Project 7: Saving the World with Each Gum Purchase

Apr 16, 2013
Katherine Sweet

Pet food may be an odd inspiration for a line of socially conscious mints, gum and bottled water, but for Tyler Merrick, it just clicked. After graduating from college, Merrick hooked up with the family pet food business, an opportunity he found both lucrative and providential. After seven years, however, an unsatisfied Merrick wanted more of a purpose in life. His rationale: The pet food he was selling was higher quality than many of the poor in the United States were able to afford for their meals.

“With that thought, as well as my love for marketing, consumer goods and retail, I decided to create a brand that would give people the power to help others through their purchases. Long story short, I thought, ‘Why don't we build a brand around seven issues that when people buy them they help out one of these seven areas of need, such as FEED The Hungry, HOUSE The Homeless and SAVE The Earth?’ They were going to buy ‘everyday products’ anyway, so why not give them a buying vehicle where they could choose who and how they wanted to help? So I started to map out what would become Project 7,” Merrick, now CEO and founder of Project 7, said.

Thus the effort started out five years ago with the basic idea of helping the environment through purchasing a pack of gum. An excited Merrick was hawking his gum at a trade show in New York City in 2011 when his work made the big time, garnering the notice of a Wal-Mart representative, reported CNN Money. He pitched his concept, they loved it and the gum was put on the shelves of a few hundred Wal-Mart stores. Consumers loved the concept too, and soon 1,500 stores were carrying the chewing gum. Now it is sold at all Wal-Marts across the United States.

“(We wanted to) give people an easy way to get involved with a cause they care about through an everyday purchase they were going to make anyway. We are at the corner of convenience and compassion … Conscious consumption that when done together adds up and makes a great impact,” Merrick said.

And he is not the only one this vision resonates with. The brand has achieved widespread success, also sold at Target, Caribou Coffee and 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Purchase one product and a specific do-gooder action will occur. A consumer, say, buys a Save the Earth mint and Project 7 plants a fruit tree. To date, the effort has planted a whopping 3,011,796 million trees.

Everyday products appealed because they are items consumers purchase on a regular basis, versus a pair of boots that could be worn as a long-term investment. Gum, water, coffee and mints can be readily available in outlets from airports to bookstores, giving busy shoppers a quick way to do a good deed on the go. As less than $2 per item, Merrick envisions his products as practically affordable for any economic means. Giving back is thus democratized.

“It’s important for businesses (to give back) because it’s important for individuals; individuals create and run businesses, so why shouldn't that collectively give back? When we as individuals pool together and give back, we help rebuild storm-ravaged cities; we build schools, churches, medical clinics and refill our food banks. A business exists because of a free market that is made up of people and communities. If we want a healthy ecosystem to do business in, we need to be invested as businesses in giving back to our communities and our world,” the entrepreneur said.

It may be Earth Month, but Project 7 saves the planet year round. Project 7’s impact is broad, with seven – yes, thus the name – areas of focus: Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Hope for Peace, House the Homeless, Quench the Thirsty, Save the Earth and Teach them Well. Consumers simply select the cause they want to help the most by the focus labeled on the product. To achieve its mission – to ensure everyone around the globe has access to fundamental human needs for a healthy life – the company partners with nonprofits from Feeding America to Pencils of Promise and Trees, Water & People to raise awareness as well as the funds.
“(Our success) really comes down to three groups of people. Those three include the retailers that give us the chance and put our products on the shelves. Then it comes down to the customers that shop at those retailers, giving our product and message a chance through consistent buying. Then as a result of those two things it comes down to our nonprofit partners who have such great programs in the field and dedicate their lives to serving others while caring for our environment. Without those three groups of people supporting us we're still just an idea down on a sheet of paper somewhere in the back of a journal.”

Think of them this April and year-round the next time you need something to chew on. For more information, visit www.project7.com.