Amy's Kitchen

Amy's Kitchen is a family-owned, privately held company that manufactures organic and non-GMO convenience and frozen foods. Founded in 1987 by CEO Andy Berliner[1] and Rachel Berliner, and incorporated since 1988,[1] Amy's Kitchen took its name from their then-newborn daughter, Amy.[2] All of Amy's 250+ products are vegetarian and made with organic ingredients.[3] The company makes over 130 gluten-free options.[4]

Company

The company employs over 1,900 people[5] and operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California[6] and White City, Oregon.[7] A new processing plant is being built in Goshen, NY,[8] and the company is opening a plant in Pocatello, ID, in 2014.[9] The corporate headquarters is in Petaluma, California.[2] Amy's is one of the few remaining U.S. companies to craft its own recipes, source its own ingredients, and make its products in-house.[10] Amy's prides itself on being like a home kitchen, only bigger. “Other companies manufacture food,” says co-founder Andy Berliner, “we cook it.”

Both of the company's co-founders, Andy and Rachel Berliner, had prior experience in the organic food business. Rachel's family had grown and advocated organic vegetables and fruits since the 1950s. Andy was formerly the president and majority shareholder of the Magic Mountain Herb Tea company.[2]

Amy's is a long-time supporter of non–GMO food and GMO labeling initiatives, [11] [12] as well as a major sponsor of Farm Aid's annual benefit concert (2012, 2013, 2014). [13]

Because Amy's is a private entity, its annual earnings are not public knowledge. They reported gross sales of over $300 million on CNBC's "How I made my Millions" in 2012.[14]

Products

The company's first product was made in 1988: Amy’s Vegetable Pot Pie. As of 2014, Amy's makes more than 250 organic products, ranging from an international array of frozen entrees, burritos, wraps and bowls, to soups, beans, salsa and pasta sauce, as well as sweets, including cakes, cookies, candy bars and non-dairy frozen desserts. All of Amy's products are vegetarian; many are also vegan, Dairy Free, Light and Lean, Gluten Free, and Light in Sodium. Amy's products do not contain meat, eggs, seafood or peanuts. Amy's products are free of GMOs and hydrogenated fats and oils.[7]

Amy's is the nation's leading source of organic and non-GMO convenience food. Amy’s is also widely available in Canada, and increasingly available worldwide in countries such as Great Britain, Germany, Australia. Distribution is growing in Latin America, Southeast Asia and China.

Recall

On March 22, 2015, Amy's issued a recall on organic products containing a contaminated organic spinach. Amy's recall was due to a recall from a supplier of organic spinach, which was recalled due to the possible presence of Listeria. These products ranged from vegetable lasagna, organic pizza, breakfast wraps, and more. Approximately 73,897 cases of code dates and manufacturing codes were recalled. [15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Renee Martin; Don Martin (April 2011). The Risk Takers: 16 Top Entrepreneurs Share Their Strategies for Success. Vanguard Press. pp. 172–. ISBN 978-1-59315-637-4. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fitter, Fawn (2009-02-19). "Organic growth: How Amy's Kitchen got started". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  3. ↑ Michael J. Silverstein; Kate Sayre; John Butman (8 September 2009). Women Want More. HarperCollins. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-06-190540-7. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Amy's Gluten Free product list
  5. ↑ Verel, Dan. "Amy’s Kitchen opens second onsite primary care clinic". North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Share your thoughts: Expedite Amy’s Kitchen expansion?". North Bay Business Journal. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mann, Damian (2013-03-21). "Seeds Of Controversy". Medford Mail Tribune (Oregon Public Broadcasting). Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  8. ↑ http://www.areadevelopment.com/newsItems/3-26-2014/amys-kitchen-manufacturing-facility-goshen-new-york834892.shtml
  9. ↑ http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/state/amy-s-kitchen-to-open-in-converted-idaho-plant/article_02f8e7e4-5541-53a0-a940-082bb9093282.html
  10. ↑ http://www.amys.com/images/uploads/files/pdf/2014_Amys_Fact_Sheet.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Markets/Amy-s-Kitchen-CEO-Only-in-America-can-you-consume-GMOs-without-knowing-it
  12. ↑ http://www.amys.com/gmo
  13. ↑ http://www.farmaid.org/atf/cf/%7B6ef41923-f003-4e0f-a4a6-ae0031db12fb%7D/AMYS_FARM_AID_2014_PRESS_RELEASE.PDF
  14. ↑ "Amy's Kitchen | E.S. Kluft & Co | Bag Makers, Inc | Brooklyn Flea". How I Made My Millions. 2012-09-18. CNBC.
  15. ↑ http://www.amys.com/images/uploads/files/pdf/Amys_Kitchen_PressRelease_March_22_2015_Recall.pdf

External links