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Amy's Kitchen, Inc.,
doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
Amy's, is a family-owned, privately-held American company based in
Petaluma, California Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, that manufactures
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
and non-
GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
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 food Freezing food Food preservation, preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved grains and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing foo ...
s. Founded in 1987 by Andy and Rachel Berliner, and incorporated in 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 Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
and made with organic ingredients. The company also operates a chain of three vegetarian fast food restaurants in California called Amy's Drive Thru.


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 A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
of the Magic Mountain herb tea company. 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 Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
. 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. Amy's employs over 2,600 people and its corporate headquarters is in
Petaluma, California Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
. It operates processing plants in
Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...
,
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, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...
, and
Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...
, 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, before performing "When The Ship Comes In" with Keith Richards and Ron Wood at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine, B ...
's annual benefit concert in 2012, 2013, and 2014. 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 Royal Canin () is a French manufacturer and global supplier of cat and dog food. The company is a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. It undertakes research into the specific nutritional needs of dogs and cats. The company was established by Frenc ...
Canada and CEO of Royal Canin USA. Unkovic was promoted to
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
in August 2020 but left in May 2021. 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 CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
'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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. 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. The company achieved
B Corporation In business, a company that uses the “Certified B Corporation” trademark (also B Corporation or B Corp) is a for-profit corporation certified for its social impact by B Lab, a global non-profit organization. To be granted and to maintain c ...
certification in late 2020. Amy’s Kitchen named Paul Schiefer as company president in 2023 after he served as interim president for its drive-thru division.


Safety violations and labor relations

Amy's was criticized for its working conditions and paid $26,025 to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...
. In January 2022, Cal/OSHA’s records show an investigator visited the plant on three days. The company was fined $6,825 for one serious violation and 8 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. In 2022, the company was accused of
union busting Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or weaken the power 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 anywhe ...
. In June 2022, workers at its San Jose facility filed a claim over unsafe working conditions. In August, the same plant was shut down citing widespread supply chain disruptions and fluctuating consumer demand.
UNITE HERE UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 b ...
alleged Amy’s Kitchen disciplined employees for participation in labor activities prior to the shutdown.


Products

As of 2017, the company makes more than 250 organic products in 27 categories, including
burrito A burrito (, ) or burro in Mexico is, historically, a regional name, among others, for what is known as a taco, a tortilla filled with food, in other parts of the country. The term ''burrito'' was regional, specifically from Guanajuato, Guerre ...
s, bowls, pizza, wraps, soup, chili, and candy. All of Amy's products are
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
. Amy's products do not contain meat, seafood, eggs, animal rennet,
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, 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 by small and large ...
s, bioengineered ingredients, or
hydrogenated oil Fat hydrogenation is the process of combining unsaturated fat with hydrogen in order to partially or completely convert it into saturated fat. Typically this hydrogenation is done with liquid vegetable oils resulting in solid or semi-solid fats. ...
s. The majority of the food products have
Kosher certification A hechsher or hekhsher (; "prior approval"; plural: ''hechsherim'') is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items (usually foods) that conform to the requirements of Jewish religious law. Forms A hechsher may be a printed and signed ...
; 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 products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
offerings and makes over 130 gluten-free products. In 2023, the company introduced family-sized versions of top products. The company serves over 14 million consumers a year.


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 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, Waka ...
, on July 20, 2015. It is a
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
restaurant concept, featuring veggie burgers along with other
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
and
gluten free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of prolamin proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats ...
menu options. In July 2019, a takeout location was opened at
San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport for the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco, the airport has a San Francisco mailing ...
in the newly remodeled Harvey Milk Terminal 1. A third Amy's Drive Thru opened in Corte Madera in August 2020.


See also

*
List of vegetarian and vegan companies This is a list of vegetarian and vegan companies that do not use animal products or animal-based products in their goods. Such companies include food manufacturers and cosmetics companies, among others. Vegetarian and vegan companies Gen ...


References


External links

* * {{Veganism and vegetarianism Companies based in Sonoma County, California Economy of Santa Rosa, California Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Privately held companies based in California Vegetarian companies and establishments of the United States American companies established in 1987 Food and drink companies established in 1987 1987 establishments in California Food and drink companies based in California Petaluma, California B Lab-certified corporations Pasta sauce brands