David Phan never thought he would start a toothpaste company. He grew up talking about his love for the planet, not his passion for oral care. That environmental focus led him and his partner, Cathy, to create Huppy.
The idea started during a camping trip when David and Cathy examined a toothpaste tube. They learned these tubes combine different plastics and aluminum in ways that make them unacceptable to most recycling centers. David realized that every toothpaste tube from his childhood still exists somewhere today.
As avid ocean lovers who dive, swim, and surf along Southern California’s coast, they had witnessed plastic waste washing up on beaches. Seeing the pollution problem firsthand made it impossible to ignore. They saw an opportunity to create a simple switch that could reduce waste. Their research began at the grocery store, where they purchased various toothpastes and examined their ingredient lists.
The experimentation phase took place in David’s parents’ spare bedroom, a 100-square-foot space where they mixed natural ingredients like baking soda and mint leaves. They wanted to develop a functional toothpaste using quality ingredients. When mint powders began spreading into the living room, they moved operations to their own warehouse. The process involved repeated cycles of mixing, testing, refining, and eventually partnering with a professional formulator.
Huppy — which is a combination of "puppy" and "happy" — launched on Earth Day 2020 with three tablet flavors: Peppermint, Charcoal Mint, and Watermelon Strawberry. David and Cathy wanted to move away from pessimistic environmental messaging and instead make people feel good about their choices.
The product line now includes bamboo toothbrushes made from bamboo with castor bean bristles, biodegradable dental floss coated in vegan wax, and mouthwash tablets. All of their packaging uses composable, recyclable, or reusable materials.
Huppy doesn’t expect people to overhaul their entire lifestyle. The goal is to encourage millions of people to make imperfect progress rather than expecting perfect zero-waste practices from a few individuals. For outdoor enthusiasts, the tablets offer practical advantages. They are lightweight, travel-friendly, and biodegradable, allowing users to spit anywhere on trails without environmental concerns.
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