Idaho

In 2011, Chris Jones shut down a failing retail shop on Main Street in Twin Falls, Idaho, and made a bet that would change his town. He bottled a surplus of essential oils, listed them in Amazon’s store just to see what would happen. Fourteen years later, Plant Therapy employs 85 people in Twin Falls, ships to customers across the United States and Canada, and has donated more than $6 million to its community through its Planting Kindness initiative. With Amazon’s AI seller tools, the company’s flywheel of giving is moving faster than it ever has. Last year, they donated $425,000; testament, said the Jones, to their own growth in the Amazon store with solutions like Seller Assistant and Product Opportunity Explorer.

“Our entire Plant Therapy mission has been to positively impact as many lives as possible, and Amazon 100% powers that mission,” said Jones. “It’s a one-to-one relationship between what we sell in the Amazon store and what we are able to give back. That’s the flywheel in action—the faster it spins, the more lives we touch, the more money flows back into our community.” 

When Idaho entrepreneur Nick Harman and his friend Casey Finegan had the idea of creating novelty stuffed animals, they wanted to build a brand that had a lasting, positive message.

As an advertising and marketing professional, Harman knew how to develop a brand story, but logistics and fulfillment were not his areas of expertise. He found the perfect partner in Amazon.