{"id":12106,"date":"2021-12-01T18:00:41","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T02:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=12106"},"modified":"2026-02-19T14:36:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:36:56","slug":"mike-seely-mint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2021\/12\/01\/mike-seely-mint\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus Mike Seely Reinvents Mint Business With Peppermint Patties"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Mike
Third-generation grower Mike Seely credits his MBA for giving him the skills to develop the farm\u2019s value added side.
(Photos and video by Josh Joireman\/WSU Carson College)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Burgerville\u2019s mint patty shake features Seely Mint\u2019s candies.
(Photo courtesy of Burgerville)<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A breeze from the Columbia River sweeps over Mike Seely\u2019s 650 acres of mint fields near Clatskanie, Oregon, carrying the holiday scents of peppermint and spearmint with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past the fields and down a gravel road, workers in a modular trailer are packaging peppermint patties made from mint oil distilled on the farm. The candies are headed to Burgerville, a regional chain that specializes in locally sourced food, where they\u2019ll become the signature ingredient in the restaurant\u2019s mint patty shakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peppermint patties helped keep Seely\u2014a third-generation grower\u2014in business when synthetic flavorings sent mint oil prices tumbling. He credits his MBA<\/a> from the WSU Carson College of Business for giving him the skills to develop the farm\u2019s value-added side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery one of my classes has been valuable,\u201d says Seely (\u201984 Elec. Eng., \u201909 MBA), whose candy products are also carried by Whole Foods, New Seasons, Fred Meyer, and specialty grocers. \u201cFrom understanding the cost of goods sold, to learning how to motivate employees, negotiate with outside stakeholders, and use social media in marketing, all of the classes built on each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seely\u2019s story could be its own business case study, says Tom Tripp<\/a>, the Carson College\u2019s senior associate dean for academic affairs, who is evaluating the possibility of using it as a lesson in business strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a classic example of how the environment changed around him, and how he had to figure out new markets to survive,\u201d says Tripp, who had Seely as an MBA student. \u201cHe pivoted to peppermint patties, and they were a hit. He used his contacts to get his products into stores. It grew from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Transition to Candy Production<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mint was once a lucrative crop for Northwest growers\u2014Seely paid for his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at WSU Pullman by growing mint on 10 acres of his parent\u2019s farm in Clark County, Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he majored in engineering, Seely\u2019s heart was in mint production, which also was his parents\u2019 and grandparents\u2019 livelihood. He was still in college when he bought the land near Clatskanie, establishing perennial crops of native spearmint and heirloom Black Mitcham peppermint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But by the early 2000s, synthetic flavorings were replacing domestically produced mint oil in chewing gum, breath mints, toothpaste, and other products. After Seely lost $100,000 on the mint farm in 2007, \u201cI thought we were done,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visits to the Portland Farmer’s Market changed his mind. He rented a booth and sold tea leaves and vials of spearmint and peppermint oil. To show home cooks how they could use the oil, Seely gave out samples of peppermint patties produced by the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u201cpeople didn\u2019t want to make their own candies,\u201d he says. \u201cThey wanted to buy ours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Production took off after a Whole Foods forager discovered the peppermint patties. As the retail clientele grew, Seely Mint expanded its product line to include candy canes and other novelties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the candy operation was scaling up, Seely was also taking MBA classes at WSU Vancouver. It was the era before the Carson College switched its MBA program to an online degree. Working full-time and attending classes, Seely earned his MBA over several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was one of those wonderful students who genuinely wanted to understand the material and apply it right away,\u201d Tripp says. \u201cHe would ask questions about things his company was experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With manufacturing experience through his farm operation, Seely says the transition to candy production came naturally. But he credits his MBA studies for making the switch profitable. His finance classes, in particular, helped Seely track the full costs of candy production and arrive at a price point that works for stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiating skills and stakeholder theory from his MBA also come in handy, Seely says. He\u2019s active in local land use issues, advocating for development that\u2019s compatible with his farm. Seely still sells mint oil to brokers, but the value-added side has become an increasingly important part of the revenue stream for Seely Mint, which he operates with his son, Warren (\u201916 Elec. Eng.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About a dozen people work for the candy production side, and the farm is hiring. Candy sales peak between September and December, so Seely is looking for opportunities to increase sales during other times of the year. He\u2019s also hired a broker to help him get his products into new stores.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Seely talks about the farm\u2019s future near equipment that distills mint oil.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The Burgerville Connection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Seely\u2019s connection with Burgerville began about two years ago, when the Vancouver, Washington, based chain was reevaluating its milkshake menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a regional company that prioritizes relationships with local ranchers and farmers,\u201d says Hillary Barbour, Burgerville\u2019s director of strategic initiatives. \u201cWe want to put the best quality ingredients from the Pacific Northwest into our menu, which focuses on burgers, shakes, and fries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A company employee\u2014who was familiar with Seely\u2019s peppermint patties from Whole Foods and New Seasons\u2014suggested using them in a sweet cream-based milkshake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted a mint shake representative of the Northwest,\u201d says Ciara Lamia, Burgerville\u2019s supply chain director. \u201cMike has a super delicious product and a wonderful story. It\u2019s been a great partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seely\u2019s farm appears in the company\u2019s social media campaigns, and he visits restaurants to help pass out shakes. \u201cGuests really love to have that direct connection with local growers,\u201d Lamia says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As he ponders the farm\u2019s future, Seely is both practical and optimistic. Commodity prices for mint oil remain low, causing more growers to exit the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 5 to 10 years, I think we\u2019ll be the last mint farm left in Oregon,\u201d Seely says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To meet the new challenges, Seely says he\u2019ll continue to draw on his MBA as his business model evolves. Besides finding new markets for Seely Mint\u2019s products and scaling up candy production, he\u2019s considered agricultural tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He can picture a mint festival on the farm, tours of the candy operation, and even the ability to host meetings and special events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get requests all the time from people who want to visit the farm\u2014school groups, retirement homes, you name it,\u201d Seely says. \u201cWe\u2019re not set up for public tours, but that could be part of our future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Watch a video of Mike Seely<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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