Bag Balm ointment goes corporate

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. - Vermont's locally produced, quirkily used Bag Balm ointment long ago moved beyond the bovine, but now it's going corporate.

The 115-year-old Lyndonville-based family business was sold last week to a group of investors who are promising to expand the brand, but not change the formula.

Bag Balm began as a staple for dairy farmers treating the inflamed udders of cows, but over the generations, the salve has been used for everything from sunburns to the paws of dogs searching the World Trade Center's rubble after 9/11.

New CEO John Packard says they could quadruple Bag Balm products in the next four years.

Barbara Norris Allen, the granddaughter of the company's founder, says the family decided to sell because it was "the right match at the right time."