Gary's Blog

Organic Pasta Saga

2011-08-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

We have been selling Organic Pasta, made in the USA (Actually, made in California) since we started in business 16 years ago.

It was originally made for us by a small, family producer, that ran into trouble when is passed from one generation to the next.

One day about 10 years ago, I flew to LA to pick up our commission check, but when i got to the plant, the owner told me he had to get a certified check for $10,000 to PG&E so they kept supplying electrical power to the plant, and we never did get that check....and soon after, they were out of business.

We then switched to another pasta manufacturer in LA. First they were owned by a meat company, then got sold to a conglomerate, then got sold to a guy in the Asian noodle business. He told me at one point that he thought he could do well with pasta, because, like Asian noodles, they were made out of flour and water.

The first change he made, other than raising prices, was to cut back the number of SKUs (grocery lingo for 'stock keeping units') We went from 25 shapes to 8 or 9.

Up until then, i used to joke around that I wanted to be the Orzo King, because we had Organic White (Semolina) Orzo and Organic Whole Wheat Orzo, and I also wanted them to come out with Organic Rainbow Orzo and Organic Multigrain Orzo. Alas, it was not to be.

Then the new owner decided he didn't want to produce bulk pasta in our Natural Value brand...he wanted to come out with his own brand and simply take our business away. I told him that we had worked hard for 16 years building up our pasta business, and that we would sooner go somewhere else than turn our business over to him in exchange for.... nothing.

At first, it looked like we were going to have to source our pasta from Italy. They obviously make good pasta in Italy, and the pricing was very attractive, but Jody and I want to continue supporting American farmers and American manufacturers. We're proud of that. We feel like we're doing our part in helping our country and our people.

Right now, though, we are in transition, and will be out of product for another 2 weeks until the new US producer's product hits the market.

In the meantime, I still dream someday about being the Orzo King :)

Natural Products Expo

2011-03-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Natural Products Expo has come and gone.

It is always fun for me to see people I have been dealing with - buying from, selling to, competing with, or simply friends - from over 30 years. Sometimes, when I am with "real old timers", I joke that our random group of 3 has 100 years of natural food industry experience.

I am going to devote some blog posts to the show happenings....stay tuned!

Travel

2010-11-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it...1095 lifetime Marriott nights...3 years of staying in Marriott Hotels...

Name: Gary Cohen
Account number: xxxxxxxxx
Member Level: Platinum
Total Membership Nights: 1,095

I am definitely headed for more...

Wal Mart

2010-11-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

I consider myself a student of retail...actually a student of business. I like to say that I have a degree from the University of the Street.

The biggest company in the world is Wal Mart.
How did Wal Mart get to be the biggest company in the world? By supplying consumers with what they want to buy at affordable prices.

Now, Wal Mart today is a very different company than the one Sam Walton started years ago. And lately, their "same store sales" - which is how retailers measure how their stores are doing - have declined in the US.

Why is that?

Well, before I answer, I need to say...I have my hands full running my own business without trying to help Wal Mart's business :). However, I will try.

Lately, it seems, Wal Mart has strayed from the things that made them famous...namely, offering brand name, quality products at prices consumers can afford. Now, instead of giving consumers what they want - the stuff they have been buying - they are stocking what they think consumers should buy...

In my opinion, that is a mistake.

If "my" local store - and I'm not just referring to Wal Mart here - stops carrying the products I am buying, I am going to shop elsewhere. Apparently, that is what is happening.

Just because they are the world's largest corporation doesn't mean they are immune to making mistakes. Years ago, A&P, a grocery chain on the east coast, was so dominant, they had to sign a consent decree with the Federal government now to use their monopoly power. And K Mart used ti be far larger than Wal Mart....but neither of those companies is anything close to what they were decades ago.

It's very humbling to realize that tastes are fickle...today's hero can be tomorrow's loser.

For us, it boils down to something I tell the manufacturers we work with: We are a buying agent for our customers and their customers. We are constantly looking to sell quality organic food and non-food products...based on what our customers tell us they want. Anyone who forgets that basic philosophy is headed for trouble. And as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Distribution, Trucking

2010-11-17T21:47:00.001-08:00

I don't remember where I first heard it, but I adopted the slogan as my own...

"You can eliminate the distributor, but you can't eliminate the cost of distribution."

Meaning, there is a cost to getting a product from manufacturer to consumer...

Most products are sold by distributors. They purchase from a few or a few thousand different manufacturers, and they sell those products to hundreds or thousands of different accounts.

We sell our products to about 25 different distributors in the natural, specialty, pet food and retailer buying group "channels." Our goal in working with these distributors, is for them, and their customers, to purchase and sell our products to consumers.

We also work with one - count 'em, one - buying club...though we hope to do more business with buying clubs in the future.

Distributors as a necessary evil. We couldn't possibly sell all of our products to every retail account directly...and there is a cost involved in creating those sales. We do our best to try and minimize those costs to keep our products priced competitively.

We are rolling out some new products....more on that next time

News story - Tower Falls the Wrong Way

2010-11-12T05:04:00.001-08:00

News story: Tower Falls The Wrong Way

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/11/AR2010111100896.html

I never did well in science in school.

As a senior in high school, I had to take Physics, because I needed 2 years of science. I couldn't bring myself to disect a frog so I didn't take biology, so I took chemistry and physics.

Well, I didn't do well in physics.

I remember some of the problems we worked on: if a train is approaching going 100 miles an hour, how soon after it passes will you hear the whistle?

But the one I liked the best:

If a bulldozer is pulling on a tree with 150 pounds of pressure and a 65 degree angle, and another bulldozer is on the other side of the tree, pulling with 125 pounds of pressure and a 75 degree angle, which way will the tree fall?

My answer - I don't know - I'd look in the Yellow Pages for an engineer (when I was in high school there was no Google). But I knew for sure I wasn't going to say, well, I am an expert at Physics, and I know - for sure - that the tree is going to fall THAT WAY!!!! And to prove it, i will stand under the tree on the other side!!!

Well, it looks like even engineers can get it wrong...

BPA

2010-11-09T06:07:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I have posted about BPA - Bisphenol A - so I thought I would do an update.

It is certainly the topic that I get the most consumer emails on.

I do have a little good news to report.

It seems like the can industry is moving towards using alternatives.

For the longest time, our canners - relying on information from the can industry - said "there is nothing wrong with BPA." When I would get these emails from my suppliers, I would write back and say "you are on the wrong side of the issue...you need to be looking at alternatives."

Of course, in reality, it isn't that simple.

The can manufacturers turn out - I don't know - hundreds of thousands of cans per day...maybe millions...all coated with BPA.

The canners themselves have huge warehouses - millions of square feet that I have walked through. Right now, with the harvest over, they have filled, unlabeled cans of tomatoes, corn and other vegetables. Then during the year, as they ship out product to the customers, they start buying empty cans to put in the warehouses, in anticipation of next year's crop.

In other words, none of these can manufacturers have the capability to produce a year's worth of cans in a week or two before next year's harvest. They are making cans year round.

So where are we at today?

A consumer wrote to me this morning "...Is there someplace I can go to find information on putting pressure on the can manufacturers? Do I just need to be hassling my grocers, or are they at the mercy of their distributors..."

The can manufacturers are the ones in the middle. They have heard, loud and clear, that they need to start using alternatives to BPA. We have been told that a certain percentage of our Organic Tomato cans are BPA free...maybe 20%. We were also told that we can't order product to come in with BPA free cans...that it is going to take a year for the old cans to work their way through the system.

As to putting pressure on the can industry....it isn't just us - the organic folk - that want BPA free cans. They are hearing it from Wal Mart and the other big guys. The main difference, though, is we are telling our suppliers that they can increase our cost to cover the BPA free cans. Wal Mart and the other big guys? I can't speak for them...but Wal Mart didn't get to the size they are at by saying to their suppliers, "sure, go ahead and raise your prices to us..." if you know what I mean.

The canners themselves have produced - and put into their production sample rooms - cans without BPA. They want to be able to look at year old cans of beans, two year old cans of beans, and see if they maintain the same shelf life as they had with cans with BPA.

And that is an update as of today

Mentally preparing for getting an iPhone...

2010-09-26T01:09:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to get an iPhone...so I have been surfing and came across the following...not quite about the iPhone but interesting nonetheless...

From WiseGeek:

"Stewardesses" is perhaps the longest common word that can be typoed with only your left hand. If you consider more obscure words, however, you'll find that "aftercataracts" and "tesseradecades," are the longest words at 14 characters. Using only your right hand, the longest word you can type is "lollipop" but if you permit the use of dashes, then "Johnny-Jump-Up" — a type of flower — becomes the longest word you can type with only the right hand. Other words that you can type only with your left hand are "retweet," "gazette," "eraser," and "seatbelt." Other right hand words include "homonym," "unholy," "polyp," and "monopoly."

Other word oddities:
The longest word that you can type with alternating hands is "leptothricosis," which is an obsolete term for those diseases caused by the bacteria Leptothrix.

The only two English words with three consecutive sets of double letters are "bookkeeping" and "bookkeeper."

"Queueing" is the only word with five consecutive vowels; the word with the most consonants in a row is "latchstring."

I always liked homonyms :)....

News Headline and Comment

2010-09-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

I saw a headline this morning: "Michigan Announces $25 Million Settlement for Alleged Price Fixing Conspiracy."

Nobody is ever going to accuse our company of price fixing!

We have worked for 10 years to lower the price of natural and organic foods.

I remember when I started my natural food distributing business back in the late 70s. There were 4 large natural food distributors in Los Angeles. They all worked on the exact same 25% profit margin. They all had the exact same discount structure. The only difference in their pricing, was one of them rounded their prices to the nearest half or whole cent, and the others charged the exact price (.333 cents for something versus rounding to .335).

My goal then - as it is now - is to sell our products at a small profit. We don't look at other companies' pricing and say, "wow, we could charge double the price like they do." We have been the discounters, the renegades, the people that "ruin the industry's profit margins" - and we're proud of it.

Travel

2010-09-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

The next 5 weeks find me out on the toad...

This week, I head to Seattle for the Natural Foods Association Northwest show.

Next week, is a 3 part trip....to Minnesota to visit a pickle producer, then to Appleton for a visit at our Organic Corn cannery....ending up in Chicago with a distributor visit.

The following week is a trip to Idaho to see a bean plant.

Then the next week is a trip to New Mexico to visit a customer in Albuquerque, see a chiles plant in Deming, fly out of El Paso into Los Angeles for a couple more vendor meetings, then home...

And finally, the week of October 11th is Boston and Expo East.

So yes, I am back to traveling a lot and racking up those United Frequent Flyer miles and Marriott points :)

Jody's Mom's 89th Birthday

2010-09-11T01:38:00.000-07:00

September 9th was Jody's Mom's 89th Birthday. Jody and Pearl traveled back to Pa to help her mom celebrate...they picked up a few of Mom's friends and all went out to Olive Garden to celebrate. On the right are Jody, Jody's Mom and Pearl. On the left are the friends whose names I don't know :). A good time was had by all...

More cats

2010-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Gary and Jody

I use the Natural Value Pate Style Tuna and Chicken Dinner
cat food (UPC code 706173500117) as the only way of getting a
critical medicine into my cat. I mix the medicine in the cat food,
and he eats it. I have tried other flavors and other brands of cat
food, and other ways to try to get the medicine in him, but this is
the only successful way, and the only one he will eat with
the medicine.

I have four Siberian cats, the one needing the medicine is Kochko,
which means LOVE in Russian. The others are named Maksim, Sasha
and Mischa, also all Russian names. ALL of them LOVE your cat food
and will not eat any other canned cat food.

Sasha, a love sponge! Extremely affectionate.
Maksim (the Russian name for Maximillian).
Mischa…By far, one of the cutest and sweetest kitties I have ever known.

New BPA free can lining announced

2010-08-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

ADM adds BPA alternative to product line

August 16th, 2010

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has begun offering isosorbide under its line of Evolution Chemicals. Isosorbide is an industrial ingredient made from corn that is a potential alternative to the petroleum-based chemical Bisphenol A in plastics and other applications. ADM is the first company in North America to offer renewable isosorbide on a commercial scale.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is used in the manufacture of plastics and is present in many products including eyeglass lenses, sports equipment and CDs and DVDs. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health have expressed concern about the potential health effects associated with BPA.

“Today more than ever, people are seeking both consumer and industrial products that are safe and renewable,” said Robert Broomham, business director, ADM Industrial Chemicals. “Isosorbide offers manufacturers a renewable alternative to the traditional chemicals found in many products.”

Isosorbide is a versatile ingredient with wide range of applications. It can be used in polyesters for inks, toners, powder coatings, packaging and durable goods; polyurethanes for foams and coatings; polycarbonates for durable goods and optical media; epoxy resins for paints; and detergents, surfactants and additives for personal care and consumer products.

“With increased interest in environmental improvement, we see growing opportunity to expand our portfolio of renewable industrial products,” said Broomham. “ADM’s research and development expertise and our access to agricultural feedstocks enable us to develop innovative ingredients that can serve as replacements for traditional chemicals.”

So after reading this press release, I asked one of my manufacturers about this and received this response from their can manufacturer:

"...This chemical is in its infancy. It is on the front end of the testing/commercialization time-line. We are studying it. However, it has never been put in a can lining. It hasn’t been tested on shelf-life or flavor issues. This is one of many chemicals of its kind that have hit the market. They all need to go through the testing process."

Progress often comes in slow steps...

Travel

2010-08-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

On the road again...
Last week, I visited the Lakeside plant in Owatonna, MN (you can look it up on the map and they even have a Starbucks!!!).

That plant is where they run our Natural Value Organic Beans.

I managed to get a picture outside in front of the truck...

More cats

2010-08-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

From Jeff:

Two weeks after I last emailed you a year and a half ago our 8 year old female cat started to cough up a storm at 3AM, and by 10AM she had passed away. So what did I do in my grieving period? I ADOPTED THREE Siamese kittens. A brother and sister and a month later (the little cat from HELL).

I feed them EVO and Natural Value.

Jeff...

NV Pumpkin

2010-08-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

A consumer wrote in..."Have you discontinued your canned pumpkin? I can't find it anywhere, online or in stores that used to sell it."

So I wrote back...">> We have been selling the Dickinson pumpkin for years and years, and last year, the crop was basically a total failure and we didn't get any product to sell...we hope to have some this year...thanks"

So she wrote back and sent pictures..."I hope so! On my veterinarian's advice, I feed it to my cat, and she only likes your product or homemade. So last night I cooked up a butternut squash for her..."

Here are pictures of (aptly named) Black Cat

New Products

2010-07-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Many times, we added new items that were requested by our retailer customers..."you are selling me this, can you get me that." So we would look for that, so we could sell it with this.

In addition, there were many products in the marketplace that I saw and wanted to produce under our own label. One of those categories was brown paper....specifically, brown paper towels and brown napkins.

It was hard to find them. It isn't the number one product that paper marketers are looking to produce.

Several years ago, one of the largest private label paper manufacturers said he could produce brown towels for me, so I invited him to our home office for a chat, and to see if we could do some business. He told me our volume wasn't big enough to do business with them on brown products, but if we could give him all of our business, he would see what he could do.

I told him that we didn't operate that way. I told him that our existing supplier took us on when we were very small, worked with us, built up our business, and I wouldn't and couldn't just take all of the business away from him after all these years. We just didn't do business that way, and if it meant they wouldn't do business with me, that was fine.

Then several months ago, another paper supplier said they could do brown paper towels, so i hopped on a plane to go see them. Yep, they were doing brown paper towels all right and would be happy to pack them for me, but wanted to know if I could sell 2500 cases a month! Nope, I said. I would love to sell 2500 cases a month but i just don't see that happening at the beginning of our relationship. So once again, I was too small.

It's interesting - I always tell these potential suppliers - anybody can buy a truckload of anything...the question is, can you SELL a truckload of it...

Finally, a few months ago, our existing paper supplier managed to source brown paper towels...made from recycled cardboard. Eureka, he cried!

We will have them shortly...nearby is a prototype in unlabeled poly wrap.

At about the same time, a different supplier said they could sell us brown kraft dinner napkins. But they don't have retail packaging, and the packaging is in a plastic film bag that is knotted and taped - not heat sealed. That isn't going to work, I told them...the package needs to be intact...so we are still looking for that.

We started off 15 years ago with 25 products and we have grown over the years to several hundred products.

Anyway, sometimes it takes us years to source and produce the products we want to do...which is especially true in this case.

Closing in on 2 Million Lifetime United Miles

2010-07-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely racking up those miles...

Lifetime flight miles since joining on Jun. 09, 1989:

1,803,898 Lifetime flight miles.

Travel

2010-07-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't kept up on the blogging for awhile...

I have started traveling again - Tabletop shows, Business Travel, Meeting new brokers.

and I sometimes wonder what happens when I am gone....at least I know what happens to my outside chair.

Bisphenol A

2010-07-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

We are asked pretty regularly if our steel cans contain Bisphenol A (or BPA). The answer is yes.

BPA had been considered a safe lining for cans for the last 50 – 60 years. New research is saying that is not the case.

The can manufacturers have taken the position that BPA is safe. When our canners send me their latest press releases stating that, I respond telling them they are on the wrong side of the issue.

Right now, a commercially viable alternative to existing BPA free cans does not exist. There isn’t a large supply available.

The biggest issue for the commercial canners, as I understand it, is taking BPA out of the cans is going to reduce the shelf life. I tell the canners, “fine.”

We, like everyone else in the Natural/Organic industry, are looking at alternatives. On our canned beans, for example, we are looking at aseptic packaging.

We also were told by our Pate cat food manufacturer that there is no BPA in aluminum cans, so our Pate cat foods are BPA free.

In the next few months, we will have another part of our product line switched from cans with BPA to BPA free cans. We will, of course, announce that on our web site.

I know it isn’t the answer consumers are looking for, but the can industry in the United States is not in a position to stop producing cans with BPA or to switch to an alternative. Their customers – the food manufacturers and big chain store retailers, are, generally speaking, not willing to accept the price increases that will come with using BPA free cans. When one of the “big boys” announces that they are ditching cans with BPA, it is my opinion that the entire can industry will move in that direction. But we are not there yet.

Marriott lifetime stays

2010-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

I blogged before about my lifetime Marriott Reward status.

Once you stay for 1000 nights, you obtain lifetime Marriott Status.

I am coming up on another level - a level they don't give you a special award for...

Membership Information: Account number: XXXXXX
Total Membership Nights: 1,067

That means I have spent almost 3 years of my life in Marriott Hotels...and I am counting down the stays until I reach 1095 (365 x 3)

Only 28 nights to go

Big Stinker and the Little Stripes

2010-06-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

We have a pet door so our cats can come and go as they please.

I've written before about the presents they bring us. This week, Sunshine has brought us filet of lizard (missing its stomach) and today, a whole lizard (filet mignon?).

Well, the pet door means we also get raccoons, and lately, skunks...not one, not two, but three. Pearl was up one night and caught the action on her iPhone...

Restaurant Show, Trade Show

2010-05-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

We just got back from exhibiting at the National Restaurant Show.

It was a fantastic show for us...we met quite a few people and hopefully, they will become customers.

Here are some photos....1) Gary with Nicky, whom we hired to work the booth with us. She did an incredible job!

and 2) and 3) photos of the exhibit hall during teardown.

Photos were taken by Pearl

Cats

2010-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

After posting Pamela's cat picture yesterday, I saw a "photo op" of my own this morning...here are Sunshine and Ellwood.

from the email bag, cats

2010-05-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Gary,
We have 2 rescues that were "fancy feast junkies" when we got them.

We didn't adopt them at the same time and the older one - Emma- changed over to good food, meaning a food without any by products or fillers, very easily in just a couple of days. Mabel was our problem. No matter what we gave her she got sick and I had just about given up on trying.

Then I bought a few cans of Pro Plan Select turkey and rice with oatmeal in it and she was finally able to handle it. From there it was like it made right all the wrong in her system and now she can handle all the good foods we give them, one of which is by your company. Yours is in the mix with 4 others that we consider superb and they both love it!

I have to admit though, when I first opened a can of the chicken and sardines and saw what was on the other side of the lid, I swore I would never open a can again. Turns out they both loved it so much, I ordered another case. Presently, I have a case of the chunky seafood and the turkey pate coming tomorrow. I'm sure they will be hits as well.

On that note, let me thank you again for your time. I do appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Pamela, Emma & Mabel Torma

Trade Shows

2010-05-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

I am updating The Trade Show section on our web page to reflect:

Thaifex postponed - I had already blogged that the dates were revised and I will not be able to attend.

Now adding...

Fancy Food Show in June in New York - attending but not exhibiting

Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in January, 2011 - attending but not exhibiting

Also, I am sad to see the demise of the Organic Trade Association show (OTA). We exhibited there a few years ago and picked up some good customers...it is now going to be co-located with Expo East in Boston in October.

New Water Bottler

2010-05-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

While I was in Los Angeles, I met with a potential new water bottler.

I chose this supplier because they had a booth at a trade show where they showed off the new PLA bottle.

Now, what is that expression - perception isn't always reality?

The sales rep told me that they had packed some water in the PLA bottle, but that the bottle didn't work too well...it either leaked or some of the water in the bottle evaporated out...so that 16.9 ounces of water was actually 16.6 ounces. In walking through their warehouse, I saw that indeed this was the case.

So instead of trying to use the PLA bottle, I asked him about recycled plastic bottles. Those are indeed a possibility; they have now been approved for use in water bottles...but since they blow their own bottles, they would need to convert all of their bottles to recycled plastic....and for now, the recycled plastic costs more than virgin plastic.

I haven't made a decision about what to do yet...since distributors work 4 months in advance, we've missed the summer season on water. I will have to remember at Christmas to plan for water season.

Our new (hopefully) water bottler blows their own bottles. Here is a picture of what the mold looks like before it is blown...and after it is blown, it looks like a water bottle :)

Facebook Update

2010-05-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

So I now have 50 unopened emails in my Facebook Folder...I've been added as a friend...confirmed as a friend...others want to be friends...and i guess i should do something about it...so Facebook is the next project to do

Trade Shows Are Hard Work :)

2010-04-26T15:47:00.001-07:00

There is travel to the show, set up, 6-7 hours on my feet, then heading to the hotel for heading home.

It was really great to see a bunch of customers at the Associated Buyers show…old and hopefully some new ones.

Of course, there’s always time to socialize with the folks at the neighboring booths. Here I am with Lisa of Eco Fish.

Photo source: Trudy from Gourmet Gift Baskets.

Thaifex postponed

2010-04-23T17:06:00.001-07:00

The Thaifex show, scheduled for May in Bangkok, has been postponed. It was rescheduled for June 30 - July 3.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend.

Paper Prices Going Up

2010-04-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

We have received notice that paper prices are going up. Pulp prices are at an all time high.

The "big guys" like to handle these types of cost increases by reducing the size of their package - something I have talked about in the past.

Apparently, a roll of 4 pack bathroom tissue is going to drop from 168 sheets per roll to 150 sheets per roll.

We are simply going to keep our specs the same - 250 and 400 sheet rolls in our 4 pack and 500 sheets in our single roll - and increase our selling price....as opposed to shrinking our packages...

Expect the increase within the next 60-75 days.

New Computer

2010-04-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

Today is new computer day.

I bought a new laptop back in September and I am having some "professional help" coe over today to help me install it.

It's a Dell Lattitude E5500, replacing the Dell Inspiron 8600 that I started using in January, 2005.

I used to go through a new Dell every 2-3 years. The computer itself didn't fail, but I am so hard on the keys that the keyboard would stop working. When I bought the Inspiron, I decided to use a keyboard all the time...and that made the difference.

I bought the new Lattitude with Windows XP. So hopefully transferring over data, settings, etc., will be easy.

At least it's not Friday the 13th :)

Travel Planning

2010-04-08T05:35:00.001-07:00

I like to travel. I enjoy getting out and meeting customers and suppliers.

The most basic function in a small business is sales. Without sales, there would be no need for accounting, administration and all of the other things that keep a business running. I know, spoken like a true entrepreneur :)

I am now planning for my trip to the Boston area for the Associated Buyers show.

Since I have been there before, I know what hotel i want to stay at, and book that reservation first....this time in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Then I look at whether I want to fly into Boston, Manchester, or Portland, Me. I weigh the cost of the plane ticket to each city, the schedule and the ability to upgrade.

Then I add "side visits" - this time, going to see a customer and perhaps a supplier or two...that hasn't been confirmed yet.Unlike those who buy travel based on whatever airline or hotel is cheaper, I always fly United, stay with the Marriott, and up until last year, always rented with Hertz. (I am dabbling with Budget now).

I remember discussing this way of travel one day with Dale Holden of Follow Your Heart. He agreed that it doesn't work to rent a car with Budget one week, Hertz the next and Avis the week after that...that when you arrive in a city you're kind of on "automatic pilot" and you look for the shuttle bus of YOUR car rental company. I have a trip to LA before I go to Boston...wait, am I with Hertz this week and Budget next week or vice versa..." Nah, not for me.

Of course, the car rental companies know this...and Hertz has done a very good job of raising their rates...to the point that I am looking around to see what else is available.

Anyway, the last step in my journey is to run Google Maps to take me from place to place...so from Boston airport to the Courtyard in Hadley, then to UNFI's office for a meeting, then to the Residence Inn in Portsmouth, then to the show, then to the Courtyard at Logan airport so I am close to where my early morning flight is... Oh, and don't forget to pack the EZ Pass - I have one of those for my trips to the East Coast...saves time waiting in toll lanes.

Then the next week is Bangkok again - a whole different type of planning for that...

from the email bag - Coconut Milk

2010-04-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

I received the following email:

"I have a question about your lite and regular coconut milk. Do they contain or have contact during production with soy, corn, egg or dairy? My family has allergies to these as well as sulfates and guar gum, so we are looking for a product that is free of all. Also, will the "new" cans (without guar gum) be available to purchase at an online retailer (none of the stores in my area sell your product) and if so, when? Thank you very much for your help!

Kim"

I responded:

"Hi, Kim – thanks for writing.

The coconut milk plant only runs coconut milk in the plant – nothing else. There is no soy, corn, eggs or dairy.

The machinery is cleaned before producing and they have always run our product separately from products they run with guar gum and sulfates.

As to availability…we are hoping for 45 days….and we hope that people like you will “clamor” for Amazon.com to bring it back in. The buyer warned me when I told him to pull our product off the shelves that it would be difficult for us to get it back in there, but I didn’t want to sell mislabeled product…so we are hoping for help from consumers like you."

It really is true...retailers - both online and brick and mortar - are more interested in hearing from consumers than from manufacturers...i just thought i would pass this along...

Failure at Facebook already!

2010-04-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

Oh, no, my first day on Facebook and I already screwed up.

Apparently, I sent friend requests to all of my daughter's friends.

I guess Facebook is harder to learn than Excel. and I am posting this on my blog instead of on my Facebook page!

Sorry all

Facebook

2010-04-06T03:55:00.000-07:00

OK, so i finally signed up for Facebook.

I sent a million friend requests - or so it seemed - and then i need to do it all over again?

Life is a series of journeys...learning steps...first there was AOL, then the Internet, then Outlook and Excel...then blogging...now Facebook!

I still don't know how to do formulas in Excel. I just use all of those neat little squares to put numbers in, then add them up in my head or with a calculator!

But I KNEW I had to do Facebook when my sister (who wants to remain "faceless") told me that SHE was on Facebook :).

Cat Food compliment - from the email bag

2010-04-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Jody,

It was wonderful to meet you in person this past week in Anaheim. I was the woman you spoke with at the ORGANIC INDIA Tulsi Tea booth regarding my cats who absolutely love the Natural Value Flaked Tuna product (you probably spoke to hundreds of people who told you that their cats love the product!). We had laughed together when I asked you about the ingredients because my cats are so ecstatic for the product that they actually sing/yodel/meow for it!

You had asked me to follow up with you and send along a picture of my kitties who are happy feline customers of Natural Value. Attached I present to you Piccolo and Basil – my two Bengal cats! Aren’t they cute?! This picture shows them after they’ve enjoyed a nice meal of Flaked Tuna and their bellies are content…..

Healthy Regards,

Gina Coccari
ORGANIC INDIA USA
Regional Sales Manager

Birthday Picture

2010-04-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

I recently celebrated my 60th Birthday.
Here's are 2 pictures of Jody and me at our birthday dinners

Coconut Milk Issue Resolved

2010-04-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

So My first meeting in Thailand was with our Organic coconut milk packer, who my importer told me was packing our Natural Coconut Milk as well.

The owner of the company recognized me from our booth at the Organic Trade Association show in Chicago from a few years back.

After the 5 minute video presentation showing how they produce coconut milk, I told them I had a question: why did they change our natural formula to include guar gum, stabilizers and emulsifiers?

They were very surprised at the question...and after speaking among themselves in Thai for a few minutes, they told me that they didn't change our formula...that this was the product that was ordered for us by our importer!

"No way" I said.

But when they showed me the email exchange from the importer, I realized what had happened: our importer changed packers without telling us, and wound up ordering coconut milk with additives.

There you have it.

Actually, the owner explained, he produces 4 different types of coconut milk products:

Organic
Natural
Premium
Standard

The Organic is the top of the line and most expensive...the standard is the "bottom of the barrel"

In other words, "if you don't want to pay the price for Natural, which is more expensive, I can sell you something cheaper."

So basically, 5 minutes into the meeting, I realized that our importer had changed packers (on purpose) and changed formulas (not on purpose)...so we wound up with non natural coconut milk...which was cheaper!!!

A few days later, I was able to track down our original supplier.

My importer gave me the name of the person to contact there; unfortunately, the name her gave me was the name of someone who had left the company 2 years ago.

My Thai speaking ability is non existent. So there was definitely a language barrier...and asking to leave a message for someone who hasn't been at the company for 2 years led to an initial communication problem.

Nonetheless, I did meet with the sales manager of our existing supplier, who showed me copies of emails from our importer telling them that their price was "too high" and that they had found a cheaper supplier. Now I understood the whole story.

Of course, my importer was all apologetic about the change...but I was flabbergasted that after all these years of telling him how we operate...that we don't switch packers just to save a few cents...that we are loyal to the people who provide us with our products...that in an instant, with no notification, no consultation, no discussion, none, zero, zilch, nada...they changed everything.

So we are back to producing our original formula natural coconut milk, with no guar gum and no emulsifiers and no stabilizers...but it will be about 60 days before the "same old" product is back on store shelves.

Of course, it isn't as simple as that. Stores will not simply have an empty shelf for 3 months with a sign "This space reserved for Natural Value Coconut Milk." It's going to take lots of work, and requests from consumers, to get us back into the market.

So that's the story...

Hello from Bangkok

2010-03-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hello from Bangkok!

where the time is 14 hours ahead of California. I t was 15 hours ahead of California until the start of Daylight Savings Time last weekend.

I am about 75% of the way through understanding what happened to our coconut milk, but before I blog about it, I want to get the remaining 25% of the puzzle...which i plan on doing Monday and Tuesday.

I am actually not a fan of puzzles.

Jody does the New York Times Crossword Puzzle everyday - in ink! She also likes Sudoku. Me - I don't like puzzles. But I do like "whodunits" - and that is really what I feel likeI am involved in...who did what...in a foreign country.

Anyway, i will have more to say later.

Also, Natural Products Expo has come and gone. I wasn't even home for a full day before I left for Bangkok. Three people came up to me and told me they follow my blog, and I am going to try and do a better job of staying in touch.

OK, more soon

Problem with our Natural Coconut Milk

2010-02-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

We’ve been producing our Natural Coconut Milk for the past several years.

During that time, we have specifically requested that our Natural Coconut Milk have only coconut and water.

It took us awhile to convince our canner that yes, we really, really wanted our coconut milk without Sodium Metabisulfate – a whitener, and without guar gum – a stabilizer that keeps the coconut milk “stable” – or in more of a liquid form.

On our last order from the canner, we received a totally different product. Our natural coconut milk now has guar gum in it, plus unspecified emulsifiers and stabilizers. We did not order it like that, and unfortunately, the canner not only changed the formula and the ingredients, they took the word “Natural” out of the “Natural Coconut Milk” description. They made some other changes to the ingredients and nutritional information as well – all without telling us in advance they were doing that. The Light Coconut Milk has been changed as well. If they had told us in advance, we would have said “No Thanks” and found a different canner.

We have stopped shipping this product to our distributors and are making arrangements to have it sent back.

We are going to be out of stock for awhile.

Natural Value has always strived for 100% consumer satisfaction. If you have purchased our coconut milk and want a refund, please let us know.

As a result of this situation, I am going to Thailand in a few weeks to meet with the canner, and find out what went wrong. Maybe they shipped us someone else’s product – those types of mistakes, unfortunately, do happen. But there has to be some sort of acceptable explanation.
I will post an update on our web page and my blog as soon as I know more.

I am sorry that this whole episode occurred.

We work closely with our exclusive producers, just to avoid situations like this. Unfortunately, this time, that didn’t work.

New and old coconut milk. Note label change. Product on right has no guar gum and very often solidifies, meaning you are getting coconut! To get back into liquid state, simply warm the can.

New and old labels - Coconut Milk cans

New and old labels - Lite Coconut Milk cans

New and old nutritional facts – notice how the fonts have changed

A can of our original coconut milk without guar gum. Notice the coconut clumps at the top of the can. The new coconut milk would splatter all over the counter or floor if you attempt this.

National Bagel Day

2010-02-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Tuesday February 9th is National Bagel Day?

In honor of the occasion (no, not really), I have purchased a new Guillotine style Bagel Slicer.

Seriously...Jody and I have been enjoying bagels again...so I thought I would share the news about National Bagel Day.

Martinell Apple Juice, Dole Apple Juice

2010-02-05T03:33:00.001-08:00

My experience with Martinelli apple juice goes back to the 70's when I first moved to California. It came in this cute round glass bottle, in 8 oz and 12oz bottles.

When I first became a natural food distributor in 1978, I became a distributor of Martinelli. They shipped all of their product from Watsonville, CA, and they didn't use pallets...so when their truck showed up, every case had to be unloaded by hand. But it was really good juice and a good seller.

When Jody went into the hospital in December 2008, the cafeteria at Sutter General sold Martinelli apple juice from a small cooler. I bought quite a bit of it.

However, when Jody went in for her back surgery in May 2009, the cafeteria had switched to stocking Dole Apple Juice.

To me, Dole was always known for their Pineapple juice, and maybe Dole Bananas, but not for apple juice.

Look at the ingredients of the Dole Apple juice. Does anyone believe that they NEED concentrates from all of those countries around the world in order to make a good tasting product?

By comparison, the Martinelli apple juice is "apple juice." No concentrates. Made in America. And, it tastes good. The Dole? well...who wants to get sued by Pepsi?

Natterz

2010-02-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

We did have a new picture of Natterz, but she is partially hidden. Jody called this picture Natterz undercover :)

Upcoming Birthday

2010-02-03T19:15:00.001-08:00

My birthday is coming up. I will be 60 on March 25th.

It's interesting - i can talk about how things were 40 years ago...I remember when bagels were a nickel...before there were color TVs....when we had to walk to school in the snow for miles, uphill both ways (ok, so 2 out of 3 are true) :)

Maybe someone will bring a camera to take pictures (hint, hint!)

Jody's hernia surgery

2010-02-03T19:08:00.002-08:00

Jody's hernia surgery went well.

The doctor explained that often times, the incision made for a feeding tube does not heal properly - and in Jody's case, that definitely happened.

When Jody was in the hospital last year, she definitely lost weight. How much weight, we will never know for sure. The hospital beds that she was in fluctuated a lot in what they showed, but we came up with a figure of about 25 lbs from the time she got sick in October, 2008 until after her spinal surgery in May, 2009.

She is supposed to rest for 2-4 weeks but you can't keep Jody in bed...and she kept her hairdresser appointment this week. The straight hair in a ponytail look is gone and curls are in...for now!

More cat pictures

2010-02-03T19:08:00.001-08:00

Some cat pictures from the past week. Sunshine seems to be a camera hog - I've asked Jody to try and come up with some pictures of Natterz a/k/a Natasha.

Bud Light commercials

2010-01-22T07:14:00.001-08:00

Jody and I have never been TV watchers. So a lot of interesting concepts and phrases that have made their way into American life...well, we've missed a lot of those.

Lately, though, we have started watching NFL football on television. It helps take my mind off work and gives her a chance to knit.

So if you're watching football on television, it's hard to miss the Bud Light commercials. You can even Google Bud Light Commercials Too Light Too Heavy and get 122,000 results.

We mute all of the commercials so they are wasted on us. But Jody has taken to calling out "Too Stupid" after the screen shots of "Too Light" and "Too Heavy."

Why ARE commercials so stupid, anyway?

Jody's surgery

2010-01-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

Jody's hernia surgery is this coming Thursday, January 28th...i will keep everyone posted. We met with the doctor last week and all seems good.

Update on Jody

2010-01-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

Jody has made such incredible progress in the last year, I guess we were do for a small setback.

She has a hernia. We noticed it a week ago, right after our trip to Pa to see her Mom.

We are seeing the surgeon on Thursday to make an appointment for surgery.

I will keep you posted.

No, I'm not posting a picture :)

web page

2010-01-10T03:37:00.001-08:00

We've started updating our web page.

We've added new sections listing the Trade Shows we will be exhibiting at and attending this year.

Natural Products Expo West
Anaheim, CA
March 12-14, 2009
Booth 2887

We've also updated our Kosher products listing with the name of the Kosher certifier.

There will be more changes soon.

Your Blogger Working Hard at World Headquarters

2010-01-10T03:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year.

I will endeavor to do a better job of posting in 2010. And speaking of 2010, it's hard for me to believe it's already January 10th.

Here's a picture of Sunshine in one of his favorite spots. He is definitely not a lap cat - not even a shoulder cat like Val was - more of a chest cat!

Organic White Popcorn out of stock

2010-01-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

Our Organic White Popcorn is out of stock until March...it hasn't been a good popcorn year. We will let you know when it is back in stock.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to do a better job of blogging...so stay tuned!

Jody, Jody’s Mom a/k/a Grandmuffin and Gary at Christmas in Pa.

Happy Anniversary, Jody!

2009-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

December 5th is the one year anniversary of Jody going to the hospital.

It's been a long year...a couple months in the hospital, major surgery, a life changing illness...but the good news - the really good news - is that Jody came out the other side.

She went to a friend's Christmas party today and took a picture before she went. Her mom said she looked like a teenager :).

Jody - keep up the good hard work on your recovery.

recipe from the National Organic Food Examiner

2009-12-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

Natalie from the National Organic Food Examiner sent along a recipe she published using our Natural Value Organic Dijon Mustard. You can see the original recipe here:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-693-Organic-Food-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Plan-a-special-fall-dinner-party-around-CTCA-Chef-Wagoners-recipe-for-Cornish-game-hens

Thanks to Natalie Rotunda for sending this along...

Orange Marmalade Glazed Cornish Hens

5 Cornish game hens trussed, dried and seasoned with salt and pepper
½ cup orange marmalade
1 ½ teaspoons Natural Value Organic Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey (local honey is best!)

Truss hens, place on sheet pan with rack, season with salt and pepper.
In bowl mix remaining ingredients, brush glaze generously on hens and place in 350 degree oven.

Bake hens, glazing occasionally during the process until birds are done. (45-60 minutes). Internal temperature should be 165 degrees.

Allow to rest, remove string, cut in half, line in pan, pour remaining glaze over hens and serve.

Kenny Wagoner, CEC, CCA, is executive chef at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Tulsa. CTCA provides a comprehensive, patient-centered treatment model that fully integrates traditional, state-of-the-art medical treatments with scientifically supported complementary therapies such as nutrition, naturopathic medicine, psychological counseling, physical therapy and spiritual support to meet the special, whole-person needs of patients with advanced and complex cancer.

In St. Cloud, MN, pick up Natural Value's Organic Dijon Mustard at the Good Earth Food Coop, 2010 8th Street North. Non-members are always welcome to shop at the Coop.

Blogging

2009-12-02T04:03:00.000-08:00

I have updated all of my posts by adding categories for each one...cats...pumpkin, travel, etc.

Pallets, promotional gifts, Tchochkes, desk toys

2009-12-01T16:54:00.000-08:00

Like most people, I have "stuff" on my desk.

In my early days as a magazine editor, I had one of those signs that said, "a clean, uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind."

Actually, these days, between the phone, laptop, paper clip holder, wide screen monitor and lamp, there isn't much room on my desk for "stuff."

But I love my growing collection of post it notes or sticky notes, which are attached to a wooden pallet.

I started out with a 3 1/2" square pallet of notes from PalletPallet Inc.

Then the ULine salesman came one day and brought me a gift - a 2 1/4" mini pallet of ULine sticky notes.

But it was at the grocery show in Chicago that I hit pay dirt!

The folks from IFCO - a pallet company - were giving away the 3 1/2" pallets of notes. I asked if I could have one for my burgeoning collection, and they said yes.

But at the IGPS booth - Intelligent Global Pooling Systems - they had the cubes of sticky notes, but not on a wooden pallet....they had them affixed to a prototype of their Supply Chain Solution special pallet that has the new tracking technology!

Their website is www.igps.net

Do I sound like a geek?

Actually, since I started in the grocery business in the 60s, I have always been fascinated with pallets...go figure.

The Yiddish word Tchotchkes may describe this collection of desk toys...that's ok. I like 'em.

A Chicken in Every Pot...

2009-12-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

and a blanket for every cat.

OK, so that's not the original quotation...but...the cats can be territorial at times. Natterz really liked the blanket on the sofabed...but Jake decided he wanted to sleep on Natterz's blanket. Turf war! So Jody solved the problem by putting another blanket on the sofabed...so now Natterz has her blanket and Jake has his...and Sunshine is very happy sleeping on the blanket on the coffee table.

Beki's Pumpkin Pie Recipe

2009-11-20T16:37:00.000-08:00

While Beki and I were looking online to find her Pumpkin Pie recipe, we came across a blog post about it...

The link for it is:
http://unschoolme.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-pie.html

Friday, October 23, 2009
Pumpkin Pie

On the way home from the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, we picked up some pumpkin pie making supplies from a local community market called New Leaf. They turned out perfect and Boo and Little Sister had a great time putting the filling together.

Beki's Pumpkin Pie from Natural Value Canned Pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven 425 degrees.
Beat 2 Eggs, then stir in:
15 oz canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 can evaporated milk

Pour into pie shell. (We used Maple Lane Bakery Unbleached Pie Crust)
Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.

Got left over filling? Pour it into an oiled pie pan and bake it along with your pie. We doubled this recipe and ended up with two whole pies and one crustless pie -- enough to last us exactly 3 days.

Turkey Noodle Soup

2009-11-19T15:14:00.000-08:00

I make the best turkey noodle soup!

Take the turkey, put it in the oven…the secret is putting an inch or two of water in the pan…so the turkey steams instead of overcooks…just under 3 hours usually for about a 12 pounder…then put all of the bones into a pot, cover with water, add a cut up onion, a stalk of celery, 4-5 cut up carrots, salt, 3-5 whole peppercorns and a bay leaf – hopefully, one that hasn’t been sitting in a spice jar in the cupboard for a decade…then simmer for 8-10 hours…refrigerate overnight….then skim off the fat.

Then to make the soup,,,cut up another 10-12 carrots and put them in the broth…simmer for an hour or until the carrots get soft…the carrots add sweetness.

In a separate pot, cook a package of NV Organic Egg Noodles according to package directions – i think about 8 minutes (closer to the low end of the cooking range as they will cook a little more when you add them to the broth)…then drain. Don’t cook the noodles in the broth – the broth gets gummy that way. Add the noodles and leftover cut-up turkey to the broth, simmer for a few more minutes, then enjoy.

There is a Tupperware container in my refrigerator with some of this now. Pearl had some of it for the first time while I was in Chicago and loved it - it’s almost gone now.

Pumpkin shortage

2009-11-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Because of a poor crop in the Midwest, we aren't going to have our canned pumpkin to sell this year. It's too bad - our canned pumpkin is a good product. We even won the Taster's Choice award for the Best Tasting Canned Pumpkin in the San Francisco Chronicle a few years ago. Hopefully we will have some next year.

I remember when we first came out with it several years ago. My daughter Beki developed the recipe on the back of our can. We tried lots and lots of versions, and settled on one that had more cinnamon and less allspice in it. My contribution to the process was eating lots of pumpkin, accompanied by Reddi Wip whipped cream topping :).

So today we are doing a taste test. We're trying out the Arrowhead Mills ready to eat pumpkin pie mix in an aseptic package...and comparing it with a pumpkin pie made from our 100% canned pumpkin, left over from last year. They're in the over now...results will be posted later :)

off to Chicago for a trade show

2009-11-13T05:36:00.000-08:00

I leave Saturday morning for a trade show in Chicago, called PLMA

It's where actual, real live manufacturers of product exhibit their wares.

I remember the first year I attended, back in the early 90's.

I had been a distributor of natural food products from different "manufacturers." In reality, these manufacturers were like us - marketing companies that had different manufacturers produce their products.

Anyway, I had been distributing products from a number of different manufacturers, and I noticed that on all of the mustard shipping cases, the letter "A" didn't print. So...there was

H in

Westbr e

Norg nic

He lthw y

And I wondered...what are the chances that 4 different manufacturers of mustard all have label printers that don't print the letter A?

Of course, when I opened the cases up to look at the products, the jars were the same, the caps were the same, the ingredients were the same, and in the same order....the nutritional information was the same, and the shape of the labels was the same...and I realized, these products are all being made by the same manufacturer.

So when I went past the mustard manufacturer's booth, and saw the jars of Hain, Westbrae, Norganic and Healthway, my assesment was correct - one company was making all of this mustard. That was almost 20 years ago.

Today, companies use fancy inkjet printers that print the letter A, so it would be harder to track down this information :)

...from the eMail bag_NO KILL Cat Rescue & Sanctuary uses Natural Value Cat Food

2009-11-10T14:08:00.001-08:00

I am the Executive Director of 9th Life Hawaii, Maui's only non-profit, NO KILL Cat Rescue & Sanctuary. You can check us out on our website: www.9thlifehawaii.org

We shelter approximately 200-250 cats on any given day. We have found that our special-needs cats, geriatric cats and chronically ill cats really thrive on your cat food.

Two recent examples: Tests were run on Rama, an older cat, and she tested negative for all the truly bad possibilities. Rama had lost so much weight that she was down to 2 1/2 pounds from 5 pounds. Best diagnosis was irritable bowel syndrome but she would not eat the food that the vet suggested. Figuring she was truly at death's door, we decided to feed her whatever she wanted. We offered her Natural Value. That was about 4 months ago. She now weighs almost 6 pounds.

We thought we might have to euthanize her because she had no quality of life and was barely moving. We decided to try one more thing and that was to feed her as much Natural Value canned food as she would eat. You can see the results and why we believe in your product. Phyllis

Her weight today was 5 lbs. 14.5 oz. her lowest weight was 3 lbs. 7 oz. (she is fat and sassy now compared to that).

2nd story: We had a litter of 4 kittens. 2 grew at a normal rate and now weigh about 5 pounds. The remaining two could not gain weight and regurgitated most foods. We put them both on Natural Value and both have gained weight. The most significant change was the little girl we named Sheba. She had stayed under 1 pound two ounces for months while her siblings weighed around 5 pounds. We switched her to Natural Value and she now weighs 2 pounds, has a healthy appetite and is gaining weight each day.

This kitten is now 7 months old. For the longest time it was touch and go. She weighed 1 pound 2 ounces and could not get over that hump. Putting her on your food twice a day and she now weighs 2 pounds. Still NOT a normal weight, but she gains weight every day on your food.

We thank you again for such a great product!

Increasing Sales and Profits

2009-11-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

I don't have a college degree. I like to say, though, that I have a degree from the University of the Street, School of Hard Knocks :).

Seriously, I learned a lot from reading Business Week, Forbes and Fortune over the years, and some things just seemed to make sense to me.

My simple understanding of business developed accordingly. I discovered that you can make more money by: selling more goods, raising your prices, or cutting your costs. Do all 3 and your profits really rise.

Selling more goods can be broken down 4 ways:

You can sell existing products to existing customers

You can sell existing products to new customers

You can sell new products to existing customers

You can sell new products to new customers

Now, the question is, if I already spend 50% of my time trying to sell existing products to existing customers, and another 50% of my time trying to sell existing products to new customers, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time to sell new products to either existing or new customers...

See the dilema? :)

Does anyone have a day stretcher? :)

Vacation

2009-11-04T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hello. I was on vacation for 2 weeks, off the coast of Mexico, and the Internet didn't work as well as I hoped. I've now been back for a week trying to catch up. In retropspect, it probably wasn't such a good idea to go on vacation right after Expo East, but hindsight is always great.

At least now I know where Topolobampo is :)

Off to Expo East

2009-09-22T01:22:00.000-07:00

Hello. I am off to Expo East. We are in Booth 2934. I hope to see our East Coast customers there.

From a consumer in Arizona

2009-09-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Your flaky tuna (small purple can) cat food is getting hard to find! My
cats have the jones for some, and I haven't been able to get any. I'm in
north AZ and my two local stores both say that you're showing out of stock.

Any word on when you might be shipping some? The last time it got this
scarce was when the Chinese melamine was on a killing spree.

Kitty

We wrote back to Kitty telling her we had 1700 cases in the
warehouse and asked where she wanted them sent to.

I am now a Lifetime Marriott Rewards Member!

2009-09-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

I received an envelope today from Marriott, informing me I have now earned Lifetime status as a Platinum Elite.

In addition to being in the program for a minimum of 12 years, you need a total of 1000 nights in a Marriott property to qualify...

1000 nights...that's 2.7 years of my life I have spent in a Marriott hotel!

It's the definition of road warrior! 1000 nights...

Sunshine

2009-09-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

While we haven't yet gone back through all of the web pages we are in the process of redesigning, I think the first one we will do is the cat food pages.

We have had some wonderful cats over the years. Many have moved on, but the newest member of the family is Sunshine.

Jody picked him out (along with his brother, Midnight - can you guess his color?)from some animal rescue folks in front of a PetsMart. Sunshine is definitely a lap cat, but he also likes his blanket, and sometimes he likes to sleep on the scratching pad.

His brother left us in February. He just left one day and didn't come back. We have all of our cats "chipped" and a number have "wandered off" over the years - and we were able to get them back because of the chip.

Anyway, this is Sunshine.

Show Deals!!!

2009-08-26T02:52:00.001-07:00

When we first started in business, and we exhibited at trade shows, some retailers would come up to our booth and ask us what our show deal was.

My response was, "we sell the same quality natural and organic products as the big brands at everyday prices that are 40% to 50% less than our competition."

"That's nice," was sometimes the response. "So what's the show deal?"

Eventually I offered the following hypothetical example:

"If we normally sell a product for $10 a case everyday...

"We'll offer it to you at $11.11 and give you 10% off.

"If 10% isn't enough of a promotion, we can sell it to you for $12.50, and give you 20% off.

"We could even sell it to you for $13.33 a case, and give you 25% off.

"And my final offer: $14.28 and we'll give you 30% off.

"Which deal would you like?" :)

The reaction was divided into 2 categories...most retailers caught on...but some would actually choose 1 of the above scenarios as "the best."

Amazing, isn't it.

Anyway, I had to post this as I prepare to publish our show deals for Expo East. I finally gave up trying to explain that manufacturers raise their prices so they can deal back...

Jody - Beating The Odds

2009-08-26T01:05:00.000-07:00

When Jody first got sick, she was "out of it" - the hospital used the term "confused."

When she first woke up from her coma on January 17th, and I told her it was January 17th, and that I had taken her into the hospital on December 5th, her response was, "you mean I missed Christmas."

"Yes," was the answer..."And New Year's Too."

It was only afterwards that we told her how sick she got and how fortunate we all were that she recovered.

So the other night, after she read my blog post about her, we were discussing the odds of her recovery, and came up with the following: (Thank you Wikipedia and WebMD, I think).

severe sepsis - mortality rates range from 20% for sepsis to 40% for severe sepsis

ARDS - The mortality rate varies from 30% to 85%

Klebsiella - It has a high mortality rate of approximately 50%

I'm not a math major. My math skills ended in the 4th Grade with arithmetic. How do you calculate the odds of a person recovering from all 3 of the above??? My daughter Beki took calculus in school - maybe she can figure it out :).

Anyway, we are all focused on her recovery...thankfully...but it was certainly touch and go there for awhile...

Jody getting her hair done in June – for the first time since November.

Jody in her first outing after 7 months in the hospital and in bed…where else do you go, but Starbucks?.

Jody

2009-08-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't written on the blog about Jody's sickness/illness over the past 10 months. Part of the issue for me is how much of your personal life do you share? But here's a recap.

Last November, Jody's back pain had been getting worse and worse. She was barely able to walk around Thanksgiving and spent most of the weekend in bed. She didn't feel like eating either, and of course, lack of food translates into lack of energy....

We had made several trips to the doctor's office, and the doctors gave her pain pills and muscle relaxers, but it didn't seem to be doing any good.

Finally, on December 5th, the day after her birthday, we went back to the doctor's office, and he sent us to get an MRI at the local hospital.

Well, it turned out that she had sepsis (severe sepsis), ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome), and some of the clots that had developed in her stomach got into her lungs. She was in the hospital for 9 weeks as they worked on her - and went through being intubated and when that didn't work, they performed a tracheotomy.

When she left the hospital on February 12th, she was bedbound for the next 3 months. They needed for her to get some of her strength back before they could do reconstructive back surgery, to fix the holes in her spine from the sepsis. That surgery was on May 11th, and after another month in bed, she was able to sit for short periods of time, which then progressed to some walking.

Pictures of Jody’s new spine…rods and screws hold her new cemented spine to the existing one.

On June 12th, a month after her surgery, she got a cane, ditched the walker, and soon thereafter began aqua therapy, which she does 3 times a week. She is still doing aqua therapy and has just started riding a stationery bike.

My new cane - pink wth blue and purple flowers.

Of course, while she was in the hospital, all NV business pretty much ground to a halt. I was able to communicate via text messages from the hospital, but that really is no way to run a business...

Since February, Jody has had a full time personal assistant, Pearl, who helps Jody with everything...and I mean everything! Just taking Jody to her therapy appointments, doctor's appointments, weekly blood tests for her Coumadin has meant that I can start working again...and that doesn't include what Pearl does in helping out with bathroom stuff, bathing, meal prep and shopping, keeping track of medications, both ordering them from the pharmacy and picking them up and giving them to Jody...making doctor's appointments, etc...She's been a godsend....Thanks, Pearl.

I also found someone wonderful, Linda, to update the web page and she also helped me set up this blog. Jody always wanted to update the website but we realized it was going to be a long time before she would be able to work again...all I can say is thanks, Linda.

As I have talked with people, its incredible how many families have similar stories of family illness...and all of the issues and problems they go through dealing with them. When you're healthy, you don't think about these things. When Jody was in the hospital, our next door neighbors brought me food....it was wonderful. After spending 8-10-12-14 hours a day at the hospital, the last thing I wanted to do was come home and cook.

I hope this explains why i haven't been able to respond to recent inquiries in my normally prompt manner.

Primo-Popcorn.com reviews our Natural Value 100% Organic Popcorn

2009-08-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

Natural Value, A Product That Lives Up To It’s Name!

Picking up the bag in the market is when this company “had me”. The graphics clearly tell what’s inside, but it was the feel of the bag that convinced me to try Natural Value 100% Organic Popcorn. This bag is much thicker than different brands of popcorn with poly-bags, ensuring that the correct amount of moisture remains inside each kernel. Customers of premium products expect resealable bags and Nature Value comes through in this department as well.

The popcorn kernels are large, producing very large flakes. Natural Value appears to have gone after the all around popcorn when it comes to taste. Both their yellow and white varieties have earthy, balanced aromas and tastes that you come to expect from quality organic popcorn. For general snacking or for recipes, this popcorn does it all!

Natural Value popcorn is certified organic and kosher and is GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) free! They mean it when they say “natural”!

Another thing I like about Natural Value is their commitment to fair trade and manufacturing entirely in the United States. The company’s mission statement tells us, “We pick a manufacturer, pay them a fair price, and then stick with them. We don’t shop around for packers just to save a few cents and we aren’t moving our manufacturing business to China.”

In an era when the Food and Drug Administration has a harder and harder time protecting the American food supply, I think it’s important to patronize companies that are committed to ethical policies and practices. If you’re looking for different brands of popcorn, Natural Value is a must try that you can feel great about serving to your family! This is Primo Popcorn!

My cat is "ELLIS"

2009-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Gary,

As the founder of your company I thought you would like to know about this. My cat is "ELLIS" and he won the Meow Mix Contest on Animal Planet in 2006. He's America's Top Cat (voted that way). Here's the catch, he will only eat your cat food. He will only eat the two tuna varieties you make in the blue and pink cans. I actually drive across town twice a month to the store that carries it to buy it.

You make a great product. Keep up the great work.

We've Eliminated the Plastic Scoop...

2009-08-13T13:28:00.001-07:00

...from our 11 lb Natural Value Detergent Powder. (We never had one in the 5 lb Detergent Powder).

When we first started producing the detergent, our supplier suggested we include a plastic scoop, and we did.

About a month ago, a consumer wrote in and asked why we were still putting a plastic scoop in our detergent box. I wrote back that we had been doing it for years and years, and really hadn't thought about it...but now that they brought it up, we would discontinue doing that.

So the plastic scoop is gone!

Shrinking Package Sizes

2009-08-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

In the last year, lots of manufacturers have shrunk their package sizes in lieu of raising prices.

We've noticed that 4 packs bathroom tissue seems to be one of those pack sizes that shrinks...a lot.

Our 4 pack regular rolls have been 250 count sheets for quite some time. Our competitor's sheet counts have dropped to the 180's and 170's. Same with our "double rolls" - we remain at 400 sheets per roll...but apparently, the new "standard" is 352 sheets per roll. Who chose that number, anyway?

Same thing has happened with canned tuna. We are still at 6oz cans. Many of our competitors have gone to 5oz cans for the same price.

And Organic pasta! Our Organic pasta has always been in 1 lb packages - just like our biggest competitor. Now they have downsized to 12 oz, 10 oz and even 9oz packages. We're keeping our pasta in 1 lb packages.

We're looking at producing Organic Macaroni and Cheese. The standard used to be 7 1/2 ounces - 6 ounces of pasta and 1 1/2 ounces of cheese. Now the whole package is 6 oz.

Are consumers fooled by these downsized packages? I don't think so.

We're going to keep doing what we're doing, and not downsize our packages, as long as we can.

What happened to the Walnut Scrubber Sponge?

2009-08-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

Years ago, we started working with this family business that produced scrubber sponges. We then worked with them to develop a scrubber made from walnut shells - which we thought would be just as abrasive, yet more environmentally friendly, as nylon. We were right. Our test kitchen (read:home kitchen) results showed the walnut scrubbers lasted as long as the nylon scrubbers.

Unfortunately, the company making our scrubbers got bought out, and the new company decided that they weren't interested in the "niche business" of making a walnut scrubber, so for now, they have been discontinued.

We are working with a new supplier to develop a walnut scrubber. and have received a few samples that we are using, and have sent out to some folks to try. We hope to have them back on the market shortly.

Lidia, one of our product testers, using our new Walnut Scrubber Sponge

My first blog post

2009-08-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first blog post. Where do I begin? At the beginning? No, how about as of today. Seriously, I am looking forward to blogging...my first job back in the, ahem, 70's, I was a magazine editor...so I hope I remember how to write. I plan to write every day and welcome your responses...thanks...gary