Meet Our Makers: Gary Rinkus, Vermints

No need to be shy about bringing out your breath mints, you’ll want to be seen with VerMints! Born in Vermont and certified organic, these drop-dead gorgeous tins snuggle perfectly into your palm and contain pops of minty freshness that can bring back the dead. With flavours like Wintergreen, Peppermint, Cinnamon and Gingermint made from honest ingredients, VerMints have green flags galore.

VerMints has been around since 2004 and went global in 2010, founded by Gary Rinkus. For internationals down under, finding VerMints in-store will be a sweet minty reunion. For Aussies, it’s the start of a beautiful relationship.

Read on for our interview with VerMints!

C&C: Hi VerMints team! Can you tell us a bit about the early days of VerMints? Where did the idea come from and how did the business get started?

VerMints: Gary Rinkus had a wholesale business in the early 90’s and the advent of the internet and the World Wide Web was drastically changing the landscape of the business that we were successfully running. We started looking for small companies that we could buy or partner with that would fit into the network that we had set-up in the grocery channels of the USA. The focus was on better for you and something grab and go. 

We ended up getting in touch with a small startup with a few items that we were looking at. They gave us a business plan and we took it to our professors at Cornell University. Gary did undergrad there and was friends with the head of the marketing department. This was in 2000 and he said that the market was trending this way. We didn’t realise that the universities were teaching kids to read labels and that everything in our food was not the best for our bodies. We bought the company and reformulated a few things and went to market in 2003. 

Our differentiation was to be a ‘better-for-you’ brand that made items ‘without all the nasties’. We obtained certifications that showed that we were all about clean items that catered to a lot of allergen free, vegan and non-GMO consumers. We obtained our Kosher, Gluten Free and Organic certifications and our non-GMO verified certification, showing consumers that we cared about our ingredients and providing a ‘better-for-you’ item. This was way before the Organic movement started to gain steam. 

C&C: How do you go about developing the flavours for VerMints and is it a long process of refining the flavour each time?

VerMints: The original flavors were Peppermint and Wintergreen. Ginger was a new item and we fortified it by adding organic ginger root powder. We also added organic peppermint leaf to our Wintergreen and Peppermint flavor. The pastilles, Café Express and Chai, were part of the initial launch to provide a path for other line extensions of Green Tea Mints and Dark Espresso with Ginseng or Guarana. We are all about functional.

C&C: What has the process of getting VerMints ‘on the shelf’ and into retailers been like?

VerMints: The organic market in 2003 was much like the export markets for us in many places around the world. They were small, niche markets, but education and the yearning for consumers to eat better foods with cleaner ingredient decks. The key is to focus on markets where consumers are actively looking for such items and building a base to grow off of. 

In the USA, we were fortunate to have support from a chain called Wild Oats market which was later acquired by the now ‘Whole Foods Market’. This enabled VerMints to gain distribution nationally with a large national distributor. Once we had distribution set up nationally, we bootstrapped it and called stores directly, attending all of the natural shows and built a very strong customer base with the natural independents. It was a long, hard road but we developed great long-lasting relations and customers.

C&C: In that process of getting the products ‘on the shelf’ and going through that evolution, how did you end up working with a distributor and why did you choose to work with someone like Cartel & Co? 

VerMints: VerMints had been in Australia between 2011 and 2019. We understood the market and also targeted the smaller independents and IGA stores with a great importer that closed during COVID. We had developed a great relationship with the Food Export program for USA and the in-market marketing firm that was doing a show and reintroducing VerMints and was fortunate to catch the eye of the buyers from Cartel & Co. The in-market firm helping the USA USDA Food export program thought highly of Cartel & Co and recommended VerMints to start a conversation. 

The conversation transitioned into trial and now steady business. Partnerships are hard to find and great partnerships are even harder. Looks like a huge win for the VerMints brand and our representation in Australia.

C&C: If I was brand new to the VerMints world, which product would you recommend that I try first? 

VerMints: I would recommend the ginger flavor. Very popular around the world and the organic ground ginger root provides a relief to many expecting mothers, friends suffering through chemo treatments and close friends overdoing it on a night out!

C&C: What do you envision for the future of VerMints as a brand?

VerMints: The VerMints brand is all about the moment. Our motto is “Grab Life and Taste it”. Enjoy a mint when you are cherishing a moment.

Some of the greatest moments are fleeting so why not enjoy the ‘now’ with a mint. Being able to travel the world, sell mints, meet good friends and importers who care and have many opportunities for the ‘now’ is what the future holds for VerMints. “Grab life and Taste it!”