E-Commerce Destination AmericanBrandProject.com Launches to Support and Promote American-Made Products

SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American Brand Project (www.AmericanBrandProject.com) launches today with the goal of helping consumers discover and experience great American brands. American Brand Project tells the stories behind these brands and individuals who are manufacturing in the US, and promotes these qualifying products in its social commerce marketplace. With multiple product categories including apparel, food and beverage, pet supplies, home & garden, sporting and beauty, American Brand Project is a collaborative endeavor that aims to educate and motivate consumers to support those who are essentially building brands on Main Street, U.S.A. American Brand Project intends to track the number of new jobs created among their brand partners as a result of more consumers buying directly from their social commerce market place.  

Founded by Andrew Henderson and Christian Mouritzen, American Brand Project already features over forty brands that offer unique alternatives to the mass-produced items typically found through bigger retailers. Each company has its own Marketplace storefront where visitors can purchase products and experience original brand stories created by the American Brand Project team.  American Brand Project is a unique social-commerce destination – one focused on attracting like-minded consumers who are driven more by social impact than price competition alone.

"We believe that if consumers knew how to buy American – how to essentially buy from their neighbors – they would choose to. There is a strong misconception that buying domestically produced products will cost more, or that the products will lack quality. If you look at the brands that have quickly joined American Brand Project, you will find that they have been launched by designers and chefs, sportsmen and curators. These are Americans who have a passion for their products, and they have found a way to be price competitive, community-oriented and transparent in their business practices. We want to reward them, promote them and share who they are with consumers," said American Brand Project Co-Founder Mouritzen.

Each brand has been given an ABP "Buffalo-Rating", which helps consumers evaluate the "American-ness" of the brand, which includes assessing the percentage of overall products that the brand makes in the U.S., confirming that it is a domestically-owned company and taking into account what percentage of the product's components have been sourced domestically. It is not an investigative rating, but one rather based upon the forthrightness of the participating brands.

"The number one employer in America is small businesses, and the only way to get small businesses to hire is to increase their sales," added Henderson. "We think lots of American Brands are making amazing products, but it's really hard for most of us to find them and even harder to buy from them. So, we have created a place to learn about them and a market place to buy from them. This isn't a political endeavor, instead we are here to enable people who want to support brands that are employing their father, mother, sister, brother, neighbor or friend."

Brands currently on the site include: Nokona, Wits & Beaux, All American Clothing Co., Stephanie Dawn, Shrader Clothing, Finley Shirts, Steam Horse Dry Goods Co., Heart of Vermont Organic Bedding, Smashing Golf & Tennis, Ujena Swimwear, Bulldog LED Lights, Rustico Leather, B.I.T.S, Mark Whit Lures, The BoardSMITH International, D and Me, Equinox LTD, Mal Paca Pillows, Vance Family Soy Candles,  Sundance Sheep Skin Leathers, San Diego Pretzel Company, Tough Traveler LTD, Natalie Frigo, Bamboosa, Madcapz, Bikini Thief, Jon Wye, Bison Made, Manready Mercantile, Frank Clegg Leather Works, Bamboo Gems, Billy Kirk, California North Skincare, Brooklyn Butcher Blocks, Rising Sun Jeans and Annabel Valerie Sclippa among others.

"As a company that makes all of our jewelry in New York City, we were thrilled to be a part of the American Brand Project. ABP has curated some of the top USA made brands and we are excited that our company, by / natalie frigo, and many other domestic companies will have this great resource," said Ms. Frigo.

Added Nokona Principal Laura Beraznik, "The American Brand Project is an exciting – and important – venture, in that its goal is to spread the word about first-rate, American-made products to smart consumers who care about the quality of the products they use, and who pay attention to the stories behind the brands they support. Nokona has great synergy with ABP because we have been absolutely committed to handcrafting baseball gloves in America for the past 80 years, and our customers value the beauty and performance of our products, as well as our heritage. We look forward to partnering with ABP, and to build upon the loyal and passionate following that Nokona continues to develop."

For more information on the American Brand Project, please visit AmericanBrandProject.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN BRAND PROJECT

American Brand Project (www.AmericanBrandProject.com) aims to help consumers find American made brands and products both on a national and local community level.  The site was co-founded in 2014 by Andrew Henderson and Christian Mourtizen, who both have a passion for supporting and accelerating the growth of small businesses in America. The goal of ABP is to raise consumer awareness about their choices while offering a single destination for consumers to find quality American products, learn about the brands, understand their stories and engage in supportive e-commerce.

For Media Inquiries, please contact:

Sophia Paliov
Arora PR for American Brand Project
[email protected] 
949.525.5022

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SOURCE American Band Project