Milestones
We started as a nonprofit agricultural school on a hilltop farm and evolved into the organic yogurt company we are today. So we’ve done some changing. But we’ve also stayed the same. Right from the beginning, we’ve been committed to healthy food, healthy people and a healthy planet. How better for us to show you Stonyfield’s evolution than with stones? Milestones, that is.
1989
Moos from the Farm
Our first “Moosletter” is published.
Number of employees: 42
Cases produced each week: 8,050
Annual sales: $2,500,000
1990
Adopt-A-Cow
We launch our Adopt-A-Cow program (later renamed Have-A-Cow) to create awareness of the link between the food we eat and our environment, and to teach consumers about the value of supporting family farmers and sustainable farming methods.
Climbing the ladder
We’re listed as #113 on Inc. 500’s 1990 List of Fastest Growing Companies in the USA.
1991
You’re invited
We open the Stonyfield Farm Visitors Center.
What’s cookin’?
The first Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Cookbook is published. We show people how to mix the nutritional goodness of our yogurt into everything from breakfast waffles to main dishes to elegant desserts.
Number of employees: 66
Cases produced each week: 21,154
Annual sales: $6,600,000
1992
Yo! Gurt!
We hold a contest to name our cow. Elizabeth Malakie of Falls Church, VA suggests “Gertie” so that when we call her, we say, “Yo! Gert!” Our beloved mascot is named Gurt.
Limited editions
We add three new (now-defunct) flavors to our nonfat yogurt line: Tropical Fruit, Guava Papaya and Prune Whip. We also launch “Frookwich,” which is delicious vanilla frozen yogurt sandwiched between two whole-wheat, fruit juice sweetened Frookie brand cookies. Unfortunately, the cookies become soggy and, because we were unwilling to add an artificial ingredient to prevent this, we retire this product after 1½ years.
Number of employees: 72
Cases produced each week: 32,700
Annual sales: $10,200,000
1993
Advancing the mission
With our company now safely afloat, we’re able to devote more resources to our environmental goals. We embark on new environmental initiatives, from establishing an extensive recycling program and energy retrofit of our Yogurt Works, to working with Oxfam America to promote sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Profits for the Planet
We launch our Profits for the Planet program and begin giving 10% of our profits to efforts that help protect and restore the earth.
Number of employees: 90
Cases produced each week: 40,064
Annual sales: $12,500,000
1994
No rBST
As Monsanto successfully convinces the FDA to allow sales of the controversial synthetic bovine growth hormone rBST (or rBGH), we become the first dairy processor in America to secure agreements with milk suppliers to ensure that the milk they sell us comes from cows not treated with rBST.
Season’s greetings
We produce lowfat eggnog during the holiday season.
Number of employees: 96
Cases produced each week: 50,500
Annual sales: $15,400,000
1995
Certified organic
We start making certified organic yogurt. A couple of years later, we also convert our ice cream and hard-pack frozen yogurt to certified organic.
“Big Gurt”
We solve the earlier problems with the Frookwich and introduce “Big Gurt,” which is vanilla frozen yogurt sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies.
Planet Protectors
Planet Protectors Lowfat Yogurt for kids is launched, and we partner with Earth Force, an organization that helps kids learn about the environment and how to take action to protect and restore it.
Number of employees: 104
Cases produced each week: 67,300
Annual sales: $21,400,000
1997
Put a lid on global warming
We team up with the Union of Concerned Scientists to raise awareness of global warming. We begin offsetting the Yogurt Works’ CO2 emissions and develop a guide called Reversing Global Warming: Offsetting Carbon Dioxide Emissions for other businesses and individuals interested in decreasing their impact on the climate.
