Dr. John and Debra Bruinsma are the founders of Dr. John’s Healthy Sweets. In 1995, Dr. John while leaving his dental office for the day and grabbed a sugar-free lollipop to enjoy on the ride home. That lollipop didn’t even make it to the door before being thrown out. He thought, “We give these to our patients?” There had to be a better alternative! From there he went on a mission to develop the best tasting, sugar-free candy and Dr. John’s was born!
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [0:45] Jeremy welcomes his guests, Dr. John and Debra Bruinsma.
- [3:00] Why the Bruinsma’s decided to add Xylitol to their product.
- [5:00] Some of the challenges they’ve faced along the way.
- [6:45] What was it like to have a product featured on Good Morning America?
- [9:45] John and Debra talk about what it is like working together.
In this episode…
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your cake and eat it too? If that cake or sweet snack is healthy too, then all the better! On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from entrepreneurs and innovators John and Debra Bruinsma. In their conversation with Jeremy, the Bruinsma’s explain how they came up with the idea for healthy sweets, why they decided to add Xylitol to their product, lessons they’ve learned along the way, what it is like working with their spouse, and much more! Don’t miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring John and Debra’s story!
After years of handing out sub-par, sugar-free, sweet snacks to patients at his dental office, Dr. John Bruinsma felt like it was time for a change. John and his wife, Debra went to work creating a sweet, sugar-free alternative that kids and adults would love. Dr. John’s started out with great tasting sugar-free lollipops, solely for the dental industry. They’ve since expanded their operation and became their own suppliers back in 2013. You can learn more about the amazing products they feature at Dr. John’s by visiting their website located in the resources section.
It’s one thing to build a startup from the ground up but its another thing entirely to start and run a business with your spouse! How do you think you’d do in that situation? Would you and your spouse make for good business partners? Thankfully, John and Debra Bruinsma had a wonderful working relationship and had similar passions and opposite yet complimentary skill sets. They will be the first people to tell you that building a business with your spouse isn’t easy, but it is possible! What can you learn from John and Debra’s story?
Resources Mentioned on this episode
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