Amy's Kitchen

Amy's Kitchen is a family-owned, privately-held American company based in Petaluma, California, that manufactures organic and non-GMO convenience and frozen foods. Founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and incorporated in 1988,[2] the company took its name from their daughter, Amy.[3] All of Amy's 250+ products are vegetarian and made with organic ingredients.[4] The company also operates a chain of four vegetarian fast food restaurants in California called Amy's Drive Thru.

Not to be confused with Amy's Baking Company.
Amy's Kitchen
TypePrivate
Founded1987 (1987)
FoundersAndy and Rachel Berliner
HeadquartersPetaluma, California
Key people
CEO: Andy Berliner, Executive Chairman: Andy Berliner, President: Paul Schiefer
RevenueIncrease $500 Million[1]
Number of employees
2,700 (2022)
Websiteamys.com

History

The co-founders of Amy's Kitchen, Andy, and Rachel Berliner, had prior experience in the organic food business. Rachel's family had grown organic vegetables and fruits since the 1950s. Andy was formerly the president and majority shareholder of the Magic Mountain herb tea company.[3]

Amy's vegetable pot pie

The company's first product was the vegetable pot pie. After mounting a booth at a natural products exhibition, the Berliners began receiving orders from small natural grocers around the country. They soon opened a production facility in Sonoma County, California.[5]

Amy's employs over 2,600 people[6] and its corporate headquarters is in Petaluma, California.[3] It operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California,[7] Medford, Oregon,[8] Pocatello, Idaho,[9] and formerly in San Jose, California.[10][11][8]

Amy's Kitchen supports non-GMO food and GMO labeling initiatives,[12][13] and was a major sponsor of Farm Aid's annual benefit concert in 2012, 2013, and 2014.[14]

In May 2017, the company hired a new global president, former Mars Inc. executive Xavier Unkovic who had worked as global president of Mars Drinks, CEO of Royal Canin Canada and CEO of Royal Canin USA.[15][16] Unkovic was promoted to CEO in August 2020[15] but left in May 2021.[17]

Because Amy's is a private entity, its annual earnings are not public. It reported gross sales of over $300 million in 2012 on CNBC's "How I Made My Millions."[18] In 2017, the company's revenue was reportedly over $500 million per year in the U.S., the U.K., and France, and was expanding financially in Asia and Australia.[19] In 2020, it rose to $600 million per year with demand from the coronavirus pandemic.[6]

The company achieved B Corporation certification in late 2020.[20]

Amy’s Kitchen named Paul Schiefer as company president in 2023 after he served as interim president for its drive-thru division.[21][22][23]

Safety violations and labor relations

Amy's has been criticized for its working conditions and has had to pay over $26,025 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In January 2022, Cal/OSHA’s records show an investigator visited the plant on three days. Workplace safety inspectors fined the company $6,825 for three serious violations and 10 other infractions after the company’s Santa Rosa production plant inspections. These issues were corrected in weeks. Regulators found the company did not ensure that machines to prepare tortillas had proper safety guards secured over hazardous machine components. On the same day, investigators found that emergency eyewash stations were either not reachable within 10 seconds or were not kept free of obstacles.[24]

The company has also been accused of union busting.[25][26] In June 2022, workers at its San Jose facility reported dangerous working conditions.[27] In August, the same plant was shut down after workers started to organize a union with Unite Here.[28] The closure occurred after Amy's Kitchen had disciplined employees for participation in labor activities. [27]

Products
Amy's veggie loaf with mashed potatoes and vegetables

As of 2017, the company makes more than 250 organic products in 27 categories, including burritos, bowls, pizza, wraps, soup, chili, and candy.[29] All of Amy's products are vegetarian. Amy's products do not contain meat, seafood, eggs, animal rennet,[30] peanuts,[31] bioengineered ingredients,[32] or hydrogenated oils.

The majority of the food products have Kosher certification; there are a small number that still do not as the company is still in the process of transitioning to 100% Kosher as of 2020.[33] The company has over 120 vegan offerings[34] and makes over 130 gluten-free products.[35] In 2023, the company introduced family-sized versions of top products. The company serves over 14 million consumers a year.[36]

Amy's Drive Thru
Amy's Drive Thru in Rohnert Park, California
Living roof at Amy's Drive Thru
"The Amy" veggie burger from Amy's Drive Thru

The first Amy's Drive-Thru restaurant opened in Rohnert Park, California, on July 20, 2015.[37] It is a vegetarian fast food restaurant concept, featuring veggie burgers along with other vegan and gluten free menu options.[38] In July 2019, a takeaway location was opened at San Francisco International Airport in the newly remodeled Harvey Milk Terminal 1.[39] A third Amy's Drive Thru opened in Corte Madera in August 2020,[40] followed by one in Roseville, California in December 2021.[41][42] Amy’s opened its latest drive-thru restaurant in Thousand Oaks on June 15, 2023.[43] [44][45]

See also

References
  1. "How This Family Built a Half-Billion-Dollar Business on Frozen Pies". 29 June 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. Fitter, Fawn (2009-02-19). "Organic growth: How Amy's Kitchen got started". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  4. 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.
  5. Watrous, Monica (2020-12-09). "Food Entrepreneur: The past, present and future of Amy's Kitchen". Food Business News. Archived from the original on 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  6. Martyn, Amy (2022-01-17). "'Treated like donkeys': Amy's Kitchen accused of leaving some factory workers injured". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  7. "Share your thoughts: Expedite Amy's Kitchen expansion?". North Bay Business Journal. 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-29.
  8. Watson, Elaine (2020-11-05). "Amy's Kitchen gears up to open new plant, predicts revenues will approach $600m in 2020". FoodNavigator-USA. Archived from the original on 2020-11-05. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  9. "New owner of plant means more jobs for Pocatello". 2014-10-29.
  10. Avalos, George (2021-08-25). "Amy's Kitchen opens San Jose production center, seeks more workers". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  11. Area Development News Desk (26 March 2014). "Amy's Kitchen Invests Nearly $100 Million To Establish Goshen, New York, Manufacturing Center". Area Development. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  12. "Amy's Kitchen CEO: Only in America can you consume GMOs without knowing it". FoodNavigator-USA.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  13. "GMO - Amy's Kitchen - We Love To Cook For You™". amys.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2014-12-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "Amy's Kitchen promotes Unkovic to CEO". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  16. "Petaluma-based Amy's Kitchen hires global president". The North Bay Business Journal. 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  17. Sarfaty, Cheryl (2021-05-11). "Amy's Kitchen CEO departs; founder steps back into top role". The North Bay Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  18. "Amy's Kitchen | E.S. Kluft & Co | Bag Makers, Inc | Brooklyn Flea". How I Made My Millions. 2012-09-18. CNBC.
  19. "This Family Built a Half-Billion-Dollar Business on Frozen Pies". Inc.com. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  20. Watrous, Monica (2020-12-16). "Amy's Kitchen becomes Certified B Corporation". Food Business News. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  21. "Amy's Kitchen names longtime employee as its new president". North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  22. Mathieu, Henry. "Amy's Kitchen names president amid leadership reshuffle". JustFood. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  23. Poinski, Megan. "Amy's Kitchen adds another new executive, promoting VP to company president". Food Dive. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  24. "State fines Amy's Kitchen $25,000 for labor safety violations at Santa Rosa plant". 5 August 2022.
  25. Facundo, Jarod (16 May 2022). "Hell in Amy's Kitchen". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  26. "'Treated like donkeys': Amy's Kitchen accused of leaving some factory workers injured". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  27. Shanker, Deena (2022-06-01). "Amy's Kitchen Faces Labor Complaints at Its San Jose Plant". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  28. Rooney, Kimberly (2022-08-04). "Amy's Kitchen closes San Jose facility after workers organize". Prism. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  29. "Amy's Kitchen Foods". Amy's Kitchen. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  30. "Cheese rennet". Amy's Kitchen. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  31. "FAQ".
  32. "Bioengineering". Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  33. "FAQ". Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  34. "Do you offer vegan options?". Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  35. Amy's Gluten Free product list
  36. Collings, Richard. "Amy's Kitchen to offer family-sized versions of top entrees". Axios. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  37. Irwin, Heather (July 20, 2015). "Hundreds line up for debut of Amy's Drive Thru". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  38. Digitale, Robert (June 24, 2015). "Amy's Drive Thru expects to open organic Rohnert Park eatery in July". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  39. Starostinetskaya, Anna (2019-08-09). "Vegetarian Eatery Amy's Drive Thru Now Open at San Francisco International Airport". VegNews.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  40. Battelle, Leanne (2020-07-28). "Organic, vegetarian Amy's Drive Thru opens in Corte Madera on Aug. 4". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  41. Ordaz, Leticia (December 1, 2021). "Amy's Drive-Thru opens vegetarian fast-food restaurant in Roseville: The fast-food restaurant prides itself on being eco-friendly". KCRA. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  42. Axworthy, Nicole (2021-06-07). "Amy's Meatless Drive-Thru Is Coming to Southern California". VegNews.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  43. "Amy's Drive Thru Opens Its First SoCal Location In Thousand Oaks". Patch. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  44. Schlepp, Travis. "Popular organic food brand opens first drive-thru restaurant in Southern California". KTLA. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  45. "Amy's Drive Thru New Location in Thousand Oaks California". Foodgressing. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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