Spreading the Love with Which Wich

Jeff Sinelli wants to change the world… with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The founder, CEO, and “chief vibe officer” behind the booming sandwich franchise brand Which Wich Superior Sandwiches is venturing into the PB&J business with the goal of giving back in the communities where Which Wich’s yellow and black buildings exist, as well as around the globe.

Under the recently launched Project PB&J program, all Which Wich locations sell PB&J sandwiches in-store and for every sandwich purchased by a customer, one sandwich is donated to a local cause and another sandwich is banked for the global fund to assist in large-scale scenarios where a need exists. Since launching midway through 2014, the campaign is on pace to end the year with 50,000 PB&J sandwiches sold and thus $ 100,000 donated back to local communities and banked for larger needs.

1851 sat down with Sinelli to discuss Project PB&J, and how he plans to change the world with a simple sandwich.

When did you first have the idea for Project PB&J? What was the “light bulb” moment?
We were searching for the light bulb for almost a decade. We were participating and working with thousands of charities as a system and I felt there could be a better way to connect. I felt sometimes we were writing checks for things and never saw the finished product. I wanted to see something that would go full circle.

I was at the Conscious Capitalism conference in San Francisco in April of 2013. While there, I introduced myself to Kip Tindell, CEO of the Container Store. He said to me, “On your business card it says that you want to make the world a better place. How are you doing that?”

No one has ever called me out on one of the values or the mission of the company. There are a lot of brands that have their mission or their values on the wall but don’t live them. I didn’t want to be one of those companies. That was a moment that changed my life.

I told Kip right there that I was going to get a truck and pass out PB&J sandwiches to those in need. I told him then, and I still believe now, that we can make the world a better place through the simplicity of a PB&J sandwich.

So how did the program get off the ground? Was there any research and development involved in launching it?
As soon as I landed in Dallas after Conscious Capitalism, I went to our headquarters location, made two PB&J sandwiches, walked outside, found two people in need, and gave them the sandwiches. So, the program started immediately. I made a promise to Kip, the universe, my wife, and myself - and I wanted to make sure I stuck to it.

From there, we spent time putting the program together and it launched soon afterward.

Tell me about the PB&J sandwiches themselves.
We have great partners with Hormel and their Skippy peanut butter, as well as our bread company, Turano Baking Company, who makes a great bread to complement the PB&J. We are still looking for a jelly partner for the program. We’re open to local artisans and companies that would be interested in getting on board. We’re also getting singers and athletes aligned with the project.

It seems like the program is really taking off. Why do you think it’s been so successful so immediately?
Like Paul Coelho says in The Alchemist, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

We were doing a spreading party recently and I met a member of the National Peanut Board who was there and they loved the idea. So, the week before Easter, they’ll have a spot set up for us where we’ll do a spreading party in New York City. A poster with the poem “Success” by Ralph Waldo Emerson hangs in my office, and a portion of that poem is a message that I live my life by: “To leave the world a bit better.”

What does the future of Project PB&J look like?
In 2015, we’re putting a system-wide goal to make over 1-million PB&J sandwiches. If we do that, that’s a lot of sandwiches, and a lot of effort, and a lot of people who will be able to put something in their stomach that might not otherwise have that.

This is a customer-funded initiative, so if the customers don’t believe in it then we have nothing. If we get them on board, we will hit our goal of 1 million PB&J sandwiches and even more.

Project PB&J has the potential to have its own identity outside of Which Wich. We’re excited to hear from folks in corporate America who are calling us up interested in a great team-building event for a spreading party. We’re always excited to share that vibe and experience with them.

What does PB&J mean to you?
It’s the first real culinary or kitchen experience that I had as a child. I remember making PB&J sandwiches with my mom in the kitchen. It’s one of the great memories that I have. When I met my wife, Courtney, she basically lived on Diet Coke and peanut butter. We’ve had that in common. During my business career, there were times that it wasn’t rosy, and I was just eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that’s all I could afford. You hear about Mark Cuban eating mustard and ketchup sandwiches, and maybe mine cost a little bit more, but I think it’s important to have that literal and metaphorical hunger in your stomach to make you strive for success and improve the world around you.

Tell me about the impact that you’ve seen since the program began.
I’ve been coast to coast, from Buffalo to Seattle and places in between, to support Project PB&J because it really means that much to me. We went on a search and rescue mission with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission to distribute PB&Js. At night, we were in some of the remote areas of the greater Seattle area. We were in areas most people don’t venture into, but we got to see the true environment where poverty and hunger lives. It was a real eye-opening experience. There were corporate team members who went out with us and Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission that came back and told me that it changed their lives.

After a function in Dallas, we had several PB&Js left over so I asked Courtney if she would go around with me and find people who could use a sandwich. We visited areas of Dallas and found people in need and were able to pass out those PB&J sandwiches. It was awesome for Courtney and me to experience that together.

We also do 100 PB&Js for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. These kids are filing in and out of the center and they all get a PB&J. Courtney has been instrumental in that partnership and it’s been an extremely rewarding experience for both of us.

What have been some of the impacts that Project PB&J have had on you and the company from a business perspective?
It creates better conversations with my franchise partners. It’s become a filter to have better and deeper conversations about the brand with not only franchise partners, but also vendor organizations and those that work with the brand.

We’ve also already started to see a correlation from investment in the program, and thus the community, and an increase in sales.

Jay Goldstein, a Which Wich franchisee in Colorado, just opened a new store in Fort Collins. He told me that people showed up at the new store because of Project PB&J and said the program was actually driving people in. It does pay when you put a purpose above your profits. Jay tracks it every day and sends corporate an update on his success. We’re seeing this attempt to improve our communities lead to financial success for our franchisees as well. It’s a win-win.

Project PB&J also provides something for our teams to rally behind and it builds a great team mentality in our stores that correlates to a successful atmosphere.

As chief vibe officer, it’s my job to keep the energy going. If I can call up one of our franchisees and congratulate them on their great success story and motivate them to keep up the great work, then I’m always happy to do so. This movement is just getting started and I’m excited to see how far we can take it to leave the world a bit better, one PB&J at a time.