Amy's Kitchen is a family-owned, privately-held American company based in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

, that manufactures organic and non- GMO

convenience Convenient procedures, products and services are those intended to increase ease in accessibility, save resources (such as time, effort and energy) and decrease frustration. A modern convenience is a labor-saving device, service or substance ...

and frozen foods. Founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and incorporated since 1988, the company took its name from their daughter, Amy. All of Amy's 250+ products are

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

and made with organic ingredients. The company also operates a chain of four vegetarian fast food restaurants in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

called Amy's Drive Thru.

Company

The co-founders of Amy's Kitchen, 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. 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 to meet demand. Amy's employs over 2,700 people and its corporate headquarters is in

. It operates processing plants in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the M ...

, Pocatello, Idaho, and formerly at

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. A new processing plant in

Goshen, New York Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 13,687 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen. It contains a village also called Goshen, which is the county seat of Orange Count ...

is expected to open in 2022. Amy's Kitchen supports non-GMO food and GMO labeling initiatives, and was a major sponsor of

Farm Aid Farm Aid is an annual benefit concert held for American farmers. History On July 13, 1985, while performing at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine, Bob Dylan made comments about family farmers within the United St ...

's annual benefit concert in 2012, 2013, and 2014. In May 2017, the company hired a new global president, former

Mars Inc. Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priv ...

executive Xavier Unkovic who had worked as global president of Mars Drinks, CEO of

Royal Canin Royal Canin is a French manufacturer of cat and dog food. A subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated, the company also undertakes research into the formulation and testing of breed and symptom specific nutritional requirements of dogs and cats. The compa ...

Canada and CEO of Royal Canin USA. Unkovic was promoted to CEO in August 2020 but left the company in May 2021. Because Amy's is a private entity, its annual earnings are not public knowledge. It reported gross sales of over $300 million in 2012 on

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

's "How I Made My Millions." 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. In 2020, it rose to $600 million per year with demand from the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. The company achieved

B Corporation In the United States, a benefit corporation (or in several jurisdictions including Delaware, a public-benefit corporation or PBC) is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, that include ...

certification in late 2020, indicating it demonstrates high standards of social and environmental performance.

Safety violations and labor relations

Amy's has been criticized for its working conditions and has had to pay over $100,000 to the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...

to settle serious federal health and safety violations. In January and February 2022, Cal/OSHA’s records show an investigator visited the plant on three days in late January and early February. Workplace safety inspectors fined the company $25,070 for three serious violations and 10 other infractions after inspections of the company’s Santa Rosa food production plant. According to the California Division of Occupational Safety, regulators found the company did not ensure that machines to prepare tortillas had proper safety guards secured over hazardous machine components. The agency fined Amy’s $10,125 for the oversight. On the same day, investigators found that emergency showers and eyewash stations were either not reachable within 10 seconds or were not kept free of obstacles, which resulted in a $6,750 fine. The company has also been accused of

union busting Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or prevent the formation of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace. Union busting tactics can refer to both legal and illegal activities, and can range ...

. In June 2022, workers at its San Jose facility reported dangerous working conditions, health and safety issues, and poor labor practices. In August, the same plant was shutdown after workers started to organize a union with Unite Here, a union representing approximately 300,000 workers in Canada and the U.S. The closure occurred after Amy's Kitchen had disciplined employees for participation in labor activities, coupled with the termination of two employees for supporting a union. Unite Here is seeking a temporary injunction to halt the practices.

Products

As of 2017, the company makes more than 250 organic products in 27 categories, including

burrito A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or stea ...

s, bowls, pizza, wraps, soup, chili, and candy. All of Amy's products are

. Amy's products do not contain meat, animal rennet, seafood, eggs,

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

s, bioengineered ingredients, or hydrogenated oils. The majority of the food products have

Kosher certification A hechsher (; he, הֶכְשֵׁר "prior approval"; plural: ''hechsherim'') is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items (usually foods) that conform to the requirements of halakha. Forms A hechsher may be a printed and signed certif ...

; 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. The company has over 120

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

offerings and makes over 130 gluten-free products. Amy's is widely available in the United States and Canada, and increasingly available in other countries such as the U.K., Germany, and Australia. Distribution is growing in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and China.

Amy's Drive Thru

Amy's Drive-Thru Vegan Fast Food Burger (28409157713)

The first Amy's Drive Thru restaurant opened in

Rohnert Park, California Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

, on July 20, 2015. It is a

fast food restaurant concept, featuring veggie burgers, shakes, French fries,

pizzas Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onion ...

macaroni and cheese Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom BBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce. The ...

and

salads A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

Vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

and

gluten free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclu ...

menu options are available. In July 2019, a takeaway location was opened at San Francisco International Airport in the newly remodeled Harvey Milk Terminal 1. A third Amy's Drive Thru opened in Corte Madera in August 2020, followed by one in

Roseville, California Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Rout ...

in December 2021. The company plans to open locations in

Aliso Viejo Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 47,823 as of the 2010 census, up from 40,166 as of the 2000 census. It became Orange County's 34th city on ...

and

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

in 2022.

References

External links