Gifting Ideas · Own Your Story · Self-Care · Sustainable ·Feb 08, 2022

Own Your (Sustainable) Business Story: Mintier

Our “Own Your Story” series continues!

Starting February 2nd, Sitti is featuring seven self care brands that focus on sustainability and clean living in our ongoing blog series titled "Own Your Story." This quarter, the “Own Your Story” series is elevating the stories of the seven brands featured in Sitti's Conscious Earth & Body Box.

Each quarter of the year, we get to know the brands in our box, while learning priceless lessons and advice from their shared experiences. We talk about where the idea for their brand came from, and what’s made their journey unique. Every brand adds something special to make up our Consious Earth & Body Box; a box centered around sustainable self care. To learn more about our other quarterly Subscription Boxes, click here.

Introducing: Mintier

What is your brand's purpose/mission?

Creating fresh breath you can rely on to boost confidence.

What makes your brand unique? (What do your consumers love about your products?)

We are the only breath mint made without sugar and sugar alcohols, and since sugar feeds oral bacteria but is the main ingredient in traditional breath mints, Mintier works better and lasts longer than anything else! We use premium clean ingredients to give you fresh breath you can rely on!

When did you begin this brand? How was it started? Please share your origin story. (Did you start it after college, from a hobby, etc.)

This product is a first-of-its-kind and has had a great early response. My business partner and I met while working at a tech startup in Toronto called ClearCo (formerly Clearbanc), where we were working long hours, having tons of coffee, and handfuls of mints at a time. It never occurred to us why we were having handful after handful of these mints and never really achieved that fresh breath feeling, until my cofounder Jessica got stuck on the GoTrain one day. She by chance turned the pack of mints over to read the ingredients, and there it was. Sugar was the main ingredient, and it turns out that most mints and gum are actually over ⅔ sugar and/or sugar alcohols. When she got home she looked up the effects that sugar has on breath and oral health, and it all finally made sense. Sugar feeds the oral bacteria in our mouths that cause bad breath, so really these mints were just making bad breath even worse. She brought the idea to me and we knew that we had to make a mint without sugar or sugar alcohol but really had no idea where to start. I ended up finding a Food Chemist to help us with our R&D and he bluntly told us that there was absolutely no way that we could make a breath mint without sugar or sugar alcohols unless we made it oil-based. That was it! Mintier was then created to be the world’s first oil-based breath mint, made with six natural food-grade oils that all promote oral health and have specific functional benefits. From here, we joined the VenturePark Accelerator Program spearheaded by Arlene Dickinson where we really laid the foundation for Mintier. This led up to launching our Kickstarter campaign on Demo Day where we pitched to buyers, investors, and fellow entrepreneurs while having our campaign become over 100% funded in less than 24 hours. Since then, the response through our website and retailers has been incredible!

Tell us a story that encapsulates the importance of sustainable self-care. Consider any particular situation in which you were able to witness the effects of how your products have helped or empowered others.

We wanted to make a breath mint that not only lasted taste-wise but was more economical serving-wise. Each bottle of Mintier gives you 120 servings of fresh breath, so using this multiple times a day can last up to 8 weeks! We prioritize using premium clean ingredients, so Mintier is made with 6 food-grade oils that are 100% natural, and have a shelf life of 24 months! We also specifically chose to use glass bottles as they are more widely recycled. We use cardboard packaging with recycled poly mailers. We also source locally whenever possible, and are made locally to eliminate the environmental impact of shipping from a far distance.

How do you define sustainable self-care?

Sustainable self-care to us is about incorporating products that you will actually use into your daily routine. This way we are reducing waste, choosing quality products with quality ingredients, and making sure that we are taking care of ourselves with products that truly make us feel good.

What does your sustainable self-care routine involve?

We are all about morning routines, and choosing products that we

What sustainability goals do you have for your company in 2022?

We donate to charities on a monthly basis but want to be more hands-on with our commitment to supporting our communities in 2022. We also are always looking for ways to reduce waste in terms of packaging and looking at introducing a refill option to keep sustainability top of mind for the Mintier community!

What other eco-friendly social enterprises do you admire? Why?

This year we decided to give 10% of our Black Friday/Cyber Monday proceeds to a wonderful Canadian charity called the Wildlife Preservation of Canada, which is our last defense in protecting endangered species in Canada. We really respect the work they are doing and are working to support different causes we believe in, with this being a great start as it was actually our first month in business!

What is your best advice for people aiming to be more sustainable in their day-to-day lives?

Our best advice is to be mindful in choosing your consumption patterns. At Mintier, we are always trying to reduce waste and our environmental impact wherever possible. We research best practices in terms of packaging, recycling, and reusing. Also, we are all about education when looking at new brands, charities, or products we want to try and support. It's important to align our values with partners that we work with!

Write down anything else you would like us to mention about your company!

Mintier is female-founded, Made in Canada, vegan, keto-friendly, and made with no sugar or sugar alcohol!

Thank you Mintier for sharing your story!

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