Love Grown Foods

Love Grown Foods is a natural food company that manufactures a line of all natural breakfast foods. They have six products, Oat Clusters, Hot Oats Cups, Super Oats, Power O's, Mighty Flakes and Super Oats Packets. The company was founded in January 2008 by Maddy D’Amato and Alex Hasulak after developing their product line as undergraduate students at the University of Denver. The company markets its products in grocery stores across The United States and Canada.

History

Love Grown Foods was founded in Aspen, Colorado by Maddy D’Amato and Alex Hasulak. They met at the University of Denver, where they founded the company in January 2008.[1] They met as freshman and were roommates during their final year when they made the first batch of Love Grown Foods Oat Clusters. As seniors, D’Amato (’08) and Hasulak (’08) asked University of Denver students for help in perfecting their homemade granola recipe. They did so by bringing samples of their product to campus for their classmates and teachers.[2] They both graduated early and moved to Aspen shortly after graduation to start Love Grown Foods.

The first store to carry the Oat Clusters was their local city market in Aspen, CO.[1] To promote their products, D’Amato and Hasulak would spend weekends in local supermarkets where they handed out samples of their product and espoused their company's corporate beliefs. The company has been noted for contributing to the revitalization the moribund economy of the Aspen region by the local newspaper, The Aspen times.[3]

In December 2009 Maddy and Alex relocated to Denver to expand production.[1] At the start of the company, the couple cooked all of their products themselves in a commercial kitchen near their Stapleton neighborhood.[4] By January 2010, Love Grown granola was being sold in 80 super markets across Colorado and Wyoming. In January 2011 the Kroger grocery chain picked up the Oat Clusters and Love Grown Foods product line and were sold in more than 1,300 stores in 28 states. The brand was launched in Canada by February 2012. In December 2012 Love Grown Foods expanded its product line to include Hot Oats instant oatmeal cups. In August 2013 they released their third product line, Super Oats. By March 2014 they added Power O's to their line of breakfast products. In the spring of 2015 they launched two more products, Mighty Flakes and Power O's.

Mission

The mission of Love Grown Foods is to create delicious foods that are full of nutritional benefits and that are available to everyone, while educating kids, parents, and teachers on the importance of eating healthy.[5] The company is passionate about changing the way people think about and eat food by providing healthy foods that are delicious.[1]

Passion

Love Grown Foods' PASSION initiative aims to give school kids an education on how to properly fuel their bodies with the right foods and the importance of a healthy breakfast. They are seeking to empower and inspire kids to grow up healthy and happy.[6] By 2012 Love Grown Foods reached over 2,000 students through the PASSION program.[1]

Products

Love Grown Foods currently markets 6 breakfast products. The company offers gluten-free and Non-GMO Project verified options. Note that while all their products claim to be "wheat free", their cereal products are made in a facility that processes wheat and therefore may contain wheat.

Recognition

Love Grown Foods has received favorable reviews for their products from the Examiner.com,[7] The Aspen Times,[3] The Denver Post and other media outlets.[8][9]

Competition

Love Grown Foods faces competition from other natural granola companies. Bear Naked is by far the largest competitor because of the national availability of Bear Naked products. Ola! Granola is similar to Love Grown, but is currently only in the North Eastern United States.[15] Another Colorado based competitor is Udi’s granola. Udi’s Healthy Foods has a larger market share, spreading through parts of the Pacific States and Upper Midwest.[16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Love Grown Foods About". Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Oksenhorn, Stewart (26 July 2009). "Young Aspen entrepreneurs bring idealism to business". The Aspen Times. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  3. 1 2 Andersen, Paul (2 November 2009). "Paul Andersen: Fair Game". The Aspen Times. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Oksenhorn, Stewart (24 February 2010). "Aspen granola brand takes off for local couple". The Aspen Times. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "LGF Homepage".
  6. ↑ "Passion".
  7. ↑ Thomas, Nicole (7 March 2011). "Love Grown Foods' Oat Clusters & Love". Examiner.com.
  8. ↑ "Out there: Killer cereal". The Denver Post. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Colorado granola makers hope to spread 'Love'" 9News.com, (NBC affiliate) Jan 27, 2011
  10. ↑ Leff, Jim (18 November 2009). "Gigunda Granola Tasting Results". Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  11. ↑ "Colorado Companies to Watch".
  12. ↑ "About Colorado Companies to Watch".
  13. ↑ "Top Women in Grocery 2014 Winners".
  14. ↑ "Gourmet Retailer".
  15. ↑ Ola! Granola
  16. ↑ Udi's Granola

External links

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