Amy's Kitchen
Amy's Kitchen 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 since 1988, the company took its name from their daughter, Amy. All of Amy's 250+ products are vegetarian and made with organic ingredients. The company also operates a chain of four vegetarian fast food restaurants in California 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.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 Petaluma, California. It operates processing plants in Santa Rosa, California, Medford, Oregon, Pocatello , Idaho, and San Jose, California. A new processing plant in Goshen, New York 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'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 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'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 company achieved B Corporation certification in late 2020, indicating it demonstrates high standards of social and environmental performance. In January 2022, NBCNews.com reported  accounts by five current and former employees of tough working conditions and mistreatment at the Amy's plant in Santa Rosa, California. Products. As of 2017, the company makes more than 250 organic products in 27 categories, including burritos, bowls, pizza, wraps, soup, chili, and candy. All of Amy's products are vegetarian. Amy's products do not contain meat, animal rennet, seafood, eggs, peanuts, bioengineered ingredients, 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. The company has over 120 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. The first Amy's Drive Thru restaurant opened in Rohnert Park, California, on July 20, 2015. It is a vegetarian fast food restaurant concept, featuring veggie burgers, shakes, French fries, pizzas, macaroni and cheese and salads. Vegan and gluten free 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 in December 2021. The company plans to open locations in Aliso Viejo and Thousand Oaks in 2022.