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Amy's Kitchen

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Not to be confused with Amy's Baking Company.
Amy's Kitchen, Inc.
Amy's
Company typePrivate
Founded1987; 37 years ago (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

Amy's Kitchen, Inc.,[2] doing business as Amy's,[3] 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,[4] the company took its name from their daughter, Amy.[5] All of Amy's 250+ products are vegetarian and made with organic ingredients.[6] The company also operates a chain of three vegetarian fast food restaurants in California called Amy's Drive Thru.

History

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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.[5]

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.[7]

Started in 2000 by Founders Andy and Rachel Berliner, the Amy's Scholarship Program was designed to provide access to higher education for Amy’s Kitchen employees. Since its inception, the program has proudly awarded over 1,500 scholarships, amounting to $1.5 million.[8]

Amy's employs over 2,600 people[9] and its corporate headquarters is in Petaluma, California.[5] It operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California,[10] Medford, Oregon,[11] and Pocatello, Idaho,[12][13][14][11]

Amy's Kitchen supports non-GMO food and GMO labeling initiatives,[15][16] and was a major sponsor of Farm Aid's annual benefit concert in 2012, 2013, and 2014.[17]

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.[18][19] Unkovic was promoted to CEO in August 2020[18] but left in May 2021.[20]

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."[21] 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.[22] In 2020, it rose to $600 million per year with demand from the coronavirus pandemic.[9]

Amy’s also operates a food relief program in the communities where they operate. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Amy’s donated approximately 700,000 meals. In 2022, Amy’s donated more than 714,000 meals to their communities.[23]

The company achieved B Corporation certification in late 2020.[24]

Amy’s Kitchen named Paul Schiefer as company president in 2023 after he served as interim president for its drive-thru division.[25][26][27]

Safety violations and labor relations

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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.[28]

In 2022, the company was accused of union busting.[29][30] In June 2022, workers at its San Jose facility reported dangerous working conditions.[31] In August, the same plant was shut down after workers started to organize a union with UNITE HERE.[32] The closure occurred after Amy's Kitchen had disciplined employees for participation in labor activities. [31]

Products

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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.[33] All of Amy's products are vegetarian. Amy's products do not contain meat, seafood, eggs, animal rennet,[34] peanuts,[35] bioengineered ingredients,[36] 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.[37] The company has over 120 vegan offerings[38] and makes over 130 gluten-free products.[39] In 2023, the company introduced family-sized versions of top products. The company serves over 14 million consumers a year.[40]

Amy's Drive Thru

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

Amy’s Kitchen currently operates 3 drive-thru locations. The first Amy's Drive-Thru restaurant opened in Rohnert Park, California, on July 20, 2015.[41] It is a vegetarian fast food restaurant concept, featuring veggie burgers along with other vegan and gluten free menu options.[42] In July 2019, a takeout location was opened at San Francisco International Airport in the newly remodeled Harvey Milk Terminal 1.[43] A third Amy's Drive Thru opened in Corte Madera in August 2020.[44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How This Family Built a Half-Billion-Dollar Business on Frozen Pies". June 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "Amy's Kitchen, Inc". OpenCorporates. February 29, 1988. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Amy's Privacy and Cookie Policy". Amy's Kitchen. Retrieved April 11, 2024. Amy's Kitchen, Inc. ("Amy's") values your privacy.
  4. ^ 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 August 31, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Fitter, Fawn (February 19, 2009). "Organic growth: How Amy's Kitchen got started". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Michael J. Silverstein; Kate Sayre; John Butman (September 8, 2009). Women Want More. HarperCollins. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-06-190540-7. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  7. ^ Watrous, Monica (December 9, 2020). "Food Entrepreneur: The past, present and future of Amy's Kitchen". Food Business News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "How Progressive Grocer's Impact Awards Winners Are Improving the World". progressive grocer. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Martyn, Amy (January 17, 2022). "'Treated like donkeys': Amy's Kitchen accused of leaving some factory workers injured". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. ^ "Share your thoughts: Expedite Amy's Kitchen expansion?". North Bay Business Journal. March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Watson, Elaine (November 5, 2020). "Amy's Kitchen gears up to open new plant, predicts revenues will approach $600m in 2020". FoodNavigator-USA. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "New owner of plant means more jobs for Pocatello". October 29, 2014.
  13. ^ Avalos, George (August 25, 2021). "Amy's Kitchen opens San Jose production center, seeks more workers". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Area Development News Desk (March 26, 2014). "Amy's Kitchen Invests Nearly $100 Million To Establish Goshen, New York, Manufacturing Center". Area Development. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  15. ^ "Amy's Kitchen CEO: Only in America can you consume GMOs without knowing it". FoodNavigator-USA.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  16. ^ "GMO - Amy's Kitchen - We Love To Cook For You™". amys.com. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ a b "Amy's Kitchen promotes Unkovic to CEO". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  19. ^ "Petaluma-based Amy's Kitchen hires global president". The North Bay Business Journal. November 15, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  20. ^ Sarfaty, Cheryl (May 11, 2021). "Amy's Kitchen CEO departs; founder steps back into top role". The North Bay Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "Amy's Kitchen | E.S. Kluft & Co | Bag Makers, Inc | Brooklyn Flea". How I Made My Millions. September 18, 2012. CNBC.
  22. ^ "This Family Built a Half-Billion-Dollar Business on Frozen Pies". Inc.com. June 29, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  23. ^ Thompson, david. "Why Amy's Kitchen's Community Outreach Remains a Key Ingredient". tech times.
  24. ^ Watrous, Monica (December 16, 2020). "Amy's Kitchen becomes Certified B Corporation". Food Business News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  25. ^ "Amy's Kitchen names longtime employee as its new president". North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  26. ^ Mathieu, Henry. "Amy's Kitchen names president amid leadership reshuffle". JustFood. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  27. ^ Poinski, Megan. "Amy's Kitchen adds another new executive, promoting VP to company president". Food Dive. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  28. ^ "State fines Amy's Kitchen $25,000 for labor safety violations at Santa Rosa plant". August 5, 2022.
  29. ^ Facundo, Jarod (May 16, 2022). "Hell in Amy's Kitchen". The American Prospect. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  30. ^ "'Treated like donkeys': Amy's Kitchen accused of leaving some factory workers injured". NBC News. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  31. ^ a b Shanker, Deena (June 1, 2022). "Amy's Kitchen Faces Labor Complaints at Its San Jose Plant". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  32. ^ Rooney, Kimberly (August 4, 2022). "Amy's Kitchen closes San Jose facility after workers organize". Prism. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  33. ^ "Amy's Kitchen Foods". Amy's Kitchen. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  34. ^ "Cheese rennet". Amy's Kitchen. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  35. ^ "FAQ".
  36. ^ "Bioengineering". Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  37. ^ "FAQ". Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  38. ^ "Do you offer vegan options?". Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  39. ^ [1] Amy's Gluten Free product list
  40. ^ Collings, Richard. "Amy's Kitchen to offer family-sized versions of top entrees". Axios. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  41. ^ Irwin, Heather (July 20, 2015). "Hundreds line up for debut of Amy's Drive Thru". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ Starostinetskaya, Anna (August 9, 2019). "Vegetarian Eatery Amy's Drive Thru Now Open at San Francisco International Airport". VegNews.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  44. ^ Battelle, Leanne (July 28, 2020). "Organic, vegetarian Amy's Drive Thru opens in Corte Madera on Aug. 4". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  45. ^ 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.
  46. ^ Axworthy, Nicole (June 7, 2021). "Amy's Meatless Drive-Thru Is Coming to Southern California". VegNews.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  47. ^ "Amy's Drive Thru permanently closes Roseville restaurant". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  48. ^ "Amy's Drive Thru Opens Its First SoCal Location In Thousand Oaks". Patch. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  49. ^ Schlepp, Travis. "Popular organic food brand opens first drive-thru restaurant in Southern California". KTLA. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  50. ^ "Amy's Drive Thru New Location in Thousand Oaks California". Foodgressing. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
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