Home grown in Honolulu, Hawaii, two kids began a journey to achieve sustainability in 2015. The Erickson siblings, Chaz and Coral, collaborated together with an idea: to help end single use plastic. Fueled by their love of the land and sea, they created a product, the “Xtreme Canteen”, which would help them (and people across the nation) make an impact on ending single use plastic. With the financial backing of the Erickson parents, Mike and Rochelle, the two siblings picked up and moved to Orange County, California, to begin their journey. 

 

At only 19, and 20 years old, (now 24 and 25) the kids were thrown into the business world with no background on how to actually run a business. Selling canteens was not going to be a piece of cake, but they had passion and drive to fulfill their goal. The family started small, for weeks and months, they would do extensive research on street fairs, advertising, shops and locations which could help the product gain exposure. 

 

Every weekend, they would wake up at 4:30am to drive to the Orange County Swap Meet, or journey to a far-off location to sell their products at street fairs. Soon, they gained a loyal following— street fair goers would come back ranting and raving about the Xtreme Canteen (“Where can I buy more!?”). During the week, they traveled door to door, shop to shop, with a binder of information on their canteens. Sharing their story with store owners and product purchasers, they hoped for a consignment deal or wholesale order to be signed.

 

After a few months of grueling work, early mornings, and quality control on their initial products, Coral and Chaz had finally sold enough Xtreme Canteens to need to replenish their stock. Working directly with consumers allowed them to understand what type of product their customers really wanted. They took their customer’s feedback and created a new, more desirable (now patented) style of lid and canteen to fit their customer’s needs. 

 

As the company began to develop and mold into what it is today, the Erickson family decided a bigger step needed to be taken to educate the nation about the Xtreme Canteen. Attending trade shows, the Xtreme Canteen Team took a leap into a new world. Selling products at a retail and promotional level, they found great success. Now, several 40-foot containers of product later, the Erickson family has singlehandedly relocated their warehouse to North County San Diego and developed their own nearly self-sufficient canteen business. 

 

With their drive and dedication fueling them, the family has set some future goals for their company. The Xtreme Canteen Team hopes to spread their brand across the nation, replacing single use bottles everywhere. They want to expand their product line, adding new sizes and beautiful colors, and patenting new, innovative vacuum insulated product designs. They want to cater to their customer’s wants and needs in a way no company has before.