What's next for Amy's Kitchen as it turns 30?
In December 1987, exactly 30 years ago next month, Rachel and Andy Berliner cooked up a vegetarian pot pie, the first product for their new food business. The couple eventually named their new company after their new daughter Amy, born one month before their first pot pie, in November 1987.
The Petaluma-based company, still owned by the Berliners, has since grown into a major Sonoma County employer and a powerhouse in the world of natural frozen foods.
Amy's today features more than 250 vegetarian items, including frozen entrées, pizzas and burritos, plus canned food, pasta sauces and confectionery. Those items, many made with organic ingredients, are produced in plants in Santa Rosa; White City, Oregon; Pocatello, Idaho; and soon in new facilities in Goshen, New York; and Porto, Portugal, the latter to serve European markets.
Meanwhile, the company is preparing to build on the success of its first organic fast-food restaurant, Amy's Drive Thru. That eatery opened in 2015 in Rohnert Park and features organic veggie burgers, shakes, salads, burritos and pizzas. Now the company is planning to build a second restaurant in Corte Madera.
Today Amy's Kitchen employs more than 2,600 workers, including over 1,000 in Sonoma County.
Officials declined to update annual revenues for the privately held company. They last did so for 2015, when total sales approached $480 million.
The latest outside data on the company, from Chicago-based market research firm IRI, reports that sales of Amy's frozen food products at “multi-outlet” U.S. establishments totaled $457 million for the 52-week period ending Nov. 5. Those sales, from supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores and other outlets, represented an increase of 3.3 percent from a similar period a year earlier.
Among makers of single-serve frozen entrées and dinners, Amy's ranked fourth - behind Nestle USA, Conagra Brands and Bellisio Foods - with $295 million in U.S. sales and growth of 6.5 percent for the same 12-month period.
This month the company announced its new position of global president will be filled by Xavier Unkovic, a former executive for Mars Inc. Unkovic joined Amy's in May after seven years with Mars Drinks, including nearly four as the division's global president.
Here the Berliners and Unkovic shared answers via email on what's next for Amy's.
What have been key company highlights for 2017?
Berliners: We've had an exciting year at Amy's. We introduced 19 new products to our offerings, including several gluten- free and vegan, expanded our global presence in some key international markets and have seen continued success with the Amy's Drive Thru, including starting to serve breakfast.
What new directions are planned in the coming year?
Berliners: We're looking forward to growing our global customer base in 2018, as well as continued progress in the building of our first East Coast Amy's Kitchen plant in Goshen, New York, and second Amy's Drive Thru location in Corte Madera.
Amy's is a pioneer in natural and organic foods. What portion of sales do organic items currently comprise? What kind of growth do you foresee in your organic categories in the next few years? Do you see growth in organics keeping pace with or exceeding the broader natural foods categories?
Berliners: Categories in the organic food space continue to grow, even while conventional categories are declining. However, with the increased consumer demand, it's an important time to grow the organic supply chain and also to protect the integrity of the organic standards.
There is still a lot of education to be done about organic. Research shows that consumers still do not understand that organic food is non-GMO, plus a lot more. As grandparents, it feels more important than ever to us to educate consumers about the importance of choosing food that does the least harm.
Amy's now operates in 23 international markets. What can you tell us about your international growth plans?
Berliners: We have been so thrilled by the response from customers across our international markets over the last few years, and we're excited to continue to look into new regions of the world where we feel we have something to add.
We have a successful test market underway in India and are now studying the best location to manufacture there.
Last year Amy's announced it was considering building a plant 180 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal, but added that those plans could be affected by such factors as Great Britain's plans to exit the European Union. What update can you provide on those plans for the Portugal plant?
Berliners: We've purchased 20 acres and have graded the land to prepare for a plant in Porto, Portugal.