Amy’s Kitchen
Amy’s Kitchen is among the most recognizable brands in the emerging plant-based, vegan food market. Founded in 1987 by Andy Berliner and Rachel Berliner, the company was an early innovator in the frozen food market. Its founder Andy Berliner loved cooking for his family and wanted to provide healthy meals they could enjoy together. At the time, few pre-prepared frozen organic meals were available, and, in particular, there needed to be more healthy vegetarian options. Luckily Andy Berliner had worked as a chef at many vegetarian restaurants during his youth, and he already knew how to make all sorts of dishes. He started making freezer meals at home for his family, which proved very popular. He then began to deliver them to customers by pick-up and mail order.
Amy’s Kitchen eventually became one of the largest producers of frozen meals in the United States, supplying many other companies, including Whole Foods Market. It is a distributor for various other brands, including Kirkland Signature, Nature’s Harvest, Health-Ade, and Gardenburger. They are currently ranked #11 on the Forbes list of Top 25 Vegan Food Companies.
It produces various products, including soups, burgers, pizzas, burritos, enchiladas, and pasta. They include several vegan options and many gluten-free options as well. Some of their more popular products are:
It has continued to expand its product range over recent years. The company has successfully launched new lines such as Chik’n and Gluten Free, which has helped it to diversify further from its frozen food origins. The newer lines include burritos, pizza pockets, and breakfast sandwiches.
The company has been marketing itself as “the natural food company” and tailoring its product range to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers. It is growing rapidly throughout North America and has an increasingly large market share in many other countries because of its strict emphasis on quality ingredients, transparency, high animal welfare standards, environmentally-friendly packaging, lack of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and sustainability.
It soon became apparent that there was a real desire for healthier frozen foods, and the company has continued to grow ever since. In 2000 it was awarded the status of one of America’s fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine and entered the New York Stock Exchange with an IPO. In 2005 it was awarded ‘Woman-Owned’ status, a growing category in American business.