Behind the Innovation: The Story Behind It All

It Started With One Idea.

And became a family business.

Worlds Best Cream didn't begin in a boardroom. It began in Northern Ontario with a farrier, an entrepreneur with a curious mind, and a belief that there had to be a better way to make a living and leave a legacy.

In 2008, Bill Burley began experimenting with copper and developing what would eventually become the first version of Worlds Best Cream.
He didn't have a large company behind him.
He didn't have a marketing team.
He had an idea, a willingness to learn, and the determination to see where that idea could go.

And that was just the beginning.

The man who started it all.

Long before WBC became a brand, Bill was a hardworking entrepreneur and farrier who was always asking questions, testing new ideas and researching things. That curiosity led him down some pretty unconventional paths. From experimenting with biofuel to exploring hydrogen fuel-cell technology, Bill has never been afraid to take something apart, learn how it works, and try to build something better.

That same curiosity eventually led him to the health and wellness benefits of copper. He began experimenting with copper and developing a topical cream in his own workshop. The earliest versions certainly weren't pretty. They were a long way from the polished products you see today.
But Bill believed this was something worth pursuing.
So he kept working on it.

From a small idea to WBC.

In 2009, Bill started taking his cream to small local fairs and events.
He wasn't walking into big stores with a national sales team behind him.
He was standing at a small local event booth, talking to people one at a time.

He listened.
He answered questions.
He handed out samples.
And most importantly, he listened to what people had to say after they tried it.

Fall of 2009, Bill took the original WBC cream to the International Plowing Match in Earlton, Ontario.
That was a turning point.

With support from FedNor, Bill eventually made its way to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, with his copper cream, giving the little Northern Ontario company an opportunity to introduce the product to an entirely new audience.
Then something happened that no marketing plan could have predicted.

People started talking about it.
CTV did an interview with him and took it national.

Overnight, things changed drasitcally.
Millions saw this interview of the copper cream Bill made and he spoke of the natural health and wellness benefits of copper.
Customers told their friends.
Friends told family.
Retailers started asking about carrying it. Across Canada.

The story spread.
And the little company from Northern Ontario started growing.

When our customers names us.

The original product didn't even have the name Worlds Best Cream.

It started as Mr. Arthritic Cream, but the ladies complained there was no Mrs. Arthritic Cream. Different name ideas were up in the air as Bill continued working on the formula and improving the product.

But as more people tried it, Bill kept hearing the same words from customers:

“This is the world's best cream.”

"It helped my hands", "my knees feel great", "my wife put it on my back and I feel so much better", "I use it on my neck after a long day at the office", "my grandmother says she feels so much better after using it".

Eventually, the customers had named it for him as everyone was talking about this copper cream that was "the worlds best cream".
And thus, Worlds Best Cream was born.
That name has stayed with us ever since.

 

But this story isn't just about Bill Anymore.

For years, WBC was Bill's creation. As the company grew he needed help to grow the business.

Angela joined the family business in 2014.

Angela had already been around WBC for years.
While she was in college, she helped Bill at trade shows and watched firsthand what it was like to build a business from the ground up.
After graduating, she officially joined WBC as a sales representative, helping establish new retail accounts and build relationships with stores.

But as the business grew, so did Angela's role.

Today, she is deeply involved in the behind the scenes side of WBC - the details, the logistics, manufacturing scheduling, packaging, purchasing, distributors, inventory, orders, spreadsheets and all the things that have to happen for a product to make its way from an idea to someone's hands.

If Bill is the guy asking, “What if we tried this?”

Angela is often the one figuring out how we're actually going to make it happen.

 

Then Came Jamie.

Jamie joined WBC in 2020.

Like her sister, Jamie grew up around the business.
She watched her dad build WBC.
She travelled to a few shows.
She saw the long hours, the conversations with customers, the excitement when something worked - and the challenges that come with running a family business.

After college, Jamie joined WBC and began building her own place within the company.
Today, Jamie focuses on sales, marketing, retail relationships and growing the WBC brand.

She's the one helping tell the WBC story to a new generation of customers while maintaining the relationships with the retailers and customers who have supported us for years.

 

One Family. One Business.

What started as Bill's idea has become something bigger than a product.

It's become a family legacy.

Bill brought the original vision.
Angela brought the organization, operations and determination to keep everything moving.
Jamie brought a new generation of sales, marketing and brand building.

And together, we're continuing to build WBC.

Not as a faceless corporation.

But as a family.

 

We Grew Up This Way

Angela and Jamie grew up travelling with their dad Bill as he was a farrier by trade going from farm to farm trimming horses hooves.

"And while WBC has become a big part of our lives, it isn't the only thing that defines our family."

We're country people.
We're horse people.
We're entrepreneurs.
We're parents.
We're daughters.
We're a family that believes in working hard, getting our hands dirty and building something we're proud of.
Those values have followed us into WBC.

Work hard.
Keep learning.
Treat people right.
Stand behind what you make.
And never forget where you started.

 

From our family to yours.

One of the things that makes a family business different is that we know there are real people on the other side of every order.
Someone chose WBC.
Someone trusted us enough to give our products a try.
Someone recommended us to a friend.
Someone walked into a local retailer and asked for us.

Those things matter.
Every order, every conversation, every retailer and every customer has played a part in the WBC story.
You are part of it too.

 

Still family owned. Still Canadian. Still us. 

More than a decade after Bill first started experimenting with copper, WBC has grown far beyond that first little booth.
But the heart of the company hasn't changed.
We're still a family.
We're still hands-on.
We're still involved in the details.
And we're still proud to be building WBC right here in Canada.

From Bill's first idea…
to Angela joining the business…
to Jamie becoming the next generation…
the story of WBC is still being written...
And we're just getting started.

Thank you for being part of our story.

Bill • Angela • Jamie
Proudly Canadian. Family owned. Built one customer at a time.