Amazon is empowering entrepreneurs across the country to build booming businesses. As more sellers choose to sell in the Amazon store to grow their brands, the local communities where they live—from small towns in rural Utah to budding ecommerce hubs in the Pacific Northwest—are emerging as vibrant centers of small business growth.
In 2023, the top five states with the fastest-growing Amazon independent sellers were Maine, Wyoming, Utah, Washington, and Nevada, according to Amazon’s Small Business Empowerment Report.
Published this year, the Small Business Empowerment Report found more than 60 percent of sales in Amazon’s store come from independent sellers—most of which are small and medium-sized businesses. The small businesses selling and flourishing in Amazon’s store are also at the heart of their local communities, creating jobs and building economic opportunity in all 50 states, according to the report. By providing avenues for upward mobility and skills development, these sellers are playing a pivotal role in promoting economic vitality and inclusion, spanning a range of industries from manufacturing to technology.
Among those entrepreneurs is Mike Roberts, whose family-founded startup in rural Utah is disrupting the global agricultural industry with an innovative approach to fertilizer. Decades ago, Roberts’ father, a corn and alfalfa farmer in southern Utah, developed an affordable fertilizer using pig manure after discovering that pig waste, when properly handled, could be transformed into a highly beneficial compost product.
While Humane began as a sustainable solution to a local farming challenge, the company has experienced remarkable growth to international customers by leveraging the power of Amazon, Roberts said. The breakthrough came in 2018 when Roberts decided to take Humane online, setting up shop in Amazon’s store.
“I knew that it was a great product and that farmers loved it, but I also knew that gardeners wouldn’t know what it was and that it would take a lot of education to do that,” he said. By leveraging Amazon Advertising, Amazon provided Roberts an opportunity to reach a wide consumer base and build brand awareness beyond the rural Utah community where he grew up. In its first year selling online, Humane netted nearly $70,000 in sales across 12 states.
“Amazon was our very first sales channel because it was the easiest way to get to customers who could see our product,” Roberts said. “The customer trust was already there. We just had to make a good enough product to be recognized.”
In the six years since, Humane has expanded to 20 different products and secured placements in major retail chains like Walmart and Lowe’s—wins Roberts credits to the visibility and validation afforded by the company’s successful Amazon presence.
“Amazon allows for small entrepreneurs to be seen and to succeed,” he said, adding that he’s witnessed more and more entrepreneurs in his Utah community turn to Amazon to grow their brands.
“The nice thing about Utah is it’s a culture that loves opportunity, and there’s a lot of people that love and crave to do more. It has really caught fire in Utah that being an Amazon seller can create freedom: freedom of time and freedom of financial situations,” Roberts said. “People have seen the success that Amazon brings, and it’s really bred a fire.”
Two years ago, Roberts said he helped his sister start a jewelry business that sells exclusively on Amazon, helping to generate extra income for her family.
“Amazon has created such an incredible experience for both her and for many others in Utah,” he added.
Similarly, Ryan Chen and Kent Yoshimura, the co-founders of NeuroGum, leveraged Amazon to propel their Nevada-based business from a college dorm idea to a company that today is valued in the nine figures—10x more than when they began selling with Amazon in 2016.
The pair met in college, bonding over a shared interest in neuroscience and extreme sports: Yoshimura trained in Judo with the Japanese Olympic team, while Chen was a high school cross country and track team captain. As health-conscious student-athletes, they were looking for healthy ways to increase energy without using artificial drinks or pills and began experimenting with natural supplements.
After a life-changing snowboarding accident in 2009 left Chen paralyzed from the waist down, the friends decided to channel their passion for health and wellness into developing a unique all-natural gum and mint packed with scientifically backed ingredients that boost energy and focus.
NeuroGum’s success on Amazon has been a major asset in expanding to other sales channels, providing credibility and data that has helped the brand secure placement in major retailers like Whole Foods, Albertsons, Sprouts, and more than 3,500 pharmacies nationwide. The company plans to expand into convenience stores next year.
“All of our sales decks [to other retailers] have screenshots of us being a number one product within two Amazon categories, and us outselling other well-known energy products on Amazon,” said Yoshimura. “The fact that we do so well on Amazon, these retailers are like, ‘oh, well maybe you guys could do well here.’”
Amazon, Chen says, has been a “huge” part of NeuroGum’s success and valuations, and provides the company with what he calls a “stamp of validity.” Since NeuroGum began selling with Amazon, sales have grown 300 percent year over year, he added.
“Amazon allows smaller sellers to have the opportunity to shine through,” said Yoshimura. “In retail, sometimes people can’t even find our product because it’s tucked into a corner, and we have to spend a significant amount of resources to be able to push it to the front. Amazon feels like a great equalizer.”
“Without Amazon, our business wouldn’t be where it is today by any means,” he added.
With NeuroGum, the co-founders have been able to generate a sustainable business while giving back to the causes and people who are pursuing similar goals and aspirations. In February, Chen and Yoshimura made a generous commitment of $100,000 to support ocean conservation efforts led by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
Since the fundraiser launched in February 2024, NeuroGum’s limited edition ocean-inspired tins have netted over $250,000 in proceeds for PADI—more than double their initial commitment. The company’s philanthropic efforts have even caught the attention of local political leaders, with visits from Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) as well as a U.S. Trade Ambassador to NeuroGum’s Nevada warehouse, which celebrated its first anniversary this year.
“If you make good business, then you can also make good on some of the opportunities [for your community],” said Chen.
As ‘new’ business hubs emerge across the United States, entrepreneurs from all 50 states are finding success with Amazon—and the local communities where they live are benefiting from that small business growth.