Tyler Merrick, Founder, Joyride
It has been a wild ride for Tyler Merrick since he founded his better-for-you candy brand in 2008. Since then, the brand reinvented itself a couple of times, adopting its current name, Joyride (formerly Project 7), and adding creator and influencer Ryan Trahan as a key investor and part-owner. Joyride raised an undisclosed amount in 2022 and followed that with a $30 million round this year.
Staying the course while adapting to trends has been part of Merrick’s journey with Joyride, producing a variety of products like sour strips, gummy worms, gummy busters and ropes. Joyride is surfing the wave of better-for-you sour candy brands like Final Boss Sour, Rotten, Sour Strips (acquired by Hershey in November) and Better Sour.