift. Hagenson also creates T-shirt blankets, vinyl decals, enameled coffee mugs and more.
Kathy Fitzgerald
Goodspring, Tennessee
Tennesseans looking for local art should look no further than Kathy Fitzgerald’s mixed-media pieces. Her beautiful collages appear as paint from a distance, but get up close and you’ll see they’re created from torn paper and other mixed materials.
Kathy incorporates agricultural themes and sheet music into many of her pieces, and all of them feature a small guitar embedded somewhere to honor the memory of her son who loved music and played guitar.
Customers can purchase the works as canvas prints, framed prints, metal prints and more by emailing kathyskutouts@ardmore.net.
Frito Woodworking
Columbia, Tennessee
What started as a hobby — thanks to her grandfather’s teaching — turned into a passion for Katie Stofel, the young woodturner and entrepreneur behind Frito Woodworking. After learning the basics, she began watching YouTube videos and completed her first project at age 14.
Now, with an online shop and products in local businesses across the state, she plans to make woodturning her full-time job. The name Frito Woodworking originated from her makeshift studio in Columbia, which was an 18-wheeler Frito-Lay truck bed gifted by her grandfather.
Stofel creates products such as bowls, coffee scoops, biscuit cutters, cheese planes and more.
Make owning a business even more seamless with the help of Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee. Not sure what type of coverage your business needs? Speak with an agent today to learn more.
Shop Local for Made-in-Tennessee Products
The companies mentioned here represent just a few of the many products made in Tennessee. You can support local makers by shopping at independent stores in your area, visiting your local farmers market, attending craft and makers fairs, and checking online directories like Pick Tennessee Products.