In a profile of Amy’s Kitchen founders Andy and Rachel Berliner and their daughter and namesake Amy, Santa Rosa California’s Press Democrat also detailed the company’s plans to abandon building a new plant in the low-cost state of South Carolina, 25 year old Amy’s new role with the company and a promise to keep the growing and hugely successful company family run.
Amy’s plans in South Carolina were cancelled due to the company’s inability to source local produce. As noted in the story, Amy’s purchases 32 million pounds of organic tomatoes a year from California growers. Amy’s, like Nature’s Path and other organic leaders needs to maintain long term contracts with growers in order to maintain ingredient supply and avoid market fluctuations that could impact profit margins and out of stocks. Amy’s new plant would employ 800 people and would be built in Santa Rosa or in Medford, Oregon where the company noted in previous reports that it already owns a lot of property.
Wonder what sort of tax breaks economic development officers in both areas are cooking up?
The company’s 25th year in business included an extensive new product launch at the recent Natural Products Expo West and news that the 25 year old Stanford graduate and only child, Amy Berliner would begin apprenticing to her father as part of her hands on training to become the next CEO of the company. Berliner worked for the company in the United Kingdom for a year prior to returning to California.
As for selling the company she she told the Press Democrat “I’ve made a commitment to the company that I will keep it family-owned.”
Check out a video interview with the Berliner’s on CNBC How I Made My Millions here.
