Ask Professor Produce

In the April/May Wedge Newsletter, you were asked a question about corporate ownership of organic food companies. You mentioned, quite correctly, that the 20% yearly growth of organic products has not escaped the notice of the large food companies. There has been an accelerated trend toward consolidation in the industry spearheaded by Hain. The concern for natural food stores, co-ops, and consumers is that the brand bundling has an impact on the products that is not always welcomed.

I was surprised that you did not mention two of the remaining organic food companies, of significant size, that are family-owned, Eden Foods and Amy's Kitchen. Amy's has been making organic frozen meals and now grocery items, for 16 years, and is the best selling line of frozen meals at the Wedge. Amy's is also the only brand of canned soup on your shelves that is not owned by Hain. Many of your customers may not know that Amy's is still family owned. Every Amy's product is made in our own plant in Santa Rosa California - nothing is co-packed [that is, packaged at an anonymous, for-hire packing facility. -PP]. Most of the ingredients come from organic growers in Sonoma County. We hand fold every burrito; the crust on our pizzas is hand-stretched and all the toppings put on by hand. The reason for these labor-intensive methods is that it results in high-quality food using the best organic ingredients.

Imagine what Heinz, Mars, Kraft, or Con Agra would do if they were ever to buy Amy's. Fortunately Amy's is not for sale, despite standing offers for the past seven years.

For an example of Amy's dedication to our customers, consider our new Rice Crust Pizza. This item is gluten-free and has been an absolute hit with the ever-increasing number of persons who are celiac. This product uses a rice-crust that is practically hand-made, very labor-intensive, and is being offered to our consumers with little or no financial return to Amy's. It's hard to imagine a large food company even considering making a product that would be sold at no profit. For owners Andy and Rachel Berliner it is this kind of commitment to the consumer that is at the core of who Amy's is.

There are other companies that share our commitment to quality. You mentioned Organic Valley, which is a good example. Nevertheless, there are only a handful of these independent companies left. I think it's important for Wedge members to know about the philosophy and commitment of these brands so they "can make intelligent shopping choices."

-Sincerely,
Kevin Aylward, Amy's Kitchen
Wedge Member

The Professor gladly stands corrected, especially when the correction comes from one of the co-op grocery community's oldest friends - Amy's. Thanks for clarifying what it's like on your end of the organic food chain, Kevin.

As Kevin mentioned, another old friend of the Wedge is Eden Foods, and the Professor recently called them to ask what it's like to be a private company in Corporate Organic Land. Eden's chairman and CEO Michael Potter returned the call personally.

"I can do things that don't make any sense," Michael said, when asked what matters most to a company that's still privately owned after 35 years. Which Eden products don't make sense? Michael paused and thought. "Actually, none of our products make sense."

He's speaking, of course, from a profit-earning standpoint. Echoing Amy's pursuit of quality over cheap food, Michael said that how Eden Foods creates, handles, and tracks organic products would be cost-prohibitive for a company solely seeking big revenues. Venture capital money can't afford the "luxury" of good ingredients and organic integrity when faced with "having to face the public every ninety days," as Michael puts it. "Quinoa was a product we never made any money on," he says with a note of laughter in his voice, "but we've been selling it for ten years now. It's a labor of love. We're totally proud of it."

Investing in obscure, expensive grains may not make sense from a money-making point of view, but there's a method to this madness, in the Professor's opinion: Customers obviously appreciate Eden's product line, which includes food that most companies won't or can't produce. Eden Foods and Amy's deserve a 20-minute standing ovation for sticking to their mission of producing good food and refusing to endanger that mission by joining the corporate flow chart.