| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Genre | Natural foods; Heirloom rice; SRI Rice; Rice flour; Kaipen |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder(s) | Ken Lee; Caryl Levine |
| Headquarters | El Cerrito, California, U.S. |
| Website | lotusfoods.com |
Lotus Foods is an El Cerrito, California, company run by Ken Lee and Caryl Levine that works in importing heirloom and exotic rices produced by family farmers. The idea for the company came in 1993 when Lee and Levine took a marketing research trip to China. Lee and Levine found themselves in a rural area and were intrigued to be served a bowl of black rice because they had never seen such a thing. This was the impetus behind them starting Lotus Foods Inc. and introducing Forbidden Rice, their first and most popular line.[1]
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Lotus Foods first introduced Forbidden Rice into the USA in 1995 and has trademarked the term. Forbidden Rice is a strain of Chinese black rice (Chinese: 黑米; pinyin: hēi mǐ) and is considered to be both food and medicine in China. Forbidden Rice has a dark purple color because it is rich in anthocyanins, which act as powerful antioxidants.[2] The rice contains more vitamin B, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc than white rice.
The name "Forbidden Rice", and the popular understanding that it was eaten only by royalty likely comes from the term 御稻 (yù dào) or imperial rice. Chinese sources attribute the classification of this rice as imperial tribute to the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty who marveled at the hybrid breeding and harvest times of this unique rice.[3]
Lotus Foods' Forbidden Rice has been praised for its unique flavor, deep color, and nutritional quality. Forbidden Rice won the prestigious National Association for the Specialty Food Trade awards for "Outstanding Product Line" and "Outstanding Food Service Product".[4]
Since their formation in 1995 they have launched at least 12 different kinds of heirloom rice from locations such as China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Madagascar. They have also introduced Forbidden Rice Flour.[5]
Lotus Foods has also introduced Kaipen to the US market.[6] Kaipen is a Laotian snack made of algae and sesame seeds.
Lotus Foods has won multiple awards for their products as well as for their involvement in SRI rice.[7] In 2008 they were invited as panelists to discuss Food Security and Poverty at the Clinton Global Initiative alongside Madeline Albright and representatives for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[8][9] In 2009 they were awarded Nutrition Business Journal's Environment and Sustainability Award for their SRI related work done in conjunction with Cornell University's SRI Global Marketing Partnership.[10]