May 28, 2004
We celebrate rising to new heights
Yesterday the folks at the Stonyfield Farm production plant here in Londonderry, New Hampshire celebrated “Mission Possible: Proof Positive”—to recognize all the accomplishments here at our fast-growing company just since the beginning of the year. Suffice it to say that we’re breaking all production records, adding employees like crazy, and selling a lot of yogurt across the country. One of the big changes around here is a super fast and efficient new machine—The Arcil Form, Fill & Seal--that helps us get the yogurt out the door, with a 33 percent reduction in packaging, i.e. less material, energy and waste and thus a much smaller ecological footprint . That machine debuted in March, so yesterday we held a symbolic Ribbon Cutting for it.
To give you an idea of the amount of yogurt we’re producing, take a look at one small section of our storage cooler! Good thing we're not afraid of rising to new heights!
May 25, 2004
Crazy about O'Naturals sandwiches
In his "spare time", Stonyfield CE'Yo Gary has founded an exciting new company based on the idea that "fast" food doesn’t have to be nutritionally lousy food. O’Naturals now has four New England-based natural and organic fast food restaurants, with more on the way. Gary says he was tired of scrambling for healthy food while driving his kids around to soccer games and on family vacations. We asked his co-founder, Mac McCabe, a few questions about how this new venture is going. (He’s O’Naturals President and CEO, but likes to refer to himself as Chief Executive O’Naturalist.)
Q: What have been the most popular items on your menus? And the least popular?
A: Our sandwiches are our most popular, all made with our incredible flatbread that everybody loves. There are too many to list here, but our beef, chicken, salmon, bison meatloaf and veggie selections are all incredible. And over the past few months we have added monthly specials. To learn more about the selections, you can check out our menu online.
I have to say that pretty much everything is popular. And that's because the customers helped us to develop the menu. Jay Friedlander, our Chief Operating O'Naturalist, tested everything with our target audience prior to opening. And even now we never try a new menu item without input from our customers.
--Mac McCabe, Chief Executive O'Naturalist
May 24, 2004
HER JOB IS TO TASTE THE YOGURT
Last week we told you about how Stonyfield yogurt eaters often write to us with flavor suggestions. One of the persons responsible for developing new products and flavors here in our Stonyfield Research and Development lab is Lisa Hammer, who will launch several new projects this fall—not the least of which will be the arrival of twins in the household she shares with husband, Barry, in Pembrooke, New Hampshire. Lisa has been developing new products in the Stonyfield lab for more than three years. When one of the first products she helped develop hit the grocery store shelves after months of patient testing and reformulating, she says she could hardly restrain herself. “I wanted to go touch it and tell people in the store that this was my baby,” she said, “but then I didn’t want them to think I was a fanatic.”
Lisa loved Stonyfield yogurt before her job, and welcomed the idea of getting to eat it everyday. In the lab, however, sometimes that’s not an altogether pleasant experience. Her experiments to create new products or new flavors usually have to sit overnight, to let flavors meld. In the morning, she tastes everything. Every now and then she’ll get something that’s a little…off.
Lisa makes sure every cup of yogurt produced here is the same high quality as the first cup, which can get tricky. A strawberry in June may not taste the same as a strawberry in January, for instance.
Does she get sick of all the yogurt she has to taste? “No,” she says, admitting that Banilla is her favorite flavor. “I don’t get sick of it and even find myself craving it over the weekend when I’ve been away from it for two days!”
And her twins, due in November? “They’ll definitely be YoBaby eaters as soon as they’re able.”
May 21, 2004
No French fries, just good food
In his “spare time”, Gary has founded an exciting new company based on the idea that “fast” food doesn’t have to be nutritionally lousy food. O’Natural’s now has four New England-based natural and organic fast food restaurants, with more on the way. Gary says he was tired of scrambling for healthy food while driving his kids around to soccer games and on family vacations. We asked his co-founder Mac McCabe a few questions about how this new venture is going. (He’s O’Naturals President and CEO, but likes to refer to himself as Chief Executive O’Naturalist.)
Q: Do you get customers into the O'Naturals restaurants who don't really realize what they're getting into? I mean, are they looking for French Fries?
A: There is nothing I enjoy more than making a convert out of a new customer who is not quite sure what we're about. For committed natural foods people, who have been eating Stonyfield yogurts for years, it's a no-brainer. But for someone who thinks that natural food means you have to chew it a lot (that was Gary’s description of natural food in the 1980s), we love getting a new customer to find out how simply delicious it is. The first way that this happens is by getting a piece of our incredible organic flatbread in their mouths. There is always a bowl of small pieces by the door for them to sample. Once the new customer gets that incredible taste in his or her mouth, you see a smile develop and we know we've got them.
May 20, 2004
Flavor suggestions always welcome
Thanks to e-mail and our web site, we get lots of letters from our devoted Stonyfield yogurt eaters and we love hearing from them. Often they’ll write us with flavor suggestions, which we always take into consideration. Just in the last month, people have taken the time to tell us they’d like to see coffee, kiwi, pumpkin (specifically with cinnamon and nutmeg), kiwi, and pineapple flavors. And, ever since we introduced our Vanilla Smoothie in April of this year, we’re suddenly getting lots of suggestions for producing a Chocolate Smoothie—not surprising, when you think about it. (I’m hoping, as a Stonyfield employee, that I have some extra sway in this area.) While we can’t guarantee you’ll see all these flavors reach the grocery stores, we love hearing your suggestions and knowing what people want. You may send suggestions right here, to our blog comment area, if you so desire. Keep those cards and letters coming!
--Chris, Chief Blogger
Current yogurt obsession: Vanilla Smoothie
May 19, 2004
They're wild about bison at O'Naturals
In his "spare time", Gary has founded an exciting new company based on the idea that "fast" food doesn’t have to be nutritionally lousy food. O’Naturals now has four New England-based natural and organic fast food restaurants, with more on the way. Gary says he was tired of scrambling for healthy food while driving his kids around to soccer games and on family vacations. We asked his co-founder Mac McCabe a few questions about how this new venture is going. (He’s O’Naturals President and CEO, but likes to refer to himself as Chief Executive O’Naturalist.)
Q: Have you actually eaten bison meatloaf (an O’Natural’s menu mainstay)?
A: Well, to tell you the truth. I have not eaten red meat since 1976, so buffalo (or bison) doesn't happen to be in my diet profile. But, all my meat-eating friends are wild about it, in part because it's truly wild. Unlike farm-raised bison, ours get to run and roam free on the plains and develop the good muscle tone which makes its meat so delicious. It's actually the same with our wild salmon, which by swimming freely develops more muscle, which in turn makes it more flavorful. The bonus with our bison is that they are helping to restore grasslands
May 18, 2004
Graduates told they'll have to fix environment and health problems
When Stonyfield Farm CE’Yo Gary was invited to speak at commencement ceremonies last weekend at Bentley College, a business university in Waltham, MA., here’s what he told them:
“The bad news is that we who have gone before you have messed up the world in so many ways that you have no choice but to address global environmental and health problems in your careers. But the good news is that addressing such social and environmental problems is not only a growth sector, but it is the most powerful way I know to gain a competitive advantage and to build a powerful brand or business. Take it from me, I run a business that has been a 22-year overnight success.”
The folks at Bentley were kind enough to award Gary an honorary degree. Above, Gary’s in the middle, with Bentley’s Elkin B. McCallum, chairman of the Board of Trustees, on the left and Bentley President Joseph G. Morone on the right.>
May 17, 2004
Fast Food Goes O'Natural
In his “spare time”, Stonyfield CE'Yo Gary has founded an exciting new company based on the idea that “fast” food doesn’t have to be nutritionally lousy food. O’Naturals now has four New England-based natural and organic fast food restaurants, with more on the way. Gary says he was tired of scrambling for healthy food while driving his kids around to soccer games and on family vacations. We asked his co-founder Mac McCabe a few questions about how this new venture is going. (He’s O’Naturals President and CEO, but likes to refer to himself as Chief Executive O’Naturalist.)
Q: When you tell people you are an O'Naturalist, do they look at you funny?
A: Not only do I tell them I am an O'Naturalist. I tell them I am Chief Executive O'Naturalist. Our management team includes both the Chief Operating O'Naturalist and the Director of O'Naturalists. Actually, when I tell a customer, the response is uniformly accompanied by a smile. They get how proud we are of what we do.
Look for more chats with Mac at O'Naturals in the coming days.
May 12, 2004
We're the Best Smoothie in New Hampshire
Stonyfield Farm’s smoothies were voted the "Best of New Hampshire" by more than 3,300 New Hampshire Magazine readers in an annual poll. Our smoothies come in six flavors, and they have been so popular we just introduced two new flavors in April--Vanilla and Tropical Banana .
New Hampshire Magazine editor Rock Broussard notes that the poll attracted a record number of voters, who cast their ballots by mail and on-line. Winners will be celebrated at the annual “Best of NH 2004” celebration June 24 in Manchester.
May 11, 2004
JUNK FOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, AND WEIRD YOGURT NEWS
Some days are just tailor-made for blogging. I was going to tell you how cold and rock-hard New Hampshire turns a wonderful shade of lovely this time of year, when spring finally explodes. It's been doing that for the past week--apple trees are bright pink, dogwoods are brilliant white, forsythia are a golden yellow, and the lilacs are peeking out purple. Turns an unruly morning commute into a pleasant drive, it does. But, then I heard on my car radio two reports of interest to those of us in the organic yogurt business. The Center for Science in the Public Interest today released a report that says, guess what, there's too much junk food in the vending machines at public schools. (Read the full report over in the Creating Healthy Kids blog.) And, then the radio tells me of another big report showing that U.S. residents have pesticide levels in their blood that are above the level that is considered safe! Yikes! (Read the full report over in The Dairy Planet blog. Or check out our own Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.)
But, at last, I focus on two weird items involving yogurt and pregnancy...and I can't resist. The first comes from the St. Louis Zoo, where zookeepers were perplexed by an orangutan who became pregnant despite the birth control efforts they were undertaking. Turns out the orangutan's son had eaten the yogurt and honey mixture used to administer the birth control concoction. No word whether the ill-gotten yogurt was a Stonyfield product, but we like to dream. Second, it seems some folks think eating yogurt can help you conceive a girl baby. A woman named Jennifer, featured on the CBS Morning News, reportedly ate Stonyfield Farm yogurt and eggs, among other things, to increase her chances of having a girl. She had a boy, but we bet mother and baby are healthier for the effort, just the same.
--Chris, Chief Blogger
Current yogurt obsession: Chillin' Cherry Squeezers
May 10, 2004
TAKE THE TOUR--IT GETS RAVE REVIEWS
We had to share this nice note from a visitor in our Yogurt Works Visitor's Center recently:
Earlier this week, I was visiting my cousin who lives near your plant. It was a damp gray New England Spring day and we had a couple of hours to kill and decided to stop by your plant. We figured we would not see too much but decided to take the tour once we were there. Again not expecting much. I just wanted to write and tell you that Stonyfield has a fantastic tour guide and employee - Diane. Although there were only three of us on the tour, she was very much into hyping up the plant and the company's philosophy with as much excitement and enthusiasm as possible. She answered all our questions (I expected to have none but had a hundred) with accuracy and intelligence. I also saw her working with small children and she had as much enjoyment talking to and teaching them as she did with us. She made the tour fun and sold us on Stonyfield for a lifetime.
We hope you'll stop by the farm and take our tour someday, too.
May 06, 2004
CELEBRATING THE MOTHERS OF STONYFIELD
My Mom, though outwardly a traditional 50’s stay-at-home Mom, is exceptionally strong. She and my Dad got married out of college, and a month before the wedding, both her parents died, within 3 weeks of each other. So they had a small ceremony, and my mother stayed in Connecticut to look after her younger brother, before joining my Dad in North Carolina, on a marine base where he was stationed.
They returned and made their home in Connecticut, where she had five children in seven years ( two boys were born the same year – one in January, one in December). She was by herself with four children in diapers while my Dad decided to go out on his own and build a business. He traveled a great deal ( as a salesman in New England) and was gone many nights, but she made it look easy. She also acted as a sounding board for my Dad as he built his business, and talked through things with him, entertained business contacts at home ( while trying to keep the kids upstairs and in bed).
Later, when we were in high school, she started a foundation that ultimately saved the small Catholic grammar school we all attended, at a time when many parochial schools were closing. Following that, in the 80’s, she started a small business buying homes that had been destroyed by fire, and fixing them up and selling them, all on her own.
I know there are more dramatic stories about mothers, and I myself think the most challenging job on earth is to be a single mother, but I appreciate the opportunity to talk about my Mom, who is vital, funny, irreverent, still in love with my Dad after 47 years, and is very much the glue that keeps our very close family ( now with 13 grandchildren under the age of 14) going.
--Cathleen, Communications
May 05, 2004
STONYFIELD ORGANIC ICE CREAM WINS THE DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO
The scoop today in The Daily Scoop is that taste-testers for the San Francisco Chronicle think Stonyfield Farm organic ice cream has "good dairy notes." (Well, we think so too, whatever that means!)
The taste test involved organic ice creams and one "regular" ice cream, Haagan-Daz, yet 3 out of 5 reviewers picked organic Stonyfield. You can read the whole Tasters Choice column, then go grab yourself a spoon and a pint.
--Chris, Chief Blogger
Current yogurt obsession: Vanilla Smoothie
May 04, 2004
WE DONATE OUR VERY HEALTHY BLOOD
Last week we had the Red Cross Bloodmobile stop in to our parking lot, an event that happens here at our corporate offices twice a year. The reports are in: We gave 20 pints this time around, for which the Red Cross was grateful.
Let’s see, to replace one pint of blood, you have to eat how many cups of yogurt…
--Chris, Chief Blogger,
Current yogurt obsession: Fat Free Chocolate Underground
May 03, 2004
UNDO IT--CLIMATE CHANGE
If you haven't already noticed Gurt, our favorite cow, putting her hoof to a petition on our Lid of the Month, check it out. Sign the petition to demonstrate your support of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, a bipartisan reaction to the dangers of global warming . You can tell your friends. You can get a free smoothie. You might win a free t-shirt. Best of all, you might do some good in the world. Gurt would approve.