From humble

roots to organic

empires,

entrepreneurs

in the industry

are tackling

everything

from small

town co-ops to

supermarkets.

By Melissa Kvidahl

22 Organic Products Retailer www.oprmagazine.com � September 2010

Organic Entrepreneurs

September 2010 � www.oprmagazine.com Organic Products Retailer 23

Earth’s Best baby foods began asa twinkle in the eyes ofFounders Ron and Arnie Koss,brothers who traveled through-

out California in the early 1970s andexperienced the “sinister” realities ofpesticide spraying. Returning to theEast Coast, the brothers asked them-selves how they could make a differ-ence. “The answer descended in aninspiration in 1976. It was organic babyfood,” Ron Koss said.

“Not only did it make perfect senseto spark the fledging organic foodsmovement, but it also made perfectsense for babies whose immune systems are most vulnerable to toxicchemicals,” he continued. Eight yearslater, in 1984, the Koss brothers raised$1.2 million from investors over threeyears and produced the first jars ofEarth’s Best baby foods on November 25, 1987.

At that time, the product line consist-

ed of eight certified organ-ic fruit and vegetablepurees in glass jars and acertified organic brown ricecereal in a canister. “By1990, there were at least20 jarred purees andjuices,” Koss explained. Butmore change was on thehorizon for the young com-pany: Arnie and Ron endedtheir association with thecompany in 1995, withmore than 50 baby foodpurees to its name; HainCelestial has significantly added prod-ucts since its purchase of Earth’s Best.

Earth’s Best was a pioneer on everyfront, Koss explained—from the organicsupply side, to manufacturing, to thenatural foods marketplace, and ulti-mately, the mass marketplace. “It wasthe first organic brand to sit next to itsmainstream competition (Gerber,

Beech-Nut and Heinz),” said Koss. “Thecompany has grown exponentially overthe years because, in our view, of itssteadfast commitment and uncompro-mising standards to deliver only the‘best’ for babies. There is nothing morevaluable for a consumer brand thantrust, and nothing more fleeting shouldit be betrayed.”

L arry Plesent was washing win-dows in 1984, trying to earnsome money as a college stu-dent. One day, he was washing

the windows at a local bar and grill inVermont, when a passerby gave himadvice that would later lead to VermontSoapworks: he could either work withhis hands washing windows for the restof his life, or he could invent and investin a product and a service—an inexpen-sive commodity that people “use, useup and buy another one.” Plesent alsowanted to offer a product that wascompletely natural and fit the Vermontimage and way of life, following whathe called “capitalism with a con-science.”

Five years later, Plesent, who alwaysstruggled with sensitive skin, started trying new soaps to ease his suffering.After many years of experimenting withlackluster products, he realized that hewould have to make soap himself. “Thatwas it. My epiphany,” he said. “Under$5. Use it up and buy another. You like it

so you tell your friends. Something special—and natural—and from Vermont. I wasgoing into the soap business!”

Plesent later learned that hissensitive skin was due to adetergent allergy, and beganproducing castile soap, a nat-ural detergent substitute. “Toshorten the learning curve, Ibought a small environmentalproducts company that alsomanufactured small amountsof liquid castile soap,” heexplained. “The formula and afiller machine was most ofwhat we bought, but the pricewas right and we never looked back.”

Going forward, Plesent’spersonal goal is to replace 95percent of the cleaners anddegreasers on ships and navalvessels worldwide with certi-fied organic nontoxiccleansers. “We are holding

our own and growing all the time,” hesaid. “As it should be.”

Delivering the ‘Best’ for Babies Ron and Arnie Koss, Co-founders • Earth’s Best (Melville, NY) • (800) 434-4246

Soap’s On!Larry Plesent, CEO • Vermont Soapworks (Middlebury, VT) • (802) 388-4302

Ron and Arnie Koss

Larry Plesent

24 Organic Products Retailer www.oprmagazine.com � September 2010

In 1976, Once AgainNut Butter began inthe basement ofJeremy Thaler with

just two employees.Thaler had operated anorganic granola bakery,and was approached by Clear Eye, anatural foods distributor, to roastpeanuts in his granola roaster and grindit into butter. “In the late ‘80s, Jeremystarted the process of growing organicpeanuts. He worked with peanut farm-ers in Hobbs County, NM,” said LloydKirwan, the company’s current directorof purchasing. “There was a subsidizedprice offered to the growers for a fewyears. The rest is history.”

By 1980, the company moved toNunda, NY with five employees. Today,Once Again Nut Butter enjoys over60,000 square feet with 40 employees,three state-of-the-art jarring lines, sevenroasters and a worldwide clientele.

But the 100 percent employee-owned and democratically operated

company has not beenwithout its share of challenges. According toRobert Gelser, generalmanager, competitionfrom peanut butter manufacturers using

Chinese imports has been a significanthurdle; in addition, Once Again NutButter has had to face the recent econ-omy decline coupled with lower inven-tory being stocked at distributor andretail levels—this has resulted in aninventory burden pushed back on man-ufacturers, he said. “Tahini and peanutbutter recalls have been a challenge tosuppliers that were not even involved,”Gelser added, “but all these challengeshave been overcome by a flexible‘worker owned’ culture, and communication of our efforts and valuesto our customers. A spirit of continuousimprovement and focus on core values has been key.”

Going forward, Once Again NutButter plans to add staffing in its sales

department to support its brandedproducts. Additionally, the company isplanning a manufacturing expansion toallow for a future peanut-free facility.

In early 2002, EVOL Founder and cur-rent COO Philip Anson started experi-menting with flavors and ingredientsin his small, Colorado mountain

kitchen. When friends responded favor-ably to his burritos, Anson decided tostart selling them hot out of a cooler tolocal mountain climbers. Before long, alocal market picked up his product, andwithin a few short months, Anson wasselling 500 burritos per week under thename Phil’s Fresh Foods.

Growth continued in January 2004,when Phil’s Fresh Foods was acceptedinto the Whole Foods Market RockyMountain Region. In early 2005, anational private label deal with WildOats landed Phil’s Fresh Foods in 125stores. By 2008, Anson decided tofocus solely on frozen burritos andlaunched them for the first time atNatural Products Expo West. In early2009, the 16-employee company’s bur-ritos were in 400 stores. By April of that

year, the companygrew to 600 storesand rebranded itselfas EVOL Burritos; byAugust, 24 employeesplaced burritos in1,000 stores; and byDecember 2009,EVOL took the No. 2market share for the natural frozen burri-to category, and has spread to over1,500 stores nationwide. In the compa-ny’s biggest growth spurt so far, April2010 boasted over 40 employees, 4,000stores and over 450,000 burritos made.

And while frozen burritos might bethis company’s bread and butter, EVOLis expanding to include five differentlines of burritos: classic, deli wrap, foodservice, mini and premium burritos.

“At the heart of EVOL Burritos is an‘evol plot to change the world,’” saidAnson. Many ingredients are sourcedlocally, and all meat and eggs come

from suppliers committed to humaneand sustainable practices. Further, thecompany composts and recycles allpossible supplies and ingredients, andevery kilowatt hour of electricity used isoffset with Wind-e Renewable EnergyCredits, which help fund the installationof wind turbines in high-wind areasthroughout the Midwest and West.

And the company has much to lookforward to in the future: less than oneyear after EVOL Burritos first hit shelves,the brand is poised to reach No. 1 inthe natural burrito category by 2011.

Burrito R‘evol’utionPhilip Anson, Founder and COO • EVOL Burritos (Boulder, CO) • (303) 815-1147

A Better ButterJeremy Thaler and Constance Potter, Founders • Once Again Nut Butter (Nunda, NY) • (585) 468-2535

The Evol Burritos Staff Today

“All our challenges have been overcome by a flexible‘worker owned’ culture,and communication of ourefforts and values to ourcustomers. A spirit of continuous improvement and focus on core values has been key.”— Robert Gelser, General Manager

September 2010 � www.oprmagazine.com Organic Products Retailer 25

Inspired by her grandmother’s love oftea and herbs, Zhena’s Gypsy TeaFounder and Mistress of Tea ZhenaMuzyka bought a small espresso cart

in 2001, converted it into a tea cart andbegan selling her original blends in afriend’s store. “I only had about $6 thatfirst day when I started, with which Ibought milk to make tea lattes for thecustomers I hoped would arrive,”Muzyka said. “I made $50 that first day,and soon was blending teas for localrestaurants and spas, followed soon bystores.” Today, the company boasts a

100 percent solar powered factory, nes-tled among a 7,300-acre citrus farm. Itrecycles green waste for mulch, whichhas reduced water consumption by 70percent, she explained.

Creating an organic company wasnever a choice Muzyka had to make, asliving organically was always a priorityfor her. A vegan who depended on localfruits and vegetables and those from hergarden, Muzyka belonged to a commu-nity where organic farming was the stan-dard. “I decided to be 100 percent FairTrade Certified when I learned it couldenable women in the tea fields and theirchildren to have health care for the firsttime—something my son and I need-ed,” she said. “Fair trade spoke to mysoul and I made our company’s missionto end poverty for tea workers.”

In the first days of business, Muzykaoffered a limited selection of teas withfew ingredients because there were veryfew certified organic, fair trade tea gar-

dens at that time. “It really limited mysourcing scope,” she said. At the time,Muzyka offered Gypsy Love (a black teawith roses from her garden), LemonJasmine and Raspberry Earl Grey, all ofwhich are still offered today. “We start-ed out with only 10 bulk teas and nowhave over 85 loose leaf teas, 60 hempbagged teas in tins and a certified bio-dynamic line of teas that are blends offirst flush green Darjeeling,” she said.

Looking ahead, Zhena’s Gypsy Teas willintroduce three new collections and hostcontests this fall for Fair Trade Month withstore managers. “The store managers whosell the most Gypsy Tea will get to go toSri Lanka with our tribe to tour the biody-namic tea fields,” Muzyka explained.

“We have grown from $50 in revenuethat first day to a much bigger company,and I credit that growth to our awesomeretailers, amazing tea growers, thewomen in the fields and the consumerswho love our blends,” she concluded.

Organic to a ‘Tea’Zhena Muzyka, Founder and Mistress of Tea • Zhena’s Gypsy Tea (Ojai, CA) • (805) 646-1996

Zena Muzyka

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