What the Name “Mint” Means to Us

Mint wasn’t the result of a branding exercise. It was a word that already meant some things to us.

Back in the day, in the tiny town of Paia where we lived, there was this great little noodle house. It was called Fresh Mint. We’d often grab takeout there and go sit on the beach at sunset to daydream & wind down for the day. The name stuck with us. It felt simple, clean and distinctly memorable.

But the word already carried other meaning—“Mint Condition” is quality… “Fresh” implies newness and full of life… “That’s Mint!” is something we’d grown up hearing when something was great or super cool … and, of course, “Mint” itself just has a special way of making you feel refreshed.

“Fresh” fit the kind of company we wanted to build. We saw an opportunity to do our tee shirt thing, but with what we felt was a different intention. Be the friendly neighborhood screen printer. By bringing a customer-focused approach to custom apparel—we could provide an experience, from start to finish, that forged relationships, not just customers.

Then there was the meaning that gave it a little more weight: a Mint is a place where something of value is made.

That settled it. We were setting out to create a place where we would approach everything we do in a way that the community we serve would find refreshing, experience quality, and feel valued.

All these years later, the name still hits.