I'll Have Big Mac, Double Fries and a Side of Pink Sea Salt Please
After a nearly six year hiatus coming back to San Francisco is a bit like remembering how much I loved to play baseball; its a surprise and obvious all at the same time. When I was a child one of my favorite pasttimes, besides setting up bar for some of the oh so fabulous 1960's cocktail... READ MORE

Windpower is Stirring Things Up
In the 1970’s my parents installed solar panels on our house in Connecticut. They were supposed to power the water heater. Instead they powered my father’s cynicism about renewable energy. The concept was right but the technology wasn’t. Over thirty years later things have changed... READ MORE

Whole Foods Pulls All Raw Kombucha Drinks Off Shelves
Were it not for the phenomenal 30% growth rate of Millenium Foods raw kombucha, sales estimated at $100 million, and the fact that Millenium inspired both Hain Celestial and Honest Tea (40% owned by Coke) to create me-too products, this story wouldn't be worth posting, unless of course you happen... READ MORE

Industry Interview: Peggy Farabaugh of Innovative & Green Vermont Wood Studios
NBN has known more than a few artisan wood workers and understands that an avid passion for making fine furniture combined with extreme talent doesn't mean that sales come knocking on the hand hewn door. It seems, at least from our anecdotal research, that its nearly harder to find customers... READ MORE

EARTH DAYS: Film Chronicles Birth of Eco Activism
Tonight on Public Broadcasting's American Experience EARTH DAYS looks at the stories of the environnmental movement's pioneers. 9 PM tonight April 19th. Check your local listings. Find further information about about EARTH DAYS here. READ MORE

Fast Company Case Study On Nature's Path Efforts to Stand Out in A Greenwashed World
There are so many companies in the natural and organic products industry with the word Nature or Natural in them that even us industry veterans sometimes get confused about who's who. In this READ MORE

Documentary GARBAGE DREAMS Might Change Your Life Or At Least Your Attitude Towards It
At NBN we think and write an awful lot about consumer products, their distribution, and consumption, and over consumption too, so it's all too easy to fall into the conventional thinking of the proudly left of center, light-footed Eco-conscious American. So we frequently have to remind... READ MORE

Better Options for Germ Fever
We're old school. Whether it's constant chatter about the H1N1 virus or volunteering at the ever so sneeze ridden High Horizons Elementary School in Bridgeport, Connecticut we just wash our hands a lot and JUST SAY NO to Purell and those other... READ MORE

The Ginger People Spice Up Expo West
Let's begin with an editorial disclaimer. NBN loves this brand. The Ginger People make honest products and unlike so many manufacturers today, aren't peddling their wares based on some mildly truthful health claims. What they do peddle is... READ MORE

Hain Brands Sponsors PBS Everyday Living Cooking Show
Hain Celestial Foods announced it's sponsorship of another PBS cooking show. Hain's latest PBS sponsorship is season five of the half hour Everyday Food television series on PBS, (check local listings). The half-hour television series features recipes from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's... READ MORE

John Mackey on Conscious Capitalism in HuffingtonPost
As we've written here, whatever you think about Whole Food's John Mackey he's worth paying attention to. Furthermore despite our criticism, the fact is that we in America would be a lot better off if our corporate... READ MORE

Same Old Puffin, Brand New Box at Barbara's Bakery
Just thought we share this post in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Barbar's hometown paper) on the redesign at Barbara's Bakery. The company also launched a READ MORE

Wal-Mart's Corporate Sustainability Consultancy?
A story at GreenBiz.com recently caught our attention. Turns out that there's an interesting side business for the company that Sam Walton created. When Wal-Mart isn't getting vendors to pare prices down to the bone or leveraging new locations to maximize business from rural Americans with... READ MORE

USDA To Start Spot Testing Organic Products, Media Makes Hay Over It
Given the current failure of proper government oversight into a wide range of businesses --banking, finance, mortgage lending and meat processing to name just a few, the fact that USDA announcement that... READ MORE

Ingelhoffer Launches Organic Mustards
Back in the mid-90's NBN ended ten years of working in natural foods retail to hit the road. No nothing romantic, we're not talking Kerouac, here. He became a traveling salesman. Yes NBN was looking for love in the form of sales commissions all over the San Francisco Bay area working for... READ MORE

Nature's Path Granola Bars Make Old School New Again
Every once in a while NBN needs to hold back on a story and read it a few days later because it’s so god damn gushy that any newcomer to the site might wonder if my cousin owns the company or I’m trying to bed the brand manager. Along with Amy’s Kitchen, Clif Bar and Kashi (yes even under... READ MORE

SolarDay 2010 -- Celebrate, Create the Future
While news stories continue to report China's growing leadership in the development of solar power and other forms of clean energy, NBN was glad to learn of a powerful coalition of solar... READ MORE

FDA To Pom --You Aren't All That Wonderful
Seems like the old FDA, which some critics claim had been acting like Rumpelstiltskin has finally woken up, smelled the coffee and some shoddy health claims too and decided that Elliot Ness is a far better role model than that sleepy guy. Thanks to New Hope Media for the link to the READ MORE

Petitioning the King, Organic Rules and Good Old Uncle Sam
As the growth of organic foods has created larger and larger corporate interest in the market, the traditional dance between the regulators, the regulated has gained increased scrutiny from various watchdog groups. Of course the dynamic driving these efforts is as old as time. The search for... READ MORE

New Hope Greens Up Expo West and Celebrates 30 Years
New Hope Media's Natural Products Expo West the nation's largest show for natural and organic products celebrates it's 30th year next week. In addition Expo West has implemented new protocols that will not only lessen... READ MORE

Diamond Foods To Purchase Kettle Chips for $615 Million
Diamond Foods makers of Diamond and Emerald brand nuts and Pop Secret microwave popcorn will purchase Kettle Chips from the British Lion Capital Group for $615 million. Lion purchased Kettle in 2006 for $270 million. Shares of Diamond fell 10% on Friday after news of the deal. As reported in... READ MORE

Mackey, Health Care, Fat Loss Incentives and The Cranky Critics
Well we're beginning to think that if John Mackey were to save a baby from a burning house more than a few would complain he forgot to get the little tyke's teddy bear, proving he's a villain to the core. Criticism over Whole Foods recent announcement that it was offering incentives to... READ MORE

Industry Interview: Hotelier Isabel Bogadtke
A recent visit to our old Brooklyn neighborhood offered NBN a vivid reminder that the restaurant business has changed as dramatically as the grocery world. Artisan rutabagas, mingled with locally grown onions, farmstead cheese and meats raised by celebrity ranchers While we can’t be sure... READ MORE

Kehe Buys Tree of Life for Reported $190 Million
As reported in Supermarket News Midwest Specialty Distributor Kehe Foods purchased Tree of Life Tree of Life for $190 million. The sale did not include Panos Brands which Dutch conglomerate Royal Wessanen is... READ MORE

New Yorker Magazine Profile of Whole Foods John Mackey
The New Yorker Magazine's Nick Paumgarten profiles John Mackey in the January 4 issue. While NBN has written about Mackey's idiosyncrasies in the past this profile was a page turner. Some moments reminded us... READ MORE

Bill Joel's Daughter OD on Homeopathics-Want To Buy The Brooklyn Bridge
When NBN first heard the news that Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley overdosed on Traumeel, a homeopathic remedy, we laughed. Not at the story of a depressed child of celebrity, but at the supposed cause of the hospitalization. Overdosing on a homeopathic medicine is... READ MORE

Hartman Group On The Ecology Of Food Retailing and FREE Webinar
Once again NBN found an essay from the research firm The Hartman Group to be worthy of multiple reads and the focus of several dinner party conversations. Well, actually only one took place over dinner. The other discussions were... READ MORE

USA Today on Revolution Foods Organic School Lunches
As America gets fatter and fatter and diabetes and obesity are as common among children as scabby knees and bratty behavior a feature story in today's USA TODAY is especially noteworthy. READ MORE

Kur Foods Makes Us Smile
While these products aren't available in the U.S. and we don't know how they taste if they are half as good as the website promoting the company they must taste like heaven. Don't skip the intro to the site and be sure to check out the movies at the Danish READ MORE

Newsweek Small Business Panel Looks at Guayaki
Ask anyone who works at Guayaki why the love yerba mate and you'll be left impressed. Not only will you learn a lot but you'll come away wishing you loved your job as much as these folks. Newsweek Magazine's Small Business Panel featured Guayaki, noting both the company's enviable growth rate... READ MORE

Interview with Nasoya Founder John Paino of Paino Foods
Time and time again weve seen industry pioneers return to the game after a long absence, recovering from burning the natural and organic candle seven days a week. Add John Paino co-founder of Nasoya Foods to the growing list. If you don't know Nasoya you aren't eating tofu. Paino and his... READ MORE

Fresh Market in Westport Leaves Whole Foods Empty
Take a look at the NBN archives and you'll find more than a few stories covering the impact of Whole Foods opening up in what was then, Wild Oats territory. Louisville and West Hartford were the most obvious examples of what WFM was doing right and Wild Oats doing wrong. examples of what WFM... READ MORE

Tree of Life To Be Sold--UNFI Purported Suitor
While not as mighty as General Motors, to those who grew up in the industry during the 1980's Tree of Life's demise signals the complete transformation of the industry. Consolidation is king! Once upon a time natural distribuors were regional, all with the exception of Tree. Rock Island... READ MORE

Mackey World--Why We Respect His Voice and Resent His Ignorance
Of all the things anyone has written or said about John Mackey the word CONVENTIONAL has never been used unless to describe what he isn't. Those who were amazed at his comments regarding the health care debate or his assessment that Whole Foods sells mostly junk clearly need to increase their... READ MORE

Hartman Group on Tesco's Fresh and Easy Failure
While we were among those who initially reported that U.K. giant Tesco's willingness to spend up to $1 billion dollars to enter the U.S. had Whole Foods bigwigs shaking in their granola boots we were wrong. We got our proverbial viewfinder in by the market research mavens at the Hartman Group... READ MORE

Natural Products Expo West Blooms Amid Economic Collapse
Well every March hope springs eternal in Anaheim. No, NBN isn't talking about some Disneyland parking lot attendant hoping that this season he'll get promoted to wearing a Mickey costume, we're talking about the big organic kahuna New Hope's Natural Products Expo West. We'll have reports from... READ MORE

Whole Foods and The Federal Trade Commission Battle Royale
While NBN is a frequent critic of Whole Foods but the claim that they are creating a monopoly is baseless. Even for those of us who favor greater regulation of business this makes no sense. All the trends points to the opposite fact. Natural and organic products are everywhere. Products that... READ MORE

Terracycle Transforms Middle Age Cynic into Youthful Idealist
One of the humbling things about straddling the line between the Baby Boomers and Generation X isn’t getting older. After all as far as we’ve understood that’s the only option unless you have a real hankering to become worm food. No the humbling part is coming to realize that so many of those... READ MORE

Obama Loves Honest Tea Forest Berry
So we know this is old news but frankly we were just so busy preparing out soon to be launched Product Review section that we forgot to post this story from the May 28th New York Times. The front page piece detailed the job of Reggie Love, Obama's assistant, and among other things, what Obama... READ MORE

Hain Iwin Simon Rings NASDAQ Bell
Hain Celestial Food's Irwin Simon rang the bell at the NASDAQ floor June 18th. While we don't think the high-stress traders were given any organic snacks they probably could use them. The few traders we know eat nothing but junk. Kudos to the crew at Hain. READ MORE

Gourmet Pet Food, Satin Pet Beds, Elegant Pet Burials---How About Getting Fido Cloned
Well we know some people love their pets more than their spouses and frankly we don’t blame anyone who does. Not that we don't believe in love and marriage. We do. But we also love cuddly and cute furry critters and the fact that humans have an ever increasingly hard time communicating,... READ MORE

Slate Slams Planet Green
In case you haven't been following the Discovery Channel's efforts to go green we'll happily update you and remind you that you should read this site more often and you'd already know all about their 24-7 eco-channel, Planet Green. READ MORE

LaraBar Bought by General Mills
We've been in business long enough and worked in the food business even longer that we know that when someone sells, it isn't doesn’t mean someone is selling out. It might just mean that they’re tired, bored, or just got some kids to put through college. We’re not sure if any of these apply... READ MORE

Some Starve, Others Complain About Whole Foods, This Guy Eats Cat Food for A Living
Well unless you're under sixteen you've no doubt realized by now that life is about as fair as the government's process for bidding on projects in Iraq. In other words, it isn't! However if you are sixteen and meeting with your guidance counselor about possible career paths, or maybe you're... READ MORE

Its Unanimous: Everyone Loves St. George Spirit's Lance Winters
At first I thought it was just me. After watching the video of St. George Spirits distiller Lance Winters talk about making Absinthe on the NBN partner site and always terrific Chow.com, I was stunned. I wanted to be him. I wanted to work for READ MORE

Rachel's Yogurt Expands Dean Food's Reach
We hate to admit it. When first saw the smart packaging and interesting flavors of Rachel's Yogurt we wondered "Wow, who's making this?" What enterprising start up had the nerve to enter the costly and competitive yogurt market and with such a large number of flavors as well? In fact, when... READ MORE

New York Times on Similac Organic Baby Formula
A front page story in Monday's New York Times discussed the growth of organic baby formula and questioned whether Pharma giant Abbott Nutrition's Similac Organic's growing success might be at the cost of infants nursing on the sweetened formula. Unlike other products, the Times reports that... READ MORE

United Natural Foods Conference Call--Will Wall Street See Roses in the Warehouse?
For a long time we've been wondering when Wall Street would wake up and smell the roses lurking in the forklifts, warehouses and trucks emblazoned with the United Natural Foods logo. UNFI's recent conference call shows us more reasons why we wonder. The call suggests what we've said all... READ MORE

New York Times on America's Table Scraps
Anyone who has worked in a restaurant or as a cater waiter like we have has seen more than their share of food get tossed in the trash. One vivid memory of a party for computer giant Oracle at San Francisco's Exploratorium comes to mind.It was underattended, easy to work, rather boring. Passing... READ MORE

Forget Wal-Mart? Target Will Be The Real Mass Market Organic Powerhouse
Of course forgetting Wal-Mart is like forgetting global warming. It can't be done. Unless you're dead. But here's the point. While Wal-Mart will be a major force in any market it enters, its ability to reach natural and organic consumers is limited. They don't like shopping there and when... READ MORE

Caldrea, Mrs. Meyers Bought by S.C. Johnson
As reported in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal on April 28, Minneapolis based Caldrea, makers of the highly successful Mrs. Meyers brand of biodegradable laundry, house and pet cleaning products was purchased by S.C. Johnson for an undisclosed sum. S.C. Johnson & Son, makers of... READ MORE

Whole Foods Glastonbury, Greenest Supermarket in America Uses Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power
As reported in the Waterbury Republican-American the newly opened Whole Foods Market in Glastonbury, Connecticut is the first supermarket in the world to use fuel cell technology to power its store. The fuel cell power plant built which is located at the rear of the store was built and is... READ MORE

Wilson Unveils Green Basketball
As part of the green trend we see lots of products come on our way, and until we get our new product review section set up, most don't merit attention for our regular news. Once we get our product review section up we're sure a lot of them will merit negative attention, but c'est la vie.... READ MORE

Give a Gherkin to Someone You Love--It's International Pickle Week
While we don't normally report on industry or manufacturer based promotional gimmicks this one was so damn good and right up our pickle eating alley that we couldn't resist. International Pickle Week was started in 1948 by the Pickle Packers International (say that three times fast) trade... READ MORE

New Garbanzo Bean Based Bio Fuel Developed Just in Time for Summer
Well just in time for the summer holiday rush the staff at our humor department came up with this satire. Yes we're kidding, the headline was a lie. But whether you like your chick peas on a salad, pureed into hummus or deep fried as falafel be sure to check out our humor section. Its READ MORE

Hain Impresses Wall Street While Whole Foods Leaves Em Worried
Wall Street's love affair with natural and organic got a little more interesting as two recent conference calls suggest that our analysis of Whole Foods efforts as sluggish, are on the mark, while our previous doubts about Hain Celestial Foods long term strategy for growth needs some rethinking.... READ MORE

Clif Bar's Gary Erickson Named Most Influential Industry Leader
Well, it was a close battle but in the end, Clif Bar's Gary Erickson beat out Whole Foods' John Mackey and Hain-Celestial Food's Irwin Simon in the first annual Natural Business News Industry Top 50 list. Erickson's commitment to creating new and innovative products, as well as his company's... READ MORE

Fine Tuning Our Cynical Radar and Rethinking Hain Foods
Lately we have been talking to more than a few readers and industry muckety mucks and some have suggested that we're a bit too cynical and our critical thinking radar needs some fine-tuning. Frankly, while we love pointing out where other people have made decisions that we say are stupid, this... READ MORE

Who Put the Cassava in My Potato Chips
One of the benefits of writing is that people want your attention. One of the problems of writing is that people send you lots of stuff you'd never want to eat. Luckily we have gluttonous friend as well as nearby food bank so the rejects never get wasted. Recently we received were some... READ MORE

Celebrity Pantry Features Author John Berendt
Anyone who's knows me knows that there are two things NBN can't get enough of. Chocolate is one, and attention is the other. Well if you can't get it yourself, why not talk to those who do? So we've decided it's time to find out what's in the pantries and refrigerators of the famous and... READ MORE

Best New Beverage for Summertime: Santa Cruz Organic Fair Trade Tea Blends
Unless you or your Uncle Tony are in the beverage business you might not know that soda sales are declining nearly as fast as George W. Bush’s approval rating. In the meantime, big soda players like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are scrambling fast and furious to reap sales in new markets such as water and... READ MORE

Martha Stewart Goes Fair Trade with Alter Eco
Okay, folks: given our reputation among some as a cynical son-of-a-bitch, it might be hard to believe but we actually like Martha Stewart. Or said another way, we think she deserves a break. That she has gotten a bum rap, and more. Even before her jail time for insider trading—something we... READ MORE

Thoughts on Fair Trade Day
Today is Fair Trade Day. If you're not aware of the growing social movement to create market-based approaches to reducing poverty throughout the globe take a look at Transfair to learn more. For information on where to purchase fair... READ MORE

Scouting Report From Whole Foods London
Though modest as websites go, we have our ways and recently we sent our overseas correspondent to scout out the new Whole Foods behemoth on posh Kensington High. She lives just a few blocks away, is wealthy and loves good, fresh quality foods. Most of the time she’s at the country house in... READ MORE

Is It Us or Does The New York Times Jane Brody Need to Calm the Hell Down
We've spent nearly a month trying to sort out what in the world Jane Brody was thinking when the otherwise thoughtful health columnist for the less and less venerable New York Times (come on folks William Kristol is on their Op Ed page these days) and we finally figured she must be so frightened... READ MORE

Whole Foods Plans More UK Expansion--While Pittsburgh Says It Wants More
As reported in market research firm IGD's Retail Analysis, Whole Foods is set to sign leases for another London Store in the Canary Wharf area as well as a location in Birmingham. Manchester is reportedly also on the radar. See the news brief READ MORE

Bodycare Claims Heat Up as Dr. Bronners Sues Hain, Others. We Need a Drink.
The natural products industry's version of the WWF Smackdown has gotten a start this spring as a lawsuit by Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and a counter suit from French organic certifier EcoCert have landed in San Francisco's Superior Court. Bronner's lawsuit charges that Avalon Organics, Jason... READ MORE

Natural Products Association Body Care Seal Sets Stage for Integrity
The announcement of a new seal and set of industry standards for natural personal care products initially raised some alarms in the cynical lobes of our green-washed soggy brain. We weren’t quite sure what to make of the new effort spearheaded by READ MORE

Simple and Concise: Dont Stop Taking Your Vitamins
We cringed yet again upon reading this story from the Washington Post unintelligently recounting studies about the value of vitamins. Lately we've been cringing so much., as more and more... READ MORE

Domaine Carneros Comes Out of the Closet, Becomes First U.S. Certified Organic Sparkling Winery
California's Domaine Carneros winery received its organic certification this April becoming the first certified organic sparkling winery in the U.S. Carneros, founded in 1987 by Claude Taittinger of the famed Champagne Taittinger, has long used sustainable methods since its inception. The... READ MORE

Are Supermarkets PR Teams More Suspicious Than CIA Agents Living in Afghanistan?
Whole Foods, like most supermarkets, has a policy of not talking to trade publications. Clearly there's a good reason for this. Slow-margin industries need to maintain their proprietary advantages as much as possible. In addition, you can save your corporate communications peeps a lot of work if... READ MORE

Soda Club Home Soda Maker Stands Out in a Greenwashed World
These days, every PR person has a client that is going green. Whether it’s a corporate law firm or a leaf blower maker, they bombard NBN with so many emails touting their earth-saving innovations that you’d think that polar bears were dancing in the Arctic Circle celebrating the end of global... READ MORE

Organic Farming Combats Global Warming? Rodale Institute Shows How
According to research by the Rodale Institute—leaders in research about organic farming—organic methods can provide a powerful tool to reduce global warming. The report Regenerative 21st Century Farming: A Solution to Global Warming, authored by Dr.Timothy LaSalle, Rodale Institute's... READ MORE

Whole Foods Expansion And Wild Oats Transformations-A Slow Road Ahead
More and more, we're hearing bits of news that suggest the post-Wild Oats merger has presented even more obstacles than we expected. While overall market opportunity remains huge, a lot of the challenge has to do with the fact that, notwithstanding some terrific management, Whole Foods might... READ MORE

New York Times on Commodity Prices, Food Riots and the Cost of Organic Milk
Two remarkably different stories in today's New York Times reflect the dramatic impact of rising food costs, and remind us that the battle over food quality in a world where most people don't have enough to eat is both a luxury as well as an intrinsic part of creating a solution. In READ MORE

Go Organic!! Campaign Gets More Ooomph
As anyone who is on this site knows, organic is the new Starbucks, the new "It Girl", and while it has profit-hungry supermarkets looking for new ways to reach customers, it still isn't on everyone's dinner table or even on their brain. So while the fourth year of the Go Organic! campaign is... READ MORE

Department of Justice Approves Sirius Merger, Leaving Us Wondering More About Scrunity over Whole Foods Purchase of Wild Oats
Regular readers know that we were a bit confused about why the seemingly merger-happy Federal Trade Commission deemed Whole Foods' purchase of Wild Oats as anti-competitive. It just didn't make sense. Even if you believe, like we do, that the government should be more involved in the regulation... READ MORE

Hain's Spectrum to Sponsor TV Cooking Show
In noteworthy news for a company that we frequently think has too many brands to manage, Spectrum Organics will be a major sponsor of noted chef Jacques Pepin's new TV show, 'Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way', starting this fall on PBS.... READ MORE

Tesco Puts on the Brakes
The UK supermarket giant Tesco's announcement in late March that it has temporarily halted US expansion left us feeling a bit smug, not for our own insight, but rather that we were smart enough to point readers to the READ MORE

Think Bar at Expo West
As regular readers, know we’re a bit hard-headed when it comes to reporting on our suddenly hot and trendy industry. After all, to those of us who have spent decades trying to create a sustainable economy, the LOOK MA OUR COMPANY MADE A SOLAR WAREHOUSE or HEY WE BUY WIND POWER sort of marketing... READ MORE

Hain Stock Downgraded
We've frequently written that we don't understand Wall Street's love affair with Hain-Celestial and while we'd be the first to admit we understand Wall Street as much as we know how to drive the Apollo Spaceship Lunar... READ MORE

LA Times on Whole Foods Pasadena
We've come to realize that the mainstream media is usually so wowed by Whole Foods that, most of the time, it seems their critical faculties are left at the door when they write about the store. We can understand. If you're used to shopping at a drab and dull supermarket (meaning nearly all of... READ MORE

Whole Foods Closing in Gresham, Oregon Points Out the Magic of Its Touch on Real Estate
While we've been very clear on the fact that many Wild Oats stores were never that successful, and that WFM would be closing a significant number of them, a recent story in the local Gresham Outlook reminded us that store closings aren't that different from factory closings. In other... READ MORE

Drug Sales Rep Bares Bloated Details of Greasing the Medical Machine
Former Eli Lilly salesman Shahram Ahari, who spent two years selling the anti-depressants Prozac and Zypraxa told a Senate hearing some gritty details about how Big Pharma greases the wheels of doctor's office's... READ MORE

New York Times On Clorox Green Works
Maybe once again we expect too much from the media. But it seems like common sense that a piece in in today's New York Times in a section called Greening Business discussing Clorox' new Green Works line of soap and cleansers, would have to devote more than just give a mere... READ MORE

Westport Whole Foods Shoppers Remind Us How Much Wild Oats Missed the Mark
Two weeks ago, we spent a few hours in the Westport Whole Foods Market that was formerly Wild Oats. Actually, it used be a terrific independent store that was then bought by distributor United Natural Food's NRG retail group . Wild Oats... READ MORE

Expo Rumor Mill: Fred Schilling to Leave Dagoba?
We received no comment when we asked someone on the phone with our favorite chocolate maven, anthropologist and all around cool guy that we hope to some day have a drink with, Frederick Shilling, if his days at Dagoba will soon be ending. READ MORE

Wall Street Journal Profiles Silk's Founder Steve Demos
Steve Demos, the man behind White Wave Food's decision to put soy milk into the refrigerated section and revolutionized not only non-dairy beverages but really the natural products industry is at it again. As profiled in the READ MORE

CNNMoney on Wal-Mart and Seventh Generation
In an otherwise run-of-the-mill story on green consumer goods, CNNMoney reported on opportunities for Seventh Generation to sell products in Wal-Mart. The story reported that Wal-Mart has contacted... READ MORE

Whole Foods Revitalizes Former Westport Wild Oats in Connecticut’s Gold Coast
Regular readers know that one of NBN’s favorite pastimes used to be reporting on Wild Oats in areas where they were competing head to head with Whole Foods. Louisville, West Hartford , and a few others showed what... READ MORE

Whole Foods Market Shareholders Give Mackey Big Thumbs Up
As reported Sunday a dissident group of Whole Foods shareholders was fighting hard to have company Chairman and CEO John Mackey relinquish one of this two leadership roles. Yet as reported in the Austin... READ MORE

Open Letter to Natural Products Expo West Attendees
Once again we reprint an NBN classic. 'Confessions of a Booth Babe' first appeared in March, 2006. Submitted by An Anonymous Body Care Booth Babe: Dear Retailers and Expo West Attendees, I had the dubious pleasure of working in a booth in the Personal Care Pavilion at Expo West... READ MORE

Hain Celestial Continues Expansion, Buys Nspired Foods and A Turkey Too
Hain Celestial Foods announced the acquisition of Nspired foods, makers of Sunspire, Cloud Nine and Tropical Source brands of candy, Maranatha nut butters and O'Coco's baked chocolate crisps. Unlike many previous acquisitions, where Hain purchased brands in segments the company already... READ MORE

Will Whole Foods Shareholders Affirm Mackey's Dual Role?
As reported in the Austin American-Statesman, this year's Whole Food Market shareholder meeting, to be held tomorrow, may be unusually interesting. The story noted that while similar proposals have been resoundingly defeated in past years READ MORE

Is Good Eating Good Enough? Pollan, Supplements and Health
Maybe we missed the memo, or accidentally erased avoice mail, but somehow we never got the word that Americans eat so well that they don't really need to supplement their diet with nutrients. Eating a well-balanced diet is all you need. Of course in theory we agree, yet in a nation of over... READ MORE

Hartman Group's Tinderbox Dampens Tesco's Heat
Among the many newsletters we get, one of our favorites is Tinderbox, an effort produced by the Hartman Group. In the current issue they prove NBN—and many others— wrong in our assessment of Tesco's mighty punch. Their early looks suggest that despite Tesco's fat wallet, filled with the... READ MORE

The Myth of Useless & Dangerous Vitamins
The renowned Mayo Clinic's online efforts include a feature called NutritionWise. The idea is to help people improve their health with improved nutrition. In the piece, from March 5 the writer/nutritionist asked: "Multivitamins — Are they the best thing for you?" After slapping our forehead... READ MORE

Coca-Cola Buys 40% Share of Honest Tea
When we first heard the news that Honest Tea and Coke we’re merging we thought "Oh no, Coke will ruin them.” Then we reread the release and were relieved, learning that at least for now, Coke just bought 40%. Furthermore, we thought, who wouldn’t want the opportunity to grow their business with... READ MORE

Whole Foods Unveils New Personal Care Standards
Initial reaction to Whole Foods new standards for personal care products provoked a range of reaction from "it's about time," to a more positive "I'm excited...this will get the industry in line." We'll be doing an in depth report on READ MORE

Has Whole Foods Replaced Your Wild Oats?
If so, we want to know what you think. We've heard nothing but good things from customers at the Westport, Connecticut store that WFM is transforming slowly but surely. News is that the major remodeling will come this summer, but in the meantime the folks we talked to are happy as a pig...err,... READ MORE

Ethics Schmethics from Profit Hungry Pfizer Pharmaceutical
NBN's passions run deep but even we wondered why every time we saw the Lipitor television ad with Dr. Robert Jarvik, our blood started boiling. “When diet and exercise aren’t enough, adding Lipitor significantly lowers cholesterol,” Jarvik spins is his folksy, aw shucks kind of way, while... READ MORE

Kellogg's Gardenburger or A Cautionary Tale For Expo Entrepreneurs
A Tale of Flying Too High in The Freezer Aisle Once upon a time, there was a product that everyone loved and its sales showed. But like many kings, they grew too proud, stopped paying attention to their kingdom, and left the business of veggie burgers to others. When they announced... READ MORE

Clorox Goes Natural with Burt's Bees and Green Works
NBN has had more than a few friends buried deep in Excel spreadsheets at Clorox Headquarters in Oakland, California and based on their experience we think that the November 2007 addition of Burt's Bees to their lineup will do well. Everywhere we turn, there's another Burt's Bees display. The... READ MORE

It's Time To Stop Worrying So G-D Much About Chinese Products
Lions and Tigers and Chinese Imports, OH MY! Grocery chains are lining up to state that they are examining their policies on importing foods from China, reassuring consumers that all is well. For example, as READ MORE

CNN Money Profiles United Natural Foods' Michael Funk
While not newsworthy to those of us in the industry, CNN pulled back the curtain back to reveal the Wizard beyond United Natural Foods Michael Funk. NBN remembers meeting Funk by the keg of Sierra Nevada ale, in the then brand new Mountain People's Warehouse in Aurora, California. Oddly... READ MORE

BAM! Emeril Meets Whole Foods Market
The Discovery Channel's Planet Green announced that Emeril Lagasse and Whole Foods Market will be teaming up for a new cooking show, called Emeril Green. According to Discovery, the show promises to be “an innovative series that will redefine food shows for the new green culture.” We imagine... READ MORE

Prescription Drug Deaths Grow, Right Along with Direct to Consumer Advertising
As noted by the Health Freedom Foundation, a recent report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported a total of ZERO deaths from vitamins and supplements. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as reported in READ MORE

TRIPLE Pundit Makes Us Happy
If you've finally gotten tired of looking at all those sites that your mother would be ashamed of, or maybe just those more wholesome ones that leave you feeling tired and resigned, check out Triple Pundit, a terrific site where, in their own... READ MORE

Hain's Irwin Simon Goes Shopping with a Reporter
As regular readers know, NBN is very aware of Irwin Simon's ability to acquire companies, run them poorly, and still curry favor with Wall Street. Time and time again Hain's touch has been leaden, transforming fast-growing brands into slower-growing and declining ones. Yet after reading a... READ MORE

It's March, so I Must Be in Anaheim at Expo West
Lots of New Products, Lots of People Crowd Show Floor as NBN Says, "Get Me Some Yerba Mate" NBN will have plenty more on the Show of Shows (with apologies to Ed Sullivan) but an early look tells us that there are more new products here than we've seen in years. Additionally, we've noticed... READ MORE

Wal-Mart to the World: We want to be the #1 organic retailer.
Wal-Mart’s recent announcement that it plans on rapidly expanding its selection of organic items in its stores garnered plenty of attention. Yet NBN believes that while Wal-Mart is seriously considering the opportunities here, we aren't holding our breath. Of course we know that there will... READ MORE

Anyone Want to Buy A Bridge--And How About Wal-Mart Going Green
Supermarket News reported yesterday that Wal-Mart is incorporating experimental green design elements in a new superstore that it is building in McKinney, Texas. While the company failed to provide further Supermarket New with further details, the story reports that Wal-Mart states that it... READ MORE

It's the Cops. Quick, Hide the Oreos!
Veda City, Iowa Commune-Itarians Ban Non-Organic Foods I've heard reports that Vedic City, Iowa, built in 2001, by disciples of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has banned conventional foods. A blend of 19th century American Utopianism, New Age spiritualism and ancient Indian spirituality, Vedic... READ MORE

Expo 2007 Hollywood Miracle
Walking through the supplement section I noticed the folks selling the Hollywood 24 Hour Miracle Diet had a floor display loaded with this product that is basically a $25 bottle of juice. The header card on the display proclaimed “LOSE UP TO 5 POUNDS IN 24 HOURS.” Last year NBN heard rumors... READ MORE

Whole Foods Regulatory Review Leaves Us Confused
Before beginning we want to admit to any new readers, that when it comes to Whole Foods, NBN is the nerd in the schoolyard who loves it when the bully gets in trouble. In other words we’re fond of slapping Whole Foods around when the company acts a bit holier than thou. Yet for the life of... READ MORE

Why Most Supermarkets Suck
One of the greatest unstated assets Whole Foods has had for years has been evident to anyone who cared to look. The asset is simply the fact the most large chain supermarkets suck. The dirty little secret about the supermarket business is that it’s not about the consumer at all. It’s about... READ MORE

Biodynamic Keeps Getting Bigger In Europe
Word from folks who attended BIOFAC last month, the European Organic Trade show held annually in Nurnberg, Germany told NBN that more and more products were certified biodynamic this year. While Biodynamic certification is virtually unheard of among large manufacturers, NBN expects more U.S.... READ MORE

Tesco's U.S. Launch Has Whole Foods Worried
American grocers are nervously awaiting Tesco’s opening of their “Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets” in the U.S. Tesco’s plans include opening locations in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and possibly Colorado. While initially billed by the retailer as a new type of convenience store, the... READ MORE

FDA Drafts Guidelines to Regulate Supplements, Herbs as Drugs
Once again the FDA has issued guidelines that would allow it to regulate non-toxic, supplements and herbal products. This Monday the FDA announced via a document posted on its website a new "guidance" document, plans to reclassify virtually all vitamins, supplements, herbs and even vegetable... READ MORE

Mom-There's Goat Milk in My Ice Cream
Laloo's Runner Up In Food Network Awards NaturalBusinessNews person we love, Laura Howard founder of Laloo's Goat Milk Ice Cream was one of three finalists in the ice cream category at... READ MORE

Wegmans Spanks Whole Foods and Trader Joes
Food Network Award Goes to Northeast Regional Chain Wegman's Supermarkets, the 90 year old family owned chain renowned for its creative store layouts and upscale formats beat out Whole Foods and Trader Joes to earn the Food Network's 'SUPER Market' award. READ MORE

Poor Research Concludes Antioxidants Are Dangerous, Maybe Deadly
JAMA Antioxidant Study Kills Us Or Why We Still LOVE Our Antioxidants The recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is bad science and worse public relations for the supplement industry. If you haven’t heard about it don’t think you missed... READ MORE

Time Magazine Gets Lost in The Field
Organic Versus Local Story Confuses the Facts Lately it seems that green issues have become as popular as stories over who’s the daddy of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby. Last year the ever-trendy Vanity Fair devoted a whole issue to it. More recently Martha Stewart devoted a week of shows... READ MORE

Was Wal-Mart's Interest In Wild Oats The Real Reason For Whole Foods Buy
While we never thought that the prospect of a conventional grocer’s purchase of Wild Oats was reason enough for Whole Foods to purchase the ungainly, troubled #2 chain, we recently heard some news that makes WFM’s buyout of Oats a lot morel logical. Turns out that more and more folks have been... READ MORE

This Just In From Pork Magazine-Hormel OffersNatural Line Of Meats
Well the world really is changing when the folks who make SPAM and a whole world of processed pork, beef and poultry ‘partakings’ have announced a new line of all-natural sandwich meats and ham products. As reported in the above mentioned magazine, PORK (ah don't you love trade... READ MORE

Hain Celestial Continues to Impress Wall Street
The Hain Celestial Group has become the darling of Wall Street even though its growth through acquisition strategy is making less and less sense (unless of course you think buying not one, not two but three natural body care companies is wise). Turns out the fusionists love the company too.... READ MORE

Finally A TV Commercial For A Supplement Product
While we don't believe that Big Pharma will worry too much about this, we were thrilled to see some well-done TV advertisements for a nutritional supplement company. While watching the boob tube (don’t tell my mom I was eating a pint of ice cream at the time) NBN looked up from his pint of... READ MORE

Poison Pet Food--Its Like Alar On Apples
Why Its Time To Start Educating Consumers Well I love my cats almost more than myself. And yes I feed them the good natural stuff too, without preservatives and probably better for humans than most of the crackers at my local supermarket. Turns out that the unfortunate pet-poisoning... READ MORE

Vitamin E, Echinacea Continue to Lose Sales
As regular readers of NBN know (and if you’re not a regular reader get with it!) starting in 2005 and continuing in 2006 the media was rife ongoing reports over the inefficacy of nutritional supplements with Vitamin E and Echinacea bearing the brunt of the bad press. Studies about these were... READ MORE

Overheard at Expo West--A Small Compilation of the Humurous and Inane
Overheard at the Expo At a leading personal care booth: “Why should I give you a sample for your girlfriend? She isn’t my bitch.” Note: We think this was a joke. At the Clif Bar booth: “Everybody tells me I have a really great ass?” At the Kettle Chips booth: “Tastes like potato... READ MORE

Natural Products Expo West---Ah, Anaheim
NBN will have plenty more on the show of shows (with apologies to Ed Sullivan) but an early look tell us that they're are more new products here than we've seen in years. Additionally we;ve noticed lots of folks crowding the floor who we're sure don't know the difference between barley malt... READ MORE

Wal-Mart's New Campaign Makes Us Queasy
New 'Humanitarian' Strategy Revealed As noted in the March 2nd New York Times, Wal-Mart's new marketing strategy, that includes selling premium items across all segments isn't about capturing more and more retail sales it's a humanitarian effort. The low price message is now history. In... READ MORE

Whole Foods Buys Wild Oats -- Part Two
Okay it took us a while to get back to you with our opinion on the big sale. And while we still have out doubts about the impact the purchase will have on operations in the short term, financially the move is strong. In case you're thinking NBN was just brainwashed by the financial experts we... READ MORE

Is Whole Foods Treating Vendors Like Tony Soprano Treats His Working Girls?
NBN is hearing more and more stories about manufacturer dealings with Whole Foods corporate and frankly we’re wondering if the revolutionary retailer is acting more like a desperate Mafioso. One who is in need of lots of cash to keep from getting 'hit’ by a mob called Wall Street. For years... READ MORE

Wal-Mart Schmal Mart
Nearly a year ago, America’s largest retailer made an announcement. Coinciding with the opening day of Natural Products Expo West, Wal-Mart declared its intention to add thousands of natural and organic SKUs to it shelves. Today that promise seems a lot like NBN’s vow to get to the gym. It just... READ MORE

Wild Oats Products Hit Price Chopper. Is the Brand Worth More Than The Stores
As regular readers know we have been following Ron Burkle's interest in the Wild Oats chain closely. So far, despite his nearly 25% ownership and placement of many of his people at the helm, things have remained pretty much the same at Oats. At least so far. More recently we've talked to... READ MORE

Whole Foods Buys Wild Oats for $565 Million
While here at NBN we've been predicting the sale of Wild Oats for more than year, last week, when we wrote "sooner or later some mid-size conventional chain will be more than(desperate, really)... READ MORE

Rethinking Wild Oats
Could It Be Time to Call Your Stock Broker? Recently I had an interesting conversation with an industry friend; one that started out as a debate about Wild Oats and ended up with NBN thinking about the perennial also ran a lot differently. What I noticed is this. So what if Wild Oats is... READ MORE

Horizon PR Machine Polishes Its Image-Or Why Cows Love Dean Foods
Ten years ago it would have taken more than a strange day in May to envision a company synonymous with organic to produce a long-winded brochure about animal well-being. Yet in today’s world of corporate organic agribusiness and in a culture where image rules the roost, or in this case, the... READ MORE

Do Natural Products Expo Attendees Drink More Booze
A little known fact, or should we say rumor, came our way last week. Turns out that the staff at the Anaheim Marriott stated that they serve more alcohol at the hotel bars during Expo West than any other convention. "Bartender, I'll have a double Maker's Mark and a some carob coated rice... READ MORE

My Sol Mate is Better Than Your Sol Mate
Patent Lawyers Come on Down As reported in our Expo West coverage, NBN’s favorite product of the show was a terrific soda developed with several Canadian companies, including one of our favorite jam makers, Crofters. Sol Mate sparkling... READ MORE

Notes From the Expo: File This New Product Under Huh?
Spun Activated Water-No Snake Oil Added We've seen plenty of products that leave us wondering why people do the things they do (manufacturers and consumers both) and this new water leaves us speechless. So instead of our normal witty and insightful commentary we'll just quote from the... READ MORE

Pass the chicken nuggets please! And hold the hormones and antibiotics
Free Bird Chickens Hit the Shelves As regular readers know NBN eats the occasional Oreo, buys a late night Kit Kat now and then after a night on the town (translation: we've had too much to drink) and yes, though we don’t indulge very often, loves Fresca too. Yet NBN has NEVER EVER eaten a... READ MORE

Michael Pollan Berates Nutritional Science and Gets It Wrong
It took us more than a few wine laden conversations to figure it out. Michael Pollan is getting confused. In his New York Times Sunday Magazine cover story of... READ MORE

Stacy and Izze Meet Colonel Sanders and Taco Bell
Two Big Moves of Last Year Which Might Not Pay Off If the folks at Izze and Stacy’s Chips, two big winners in 2006 of the "who wants to buy my company" contest have any sense of the twists of fate, they’ll thank their lucky stars for BOTH their own forward thinking efforts to get distribution... READ MORE

So Long Red Bull Hello Cocaine
A December 16 New York Times story noted the outcry over the new energy drink called Cocaine. Its website is at drinkcocaine.com. Meanwhile at the same time anyone who isn’t blind has been bombarded by advertisements with that... READ MORE

No Surprise As Odak Leaves Wild Oats
New Move Conistent with Burkle Consolidation Wild Oats CEO Perry Odak, whose current contract expires March 19, 2007 will not have his contract renewed, the company stated in a regulatory filing this week. Despite statements to the contrary in a July conference call NBN sees this move as a... READ MORE

Strangest Promotion in Baltimore
Foods Market in town to promote it. The title of the book:HOW DOG FOOD SAVED THE EARTH. Despite our cynicism and annoyance with the smugness of the title a quick look at Amazon.com showed favorable comments, most noting the book's chronicle of how like-minded people can come together and... READ MORE

Hershey Expands Its Reach, Acuqires Dagoba
We love Dagoba founder Frederick Schilling and his chocolates are NBN's favorites. So news that Hershey has added his terrific line to its stable mad us glad for Schilling but worried a bit about quality. Hershey bought Joseph Schmidt and another of our favorites, Scharffen Berger earlier this... READ MORE

Spinach Investigation Continues As Media Gets It Wrong Again
Word is out that the FBI raided both National Selection and another grower, reportedly Green Giant Foods. The two companies were investigated, said sources, for their role in the E Coli incident. Meanwhile another TV ‘personality’, this time Dr. Drean Edell proved the media’s lack of... READ MORE

Expo East: All the News and All the Snooze
After a last minute decision to attend Expo East we left the show happy to see old friends but more and more convinced that the Baltimore show is as exciting as yesterday’s meat loaf left out in the rain. What we mean is that fewer established manufacturers bother to exhibit, (this holds... READ MORE

Expo East: All the News and All the Snooze
After a last minute decision to attend Expo East we left the show happy to see old friends but more and more convinced that the Baltimore show is as exciting as yesterday’s meat loaf left out in the rain. What we mean is that fewer established manufacturers bother to exhibit, (this holds... READ MORE

Take The Lunesta Challenge
Big Pharma Hits a New Marketing Low In case you haven't seen the commercials with the green (more like neon green or Chernobyl green) butterflies flitting around the heads and beds of people taking the latest sleep aid Lunesta you're lucky. But read on here cause you should know that using... READ MORE

Whole Foods, United Natural, Get Happy--Will Manufacturers Feel the Pain?
United Natural Foods announced that it has signed a seven year agreement to be the primary distributor for Whole Foods. While not a big surprise, the deal offers United Natural the opportunity to plan long term growth accordingly. NBN remembers the old days back when we were the grocery... READ MORE

Thoughts About Wal-Mart and Organics From Rural America
Wal-Mart, Its Like Crack for Consumers Since leaving San Francisco and moving to northeastern Pennsylvania I've been looking forward to living in a swing state and think that it might make up for leaving the ocean views, my friends and the produce too. Okay back to the point. Here in... READ MORE

Supervalu's Sunflower Market Opens in Columbus Ohio
As anyone who has asked, (or paid NBN’s consulting fee knows), we LOVE Midwest regional powerhouse Supervalu's new Sunflower Market store in Indianapolis and are excited to see these stores give Whole Foods a run for their organic money. As noted previously the Sunflower format has and will... READ MORE

Vitamin E & Echinacea Sales Continue to Tank
As regular readers of NBN know (and if you’re not a regular reader get with it!) ongoing reports over the inefficacy of Vitamin E and one whopper a losing study on Echinacea have been widely overstated and misreported. If it sounds like we’re conspiracy theorists we’re not. The math is pretty... READ MORE

Avalon Natural Up For Sale
VC Owned Firm Hoping to Follow Tom's & The Body Shoppe to Megabuck Avenue NBN has learned that Avalon Natural Products is on the selling block with what our source tells is a price of $60 million. Avalon was purchased just a few years ago from founder and body care marketing guru (okay he's... READ MORE

Whole Foods Just Says No to Live Lobsters
In a move consistent with WFM's visionary John Mackey's vegan lifestyle Whole Foods Market will discontinue selling live lobsters. While animal rights activist applaud the move, NBN wonders if more than concern for animals inspired it. As a native New Englander NBN has always been mortified... READ MORE

Antioxidant Frenzy --Much Ado About Nothing
Arizona Tea's new pomegranate tea has 'em. Pom Wonderful has em. Tropicana Essentials has them too. Even Tully's coffee shop (a large chain, for those who don't know it) is promoting their new antioxidant fruit smoothies. Seems like nearly every new drink this side of the oasis is touting the... READ MORE

Natural Products Expo West 2006: The Hall Was Alive
Dateline: Anaheim, home of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, tons of cursing parents toting kids and of course every March, the good old Natural Products Expo. This year the show broke record attendance with more than 40,000 attendees according to New Hope’s PR person). On Friday the show... READ MORE

Overheard in Anaheim 2006
Overheard at the Expo: “Sucralose, that’s what you use to clean your swimming pools too,” said an unnamed whole grain sales rep, pointing at the Dr. Atkins both. I don’t know what she meant, but as satire I like it. “Avalon is right next to Hauschka. Like People Magazine next to the New... READ MORE

Natural Products Expo 2006 News from the Floor
Late July Organic Snacks launched two new sandwich crackers. The cheddar cheese tastes great, and though I’m allergic to peanuts I’m told that were excellent to. According to Steve Bernard, CEO these were orignally slated to be the first two items, but difficulties in creating an organic GMO... READ MORE

SOY MILK WARS: Chapter 1: Coca Cola versus Dean Foods
Things are heating up in an unlikely battle between the world’s largest soft drink maker and the world’s number two dairy. The emerging rumble in the dairy case will pit Coca-Cola re-launched Odwalla’s soymilk head to head in the dairy case with Dean Foods’ Silk. Odwalla’s first attempt at... READ MORE

What Organic Reallly Means
The Cornucopia Institute Is Talking About Another Revolution While it wasn't talked all that much outside of the dairy booths at Expo West, The Cornucopia Institute's organic dairy ratings may be the start of the most important shift in the industry since ex White Wave founder Steve Demos... READ MORE

Lessons in Corporate Parenthood
NBN was surprised to learn how few folks were aware of the brands are managed under the White Wave Foods subsidiary of Dean Foods. Dean, the world's number two largest dairy, manages its nationally branded products under the White Wave umbrella. These brands include White Wave, maker of Silk,... READ MORE

Kudos to Companies Using Green Energy
But For Crying OUT LOUD, Stop Bragging So Much! A recent look at a well designed Kettle Foods brochure that touted the company's history secret also notes. among other things that in 2003 the company powered several of its vehicles on biodiesel fuel and more importantly that it added the... READ MORE

Hansens and Anheuser Busch in Talks
Time and time again, we've seen it. A category leader tries to launch a new product and it flies like a duck. The point there is that ducks can't really fly. They're clumsy like NBN on roller blades, really, really clumsy. Whether it's a corporate culture of bankrupt ideas or just the nature... READ MORE

Baseball Players on Steroids
Once again we're hit smack in the face with the realization that common sense is as absent from the front pages of America's newspapers as modesty is lacking in Paris Hilton. Major league baseball, led by none other than former Senator George Mitchell (someone we used to respect) has indicated... READ MORE

Muttered at the Expo: Why Didn't Toms of Maine Give it to the Kids
Heard on the Floor: The Kids Weren't Interested When folks weren't talking about Wal-Mart or the sale of the Body Shop to L'Oreal, they were talking about everybody's favorite (yes sorry Nature's Gate) toothpaste and why Tom's sold to Colgate rather than pass it on to the kids, Matt and his... READ MORE

Burkle and Cerberus Group Move Closer to Oats Purchase as Wild Oats Stock Price Rises Again Amidst News
As regular readers of NBN already know, Ron Burkle, the billionaire head of the Yucaipa Investment Group (and former Ralph's chief) already controls 14.9% of Wild Oats. Sources at the EXPO told NBN this weekend that Burkle has greatly increased his shares of Wild Oats shares in the past few... READ MORE

Wal-Mart's Organic Ambition Shakes Up The Natural Products Expo
Giant Retailer Rattles Some Nerves, Has Others Dreaming of Gold While we didn’t get to talk to any of the Walhttp://s215570773.onlinehome.us/site/cms/levine/index.php5?entry=true NBN News ::: Admin Area ::: Levine Reports-Mart buyers that were at the show and who everyone was looking for, we... READ MORE

EXPO West: More Zen, Less Muscle Amidst Crowded Show Floor
Back from our 20th Natural Products Expo West NBN survived the endless Disney kitsch amidst an exciting show that featured less muscle in the supplement aisles, lots of talk about Wal-Mart, Toms of Maine and the Body Shoppe sales, claims and counter-claims about bodycare labeling and exciting... READ MORE

Supervalu's Sunflower Market Gets Rave Review
Word is out that Supervalu's first natural and organic format store, Sunflower Market, located in Indianapolis, Indiana is GREAT. One of our sources, an industry executive who prefers to be anonymous, Sunflower’s price points are great, adding that price points seemed to average 15% lower... READ MORE

Slate Magazine Looks at Whole Foods
Article Points Out Image Isn't Everything and Then Gets It All Wrong In one the better pieces on Whole Foods Market, Slate looks at Whole Foods phenomena and asks the question is WFM really all that wholesome? While we wondered whether the story would be just another snaky complaint about... READ MORE

Tom of Maine Joins Madge at Colgate Palmolive
Colgate Purchases 84% of Tom's of Maine for $100 Million. The world's #1 toothpaste manufacturer, Colgate Palmolive announced an agreement to purchase 84% of natural oral care leader, Tom's of Maine. The privately held company was founded in 1970, husband and wife team Tom and Kate Chappell... READ MORE

Trader Joe's Finally Opens Manhattan Store
Whole Foods Union Square's New Neighbor Increases NY Competition Almost nine months after announcing that it was opening a Manhattan location, Trader Joe's finally unveiled its new 12,000 square foot store in the Union Square area, close to a Whole Foods Market 4 times it size, a much... READ MORE

Cheese Burger Served on a Donut Debuts
Thanks to Warren Jones and Leann Ledebuhr at SPINS for forwarding a link to the website of the minor league baseball franchise the Gateway Grizzlies. Seems that in order to pick up ticket sales the team has created some unique items in their concession stands. As my friend notes, and we can’t... READ MORE

Wild Oats To Open 10 New Stores in 2006
Ailing Retailer Cites Poor Acquisitions as Reason for Slow Growth According to a story in Forbes, Wild Oats Market expects to open 10 new stores in 2006 and stated that it could open another 450 stores according to a market saturation analysis. Okay folks, another 450 Wild Oats stores.... READ MORE

Wild Oats Stocks Gain
As reported in Supermarket News, stock in Wild Oats Markets soared yesterday following news that Robert Miller was leaving the ailing natural retailer, to become chief executive officer of 665 the Albertson’s stores to be acquired by Cerberus, as part of the consortium with Supervalu and CVS.... READ MORE

Wal-Mart to the World: We want to be the #1 organic retailer.
Wal-Mart’s recent announcement that it plans on rapidly expanding its selection of organic items in its stores garnered plenty of attention. Yet NBN believes that while Wal-Mart is seriously considering the opportunities here, we aren't holding our breath. Of course we know that there will... READ MORE

FDA's Oversight Fails Remarkably--Two-Thirds of Required Drug Studies Never Done
Yet another story about regulatory failure at the FDA appeared in the March 4 New York Times. Frequently, when the FDA approves news drugs for sale it requires manufacturers to conduct follow-up studies to determine whether the drugs are working as claimed and whether any adverse side effects... READ MORE

AIDS Medicines and Scientific Fraud?
Harper's Magazine Provides Yet More Details on Shoddy FDA The current issue of Harper's Magazine contains a riveting essay detailing the politics behind AIDS treatment, the drug approval process and what is clearly the ongoing exploitation of vulnerable people, both here and abroad, seeking... READ MORE

One Look at Why Supplement Sales Are Sagging
Judy takes supplements, visits an acupuncturist regularly, and seeks out spiritual guidance from various sources known to frequent health food stores and other wellness locales. Jake doesn’t take vitamins and only reluctantly visits complentary health care practitioners. They have three... READ MORE

AMA Proposes End to Doctor's Cozy Relations with Big Pharma
Well if you've followed my advice and read Greg Critser's book Generation RX the following story won't be a surprise. If you have a mouthful of coffee while reading this, swallowed before reading any further. We don't want you to choke. The Journal of the American Medical Association's... READ MORE

Why GNC Is On a Downhill Slide
the complicated musings among financial gurus it finally struck me like a ton of vitamin C powder. GNC’s problems can be summed up by simply noting what two stores in San Francisco financial district have in common with a couple of Subway chains right nearby. Better put, by simply by looking at... READ MORE

Calcium Reporting is ALL WRONG--Bad Science, Lousy Reporting
In case you were wondering how thousands and thousands of calcium studies over dozens of years could be so wrong, stop wondering, because they weren't. Fact is, the recent calcium study by the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a U.S. government program showed a 29% reduction in bone fractures.... READ MORE

Memorie's of Mrs. Gooch's
I remember it vividly. My shock and awe at seeing a store like none I had ever seen before. It was huge, bright and packed floor to ceiling with nothing but the natural products that back in the 1980's were only seen in little 1,000 and 2,000 square foot stores that were often hard to find and... READ MORE

Safeway Opens Lifestyle Store in Boulder
A report in Supermarket News on the opening of Safeway's new lifestyle store in North Boulder, Colorado quotes from a Safeway press release that sounds like the store followed all the analyst's advice reports on how to compete with Whole Foods. But NBN knows natural shoppers can smell a phony... READ MORE

NY Times Required Reading on Aspartame
As opposed to our online persona where NBN is bitchy, relentless and bit of a complainer, offline NBN is committed to change but actually pretty mellow. Honest. Well, come to think of it, online I’m not sort of a complainer, I’m actually a real big complainer, especially when it comes to the... READ MORE

Whole Foods Quarterly Report Shines Bright
While Wild Oats shares are handled with care (think volatile, folks, like liquid nitrogen) news from Austin, Texas, land of Whole Foods Market make shareholders happier than a pig in that word my mother hates. WFM reported a sales growth of 22% and an increase in profits of 26% during the... READ MORE

Burkle Buys More Oats As
Yucaipa Group Increases Stake in Wild Oats Supermarket bigwig Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Investment group increased its share in Wild Oats to 14.9% last week after purchasing 1.5 million share of Oats at $12.50 per share. Analysts cite Burkle's interest may have to do with the impending sales of... READ MORE

Former USDA, Hershey Exec, To Head Organic Trade Association
The Organic Trade Association announced last week that Caren Wilcox, former director of Governmental Relations for Hershey Foods, will replace Kathleen DiMatteo, who announced her resignation last year. Wilcox joined Hershey after serving as Under Secretary for Food Safety at the U.S.D.A. In... READ MORE

Organic Year End Review, Strong Growth, Less Supply
Hot on the heels (or should we say hooves) of Stonyfield Farm’s look at importing organic milk from New Zealand to satisfy demand for their organic yogurt, comes a study from the Organic Institute. The Institute, a London research group, reports that limited supplies are impacting organic food... READ MORE

Japanese Unveil New Chip, Potato Chip not Computer
Japanese snack maker Tohato introduced what the company calls a revolutionary potato chip, (actually though we the word revolutionary, might be a bit of an ovestatement, sort of like calling Wells Fargo Banking, personalized). As reported in Japan Today, the ‘Jagasane: Bacon & Black Pepper’... READ MORE

Nutrition News Overload--Guidelines on What Not To Believe ...Or Vice Versa
Regular readers know that NBN is constantly writing with great distress about poor reporting on supplements and the studies associated with them. It’s like asking your 78-year-old mother what she thinks about the latest I-Pod. She doesn’t know, doesn’t care and doesn’t want to. But reporters... READ MORE

Got Milk Gets Bashed As Book Suggests Dairy Leading Cause of Osteoperosis
A new book suggests that milk may be a leading cause of osteoporosis. The Milk Imperative by Russell Eaton looks a numerous studies all of which suggest milk isn’t the health food all those cute got milk mustache advertisements want us to believe. Most notably, countries with the highest dairy... READ MORE

Best Book of the 2005: Generation RX
Read this book and some things start to make sense. Things like those obviously misleading commercials on television and in magazines. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those that tout the latest drug that makes you think that life before treatment was a living hell but after treatment its... READ MORE

Nation's Food Banks Suffer Shortages: Katrina Diverts Donations
A recent story in USA Today noted a dramatic decline in donations to Food Banks across the U.S. According to a study by America’s Second Harvest (the national network of food banks) the decline is linked to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Donations to Katrina are leaving food banks across... READ MORE

May Your Yule Log Burn Bright with Coffee?
WWSD? What Would Santa Do? NBN loves coffee and lately our passion for java has turned to flames. We’re burning up the eco-friendly Java Log in the fireplace at our home office. Check out www. Java-log.com for more information on this fuel-efficient green product that the manufacturer... READ MORE

Who Owns Whom? Or A Fruit Loop And An Organic Oat Flake Walked Into A Bar
Wondering if the same folks who make Fruit Loops make your favorite organic cereal? Or if that energy bar you buy before heading to Pilates class is made by the same company that pumps out Kit Kats? Check out the Organic Consumers Association corporate ownership chart. While a rapid and... READ MORE

Lets Fatten Up The Youngsters: Whatever Happenened to the Dietary N Word?
For adults, some of us take time off around the holidays. Time off that is to eat lots of stuff we otherwise do our best to avoid: high calorie, high fat goodies, that offer little in the way of the N-word--nutrition, we mean. Well a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies... READ MORE

Website Review: TeaTrends Has Us Sipping At the Information Superhighway
Frankly we prefer coffee but www.teatrends.com is a site that not only had us sipping from its well-designed and informative sections but also wondering if we really hated Earl Grey as much as we think. After trying a cup, we decided we still do. Nonetheless we love this site. Teatrends provides... READ MORE

New England Journal Of Medicine--Merck Committed Fraud
The November New England Journal of Medicine's report on Vioxx examines the research and concludes that big pharma giant Merck committed scientific fraud, selectively and knowingly deleted clinical data that showed Vioxx to be dangerous. If we sound like we're gloating we apologize. But we're... READ MORE

GRANOLA WARS: Whole Foods versus Wild Oats in Louisville
While the 2nd annual Levine Thanksgiving family reunion was absent of any fights, in fact it was filled with fond reminiscences of old friends, favorite places, family pets and resulted in nothing more harmful than falling asleep in front of the television and some serious overeating (more... READ MORE

Green Tea Flexes its Muscle Again
Yet another study has shown the powerful benefits of the antioxidants in green tea. This time researchers at the University of South Florida have found that green tea may offer another potential health benefit --protecting the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.... READ MORE

You Call it Fruitcake,NBN Calls It Building Blocks
In other food news, that is if you consider holiday fruitcakes something edible, the Wall Street Journal reported that four fruitcake manufacturers filed a formal request with the FDA to cut the serving size for fruitcake by two-thirds. The petition was filed with the hope that a smaller serving... READ MORE

Heinz to Hain: Buzz Off?
Ketchup King to Sell Hain Shares H.J. Heinz announced that it was exploring the sale of its approximately 6.1 million shares of the Hain Celestial Group. While Heinz noted the sale is consistent with its strategy to consolidate efforts on its core business, NBN reminds readers that Heinz’... READ MORE

Memo To Congress: Look to Supplements, Stupid
DSEA Study Shows Possible $5 Billion Dollar Savings with Two Supplements A study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance showed that the simple provision of two supplements to seniors, 65 and older would result in a whopping $5 billion dollar savings over 5 years. The... READ MORE

Zia Adds Machismo
The launch of Zia Skin Solutions for Men began in October and the great looking look of the line, the company’s first collection aimed towards men, seems too well done to be the work of a Hain subsidiary. Our apologies if this sounds nasty, but Hain’s track record, as well as those at Jason... READ MORE

The Wild, Wild West, West Hartford That Is
A trip to Wild Oats West Hartford store this Saturday was a pleasant surprise. The store was busy, pleasant and unlike many of its counterparts, packed with shoppers. While the bakery was a little disappointing, both it and the deli were underoing renovations. Upon checkout, NBN's cash... READ MORE

Tree of Life Ends Sales with Ralphs
Wessanen announced that its US Tree of Life Division was ending its contract with Ralph's, stating that the $45 million sales were unprofitable. Tree of Life has both a natural division, under the same name, and its Gourmet Award division selling specialty items. While no announcement has... READ MORE

An Organic Oily Oasis in a Trans-Fat Jungle--Red Palm Oil Arrives
We love children, at least those who aren’t our own. And we especially love those who follow their parent’s passion for creating change. Add Ted Robb to a list that includes Nell Newman and two soapy generations of the Bronner family. Ted, son of Whole Foods bigwig Walter Robb (who opened his... READ MORE

Amy's Organic Heads to The Office Testing Frozen Vending Machines
As noted in Vending Market Watch, natural and organic frozen foods leader Amy’s Kitchen recent purchased seven frozen food vending machines, which the company is testing if a variety of outlets, including offices, hospitals and a police station. The machines are stocked with a range of Amy’s... READ MORE

Starbucks Celebrates Fair Trade Month With Neat Advertisements, But Not Much More
Starbucks latest in store promotions and advertisements feature the company’s work with local growers, noting how Starbucks makes lives better in small coffee growing villages around the world. If you believe that, you probably also believe those Wal-Mart commercials that claim how the retail... READ MORE

Americans Crave More Food While Watching TV
I Lost the Remote and Now I’m Starving. According to a recent study by Allrecipes.com Americans get their biggest food cravings watching TV. The second most likely pace to get food cravings is at work. Given that we’re often bored staring at the boob tube (excluding Law & Order, of course)... READ MORE

Look Mom, No Spoons Sandwich Heaven ...Or Maybe Hell
If you’ve gotten carpal tunnel from making too many peanut butter & jelly sandwiches the folks at PB Slices in Guthrie, Oklahoma have got the product for you. While NBN is allergic to peanut butter, we once loved the easy, flat, fold 'em... READ MORE

Something's Rotten in The FDA AS Regulators Loving The Regulated
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford announced his resignation on Friday. Crawford, a long-time FDA deputy, served as acting Commissioner for three years before Senate hearings confirmed his appointment just two months ago. His announcement on a day that media coverage focused on Hurricane Rita was... READ MORE

Chromium Gets FDA Approval--Health Claim for Diabetes Approved
In case you think chromium is just for the fenders on cars built before 1980, think again. A recent FDA ruling allowing qualified health claims for chromium picolinate might mean you’ll see cereal boxes touting ‘added chromium.’ As the supplement savvy NBN readers know, chromium, in the... READ MORE

Wal-Mart Canada Makes Us Blush--Retailer Begins Selling Sex Toys
While this has very little to do with our normal range of stories, well, we just couldn't resist passing this on. According to a story in Canada’s newspaper, The Globe & Mail, Wal-Mart Canada will begin selling sex toys, or what the retailer euphemistically refers to as 'sexually well being... READ MORE

Trinity Launches....Err...Organic...Um... Water
Okay we like the folks at Trinity Water. We really do. But the news that the company has launched a new line of organic flavored waters leaves us wondering if someone spent too much time in the spring and had their common sense soaked out of them. Its organic flavored water, but come on folks,... READ MORE

The Real Dirt on Farm Aid, Farmer John and Some Down Home Music
The 20th annual Farm Aid concert was a huge success this Sunday. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Kenny Chesney, John Mellencamp, Wilco and others performed for over 10 hours before a crowd of 28,000. Ticket sales grossed $1.3 million with a portion directed to aid Gulf... READ MORE

Shocking News: Supermodel Admits Using Cocaine
Okay, so maybe we're cynical, but we doubt it. More likely, we're realists. We've lived long enough to know that people do things that don't always make sense, at least to us. The recent decision by European retailer H&M to cancel a contract with supermodel Kate Moss after her admitted... READ MORE

Corporate Arm Wrestling: Hain Spectrum Deal Not Finalized
Word from the street (some call it gossip) is that Spectrum Organics is still in negotiations over final details of the company’s sale to the Hain Food Group. While no one suggested that the announced purchase by Hain is on the rocks, some folks wonder if the independent minded (some call it... READ MORE

Senate Proposes Changes on Organic Rules
Is It Like Putting the Fox in Charge of Guarding The Henhouse More and more granola minded soccer moms are buying organic nut butters, gallons of Odwalla juices and Amy’s Organic frozen dinners at big box stores. No surprise here. In San Francisco, I know lots of folks who load up their... READ MORE

Kerry on Katrina, Bush and the Boy Scouts
John Kerry, from a speech delivered at Brown University: "Katrina stripped away any image of competence and exposed to all the true heart and nature of this administration. The truth is that for four and a half years, real life choices have been replaced by ideological agenda, substance... READ MORE

We're Skipping The Expo and Heading to Canada
NBN's Own 'Deep Throat' To Report From the Show As we noted a few weeks ago more and more manufacturers are deciding that the increasingly high costs of exhibiting at both New Hope shows isn't worth it. NBN was planning on attending, but a better opportunity came up last month. Instead... READ MORE

NYC Union Expands Campaign Against Whole Foods
'Right Wing' Views Of WFM CEO To Be Publicized If you read NBN regularly, you know we love calling Whole Foods, America's glitziest non-union grocer. When WFM's second store launched on Union Square the site of many important battles in America's labor movement, that the ghost's of labor past... READ MORE

While Wall Street Licks Its Chops, Union Works To Protect Albertson’s Workers
While we weren’t surprised by the recent announcement that Albertson’s is looking for buyers nor the news of so many investment types anxiously throwing their hats into the ring of potential buyers, we were happily caught off guard by the fact that Supermarket News noted the United Food &... READ MORE

Kill The Precedent: Fair Trade from Alter Eco
Okay we stole that edgy headline. It's from Nate Mezmer’s new soul-ish, hip hop-ish album but NBN thinks that the title applies to the line of terrific fair trade products from the folks at Alter Eco. Fair trade seeks to guarantee workers decent working conditions and revenues and to facilitate... READ MORE

Organic Trade Association Executive Director DiMatteo Steps Down
The Organic Trade Association announced that that Katherine DiMatteo will be stepping down next spring. DiMatteo, the OTA’s Executive Director for 16 years has been a leader in the creation of numerous victories for those committed to organic food, most notably the often contentious and... READ MORE

They'll Take Staten Island? Brooklyn Turns Back Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart is batting 0 for 2 in its quest to finally open a location in New York City. Plans this spring to open a store in the Rego Park section of Queens failed and recent efforts to open a store in Brooklyn were rebuffed by the same combination of union, civic and small business activists that... READ MORE

Power To The Peaceful
Spearhead's Michael Franti once again led the 7th annual 911 Power To The Peaceful concert and gathering in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park today. Over 50,000 people gathered in a suprisingly beautiful fog free day to the creation of a world that works for everyone. Amidst the bleak news,... READ MORE

Lessons the Hain Can Learn From Guayaki
And Not Just that Their New RTD Mate Splashes Great with Vodka A colleague's account of the Canadian wedding of one of Guayaki’s founder said that the wedding was terrific, one of the best he had ever attended. And also this: that Guayaki’s new ready to drink raspberry yerba mate is... READ MORE

Memo To GW: It Isn't A Blame Game It's About Responsibility STOOPID
Please note: the following is not directly related to natural business. It is however very well written. Additionally, given the fact that the increasingly pathetic state of American politics is threatening my own sanity, it had to be written. To paraphrase that unforgettable line from the... READ MORE

What's Good for Monsanto Is Good For Iraq
We recently spoke with Rob Mitchell, one of San Francisco's natural food pioneers (but who still looks great, and much younger than his years) and he told us that under the new rules of privatization in Iraq's proposed constitution, farmers would be required to buy seeds, from Monsanto. Those... READ MORE

Robert Kennedy On Violence
Words of Robert Kennedy, one of NBN's heroes, from a speech delivered to the Cleveland City Club on April 5, 1968 one day after Martin Luther King was assasinated. If you take time to read anything today, put this on top of your list. Mr Chairmen,Ladies And Gentlemen This is a time of... READ MORE

Thoughts On Katrina
NBN is quiet today. Seeing a palette of Gatorade loaded onto a helicopter flying to the Astrodome, we realized that our normal attitude of snarking at corporate America's attempt to make food cheaper and profits better doesn't inspire us today. In other words, while we realize that battle... READ MORE

Politics Rule The Roost As Another FDA Official Resigns
The director of the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, Susan Wood, resigned Wednesday over the agency’s decision to postpone indefinitely a ruling on whether to allow the sale of the morning-after pill to be sold without a prescription. The pill, used as an emergency contraceptive device, was... READ MORE

UNFI Posts Huge Growth for Fourth Quarter
United Natural Foods released strong figures for the fourth quarter that leaving analysts and others yelling the equivalent of “VA va va voom, baby, shake it!” UNFI sales increased 22% for the quarter and 23% for the fiscal year, with yearly earnings of $41.6. on over $2 billion in sales.... READ MORE

Forty-Five Million Americans Uninsured--Health Warning On French Fries Urged
Okay so maybe we’re cynical, and not quite seeing the forest for the trees, but California Attorney General Bill Lockyer’s recent move to add health warnings to French fries and potato chips leaves us wondering if this idea came from an episode of the Simpson’s. “What,” we imagine Homer... READ MORE

Where Art Thou Cap’n Crunch?
In an announcement nearly as surprising as the fact that Starbuck’s opened a new store up this week, the Quaker Oats Company announced the results of a company sponsored study. Tufts University psychologists found that boys and girls did better on tests when they ate oatmeal than when they ate... READ MORE

Wild Oats Boutique Gets Maternal Thumbs Up. Mother Knows Best!
Those of you who read NBN regularly (as you should) know that our mother ship, also known as Levine's Mom, was given the task of checking out the grand opening of Wild Oat’s second lifestyle boutique in a Stop & Shop store. Well, the initial word from Mom is that the boutique within a store... READ MORE

Feds Reverse Ban on Use of USDA Organic Seal--Let Them Eat Soap
The USDA announced that it would reverse a rule prohibiting the use of the USDA Organic seal on body care, pet food and all other non-food items. Last April the Agency decided that only food items could use the USDA seal. Previous to that, under advisory rulings the agency had allowed organic... READ MORE

Wild Oats Unveils Second Store in Stop & Shop NBN's Mother Ship Sent to Investigate
While the new Wild Oats lifestyle boutique that is celebrating its grand opening today isn't in my mother's Stop & Shop store, it is in one just a few more miles from her house. The conversation below took place this morning: "Mom, I need you to be a stringer, to do some research for me."... READ MORE

Buyer's Remorse: Why Bigger Natural Companies Often Aren't Better
Lest anyone get us wrong, big companies buying small ones isn’t necessarily a problem for NBN. Usually yes, but if Organic Valley for some reason were to buy up, say, Mozzarella Fresca, well, we wouldn’t really care about that one. But the difference is simple. Most buyouts are efforts to... READ MORE

Hain At It Again-Spectrum Latest Acquisition By Ever Hungry Irwin Simon
The ever acquisition hungry Hain Food Group, led by our industry’s own Little Caesar, Irwin Simon, is reported to have reached terms to purchase Petaluma, California based Spectrum Organic Products for approximately $34.5 million, or 70 cents a share, about 5% over Spectrum's current evaluation... READ MORE

Expo A No Go As More and More Vendors Just Say No to Expo East
We’ve heard from more and more names in the industry that Expo East is a waste of time and money. Promotion based deals don’t need to be done at the show, we’re told, and more importantly, the general feeling among many is that the cost for everything at the two Natural Products Expo are rising... READ MORE

Organic Valley Steps Up Beyond the Horizon
Fund Created to Assist Conventional Dairies Transition Organic Valley announced last week the creation of a transition fund to support conventional dairy farmers facing the challenging and initially costly steps in becoming certified organic. OV’s transition fund, created in partnership with... READ MORE

NBTY Revisits the Past In Effort To Bolster Solgar, Rand Skolnick To Consult
Good news for those concerned that new owners, Nature's Bounty might muck up 58 years of quality. NBN has heard from our good friend, San Francisco natural foods retail pioneer, Rob Mitchell, that Nature's Bounty has hired former President, and son of the Solgar's founder, Rand Skolnick to serve... READ MORE

Is Wild Oats All Mixed Up? Conventional Products To Be Added To Shelves
Wild Oats recent decision to add conventional food, household and OTC items to its product mix is a little bit like the girl who put her thumb in the dike. It always feels good to be doing something but it doesn’t necessarily solve the problem at hand. While we understand that the Oats... READ MORE

Hershey's Grabs More Candy Joseph Schmidt Added to Giant's Arsen
While NBN doesn’t like the taste of Joseph Schmidt chocolates—they’re too waxy—back in 1989, upon first moving to San Francisco, we fell in love with Schmidt’s small chocolate shop on 16th street in the Castro district. Before distribution grew big, his store was a destination for all my out of... READ MORE

Now For Some Good News--Money Talks, Antibiotics Walk—At Least A Little Bit
Okay so this doesn’t signify a revolutionary change in the way food is processed, but two items in today’s Supermarket News online edition suggest that the interests of agribusiness may be increasingly at odds with the concerns of those actually bring the foods to markets. Albertson’s... READ MORE

An RFID Tag Walked Into A Recycling Center
As reported in Supermarket News, the Fibre Box Association has commissioned a study to determine the impact of RFID tags on the recycling of boxes. Given the almost certain probability that RFID tags on boxes will soon begin to appear in recycling mills, the Association is looking at how to... READ MORE

Vitamin E Slammed In Another Shoddy Story From The New York Times
Well, wouldn't you know it? Just as I was nearly finished procrastinating, and finally getting down to writing a dry report for a market research firm, one on skin care treatments (insert snoring sound here), but one that actually pays my bills, I had to go for one more spin around the worldwide... READ MORE

The Faster They Grow, The Harder They Fall. Atkins Seeks Protection From Creditors
Atkins Nutritionals, the privately held low-carb leader, which grew in 2004 at a frenzied pace, to include a wide range of products including bread and baked goods, frozen foods and shelf stable entrees heads to hearings in a Bankruptcy Court today. As reported in the today's New York Times,... READ MORE

Good For Your Toast
Aloetrade, an Argentinean Aloe maker announced the launch of its new aloe marmalade. While we won't be buying any soon, NBN is in love with aloe, but the kind you spread on your skin, not on sprouted whole wheat bread Aloetrade's marmalade is made from what the manufacturer’s claim is the... READ MORE

Echinacea Schmechinacea: NY Times Report Ignores Existing Literature
A study by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that there is no scientific evidence that Echinacea is helpful in combating colds. As noted in a press release by the American Botanical Council, “This is... READ MORE

FDA Withdraws Veterinary Drug for Chickens
As reported in today’s USA Today, for the first time, the US Food & Drug Administration has banned the use of a veterinary drug, specifically an antibiotic used to treat diseased chickens, “because it has caused the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health.”... READ MORE

Echinacea Schmechinacea, New York Times Story Ignores Existing Literature
A study by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that there is no scientific evidence that Echinacea is helpful in combating colds. As noted in a press release by the American Botanical Council, “This is... READ MORE

What’s Not So Great About Costco! Or Anything Compared to Wal-Mart Seems Good
Recent stories about Costco have led some people, good and smart folks who care about creating a world that works for everyone to believe that Costco is an example of a large company that takes care of it’s employees. And while, yes Costco pays much better wages and benefits than Wal-Mart (for... READ MORE

Scharffen Berger Slurped Up By Giant
Hershey Extends Reach To Upscale Chocolate Lovers Now that someone no longer owns Scharffen Berger we care for, it’s time to reveal a nasty comment made by a colleague earlier this spring. “The more I eat Dagoba, the more Scharffen Berger is starting to taste like Hershey.” We'll see... READ MORE

It’s A Bird, It’s a Plane, No It’s SUPERWEED
Genetically Modified Crops Reportedly Create New Weed A report in the GuardianUK online edition today noted that researchers have identified a new weed that is pesticide resistant. The super weed, identified in fields where is genetically modified rapeseed was planted, is reported to be a... READ MORE

Study Shows We Haven't All Gone Stupid or Gotten Duped
UK Shoppers Believe Quality Ingredients Not Price Determine Premium Products While staying at a friend’s house in Seattle last month I noticed a can of McSteven’s premium gourmet chocolate cocoa. The label swore to the old fashioned virtues of McSteven’s but the fact was that the ingredients... READ MORE

Seventh Generation Meet Todd Oldham, Martha Stewart
Green Household Manufacturer Hits Shelves in 51 Target Stores As part of a test market Seventh Generation, the leading US manufacuturer of green household products launched end displays in 51 Target stores last week. As expected outlying San Francisco city, Daly City's Target is one of... READ MORE

Gardenburger, Seeks Buyers Former Veggie Burger King Continues Struggling
Not too long ago, when someone said 'veggie burger,' they meant Gardenburger. Today the company's is synonymous with that familiar story: the industry leader and innovator becomes the industry loser, a has been, as the company rapidly loses sales to those that followed in its wake. So it is... READ MORE

Wal-Mart : The Movie Not a Horror Flick, It’s A Documentary
Robert Greenwald the director/producer of the documentary OUTFOXED now turns his attention from Rupert Murdoch to Sam Walton’s empire in a new project currently entitled WAL-MART which looks at various people, families and communities impacted by the giant retailer’s marketing strategies.... READ MORE

Wild Oats Stock Gains Amidst Analyst Upgrade
Are California Store Sales Enough Reason for Hope? Wild Oats stock rose 7% on Friday on word that RBC Capital Markets graded Whole Foods poor stepsister to outperform based on their expected growth in sales for Southern California stores. Quarterly results will be released August 4th and... READ MORE

Honest Tea Splashes Big In Sunday New York Times
In case you don’t read the New York Times the allure of the Times Sunday Magazine is akin to the magic of St. Peter’s to a nun. People save it for months; refer to it at cocktail parties, dinner dates and board meetings. They are stacked by the pool house in the Hamptons, and revered for the... READ MORE

Schlepping in Seattle Or Hooray for PCC
Somehow I thought they would look different. Must have been because that the Seattle neighborhood I was staying in, the Green Lake area, was inundated by so many joggers, roller bladders and bicyclists, that I thought Seattle-ites blood was made of Clif Bars and that the supermarkets here would... READ MORE

Barbara's Bakery In Wedding Talks with Tony The Tiger, Captain Crunch
Weetabix Close to Dealing Off American Cousin According to a report in the Times of London online edition, Weetabix is reportedly days away from signing a deal to sell leading natural cereal maker and a private label portion of it's business in an effort to focus on it's Weetabix and Alpen and... READ MORE

All Things Organic Tells Penton: Back Off Big Boys
In an email sent to Organic Trade Association members today, the Association clarified any confusion due to by marketing efforts by Natural Products Expo communications. The diplomatically worded email stated: "On Thursday, June 23, 2005 you may have received an email correspondence from the... READ MORE

Does Velveeta Promote Homosexuality? American Family Association Says Yes
Kraft Resists Right Wing Rancor Over Gay Games Sponsorship While no one I know of has ever thought of Velveeta or Kraft Cheesy Pleasures Mac & Cheese as being at the forefront of any civil rights effort, Chicago based Kraft Foods, the folks who love reducing manufacturing costs by reducing the... READ MORE

Senators Seek to Expose Costs of Wal-Mart Economy
Kennedy, Corzine, Introduce Bill to Track Cost of Wal-Mart's Uninsured Workers The Health Care Accountability Act introduced June 22 would require states to report the number of employees of large companies who because of the lack of employer based health coverage, receive public funded health... READ MORE

Wyeth to Solgar: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
NBTY Buys Pharmaceutical Cast Off Once upon a time not so long ago, something strange happened. A family business started in 1947 was purchased by a health care giant (translation: a company that says 100 million doesn't add up to peanuts), and people wondered why. While some suggest that... READ MORE

NBN's Rumor Mill all Wrong- It's Back to Baltimore
A recent report in this very humble publication stated that the Penton Poobahs were planning to move the annual East Coast Confab (also known as Natural Products Expo East) to Chattanooga or Atlanta. Well, turns out were as wrong as those who thought George W. Bush might turn out to be not so... READ MORE

Two Investment Bankers Went Shopping for Flaxseed Oil
Is Wall Street Worried About Whole Foods? Recent volatility and downgrades WFM's stock may not have tarnished it's platinum sheen but NBN wonders if the presence of two new New York City stores, may have members of the Wall Street elite wondering, "is the magic really all there?" In other... READ MORE

Bronner Boxes Bureaucrats over Rule Reversal
Battle Over Organic Non Food Labels Heads to Court The Organic Consumer Association and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps issued a lawsuit attempting to win an injunction against the USDA's recent attempts to ban disallows any labeling or marketing of products that are certified to comply with the NOP... READ MORE

Trader Joe's --They'll Takes Manhattan? Union Square Store to Open Near WFM
Trader Joe's announced plans for it's first store on the isle of Manhattan. The 15,000 sf store is reported to be on the ground floor of an NYU Dormitory. No word on whether the store plans on selling term papers or Cliff Notes. Look for more two stop shoppers, waltzing between WFM and TJ's... READ MORE

Egg Agribusiness Gets Aggro Over Oats Cage Free Policy
Is Corporate America Really That Pathetic? Okay so maybe corporate America isn’t ill willed and pathetically whiny, but lately I’ve been wondering about big agribusiness. Remember when the beef lobby for talking common sense health about eating red meat sued Oprah? Ever buy fresh chicken... READ MORE

Retail Wrecking Ball Part of Safeway's Renewal
"Holy granola they tore down the Safeway," I yelled driving through Mill Valley last week. In case you don’t know, north of San Francisco is Marin County where there’s less fog, more sunshine and even more money. The dreary Safeways in Mill Valley always surprised me. And while a lot of... READ MORE

Crown Princess Wins FDA Contest AsAndrea Linton's Wit Works Wonders
Andrea Linton, Natural Products Manager for Crown Prince, emailed me from up the road in Petaluma (once the chicken capital of the west coast and now more precious and pricier than platinum) with this sterling entry to our contest to name the real meaning behind the initials FDA. Here regal... READ MORE

Lessons that Hain Can Learn From Guayaki
A colleague's account of the Canadian wedding of one of Guayaki’s founder said that the wedding was terrific, one of the best he had ever attended. And also this: that Guayaki’s new ready to drink raspberry yerba mate is tremendous vodka mixer. Anyone who has seen the Guayaki booth at the... READ MORE

FDA Contest : What's behind those three letters?
Send your suggestions for what the initials F.D.A. really mean to fdafun@naturalbusinessnews.com Here are a few examples to set your logical minds free from constraints: Federal Dumb Asses Freedom Does Anything Four Doses Above Fawn... READ MORE

Kafka for Supplement Buyers and Users
"That was how it was. And I nodded to the family. They knew nothing about it, and had they known, would not have believed it. To write prescriptions with people is easy, but to come to an understanding with people is hard." Franz Kafka, from A Country Doctor (Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir) READ MORE

Whole Foods Opens on Union Square
Calling it "the equivalent of the Beatles Concert at Shea Stadium" for Whole Foods fanatics, Jim Crotty, one of the monks of Monk Magazine, called me today to report on the "total scene" at the opening of Whole Foods latest New York store in Union Square. "People were walking around inspecting... READ MORE

Wild About Wild Oats? Ailing Retailer Extends Reach the Wrong Way
In an effort to increase sagging profits, Wild Oats announced its intention to become a strong national brand with distribution in major retail grocery chains through the nation. While touted as an innovative approach, might this just be the desperate moves of a company that realizes Whole Foods... READ MORE

Kafka for Supplement Buyers--Literary Food for Thought
"That was how it was. And I nodded to the family. They knew nothing about it, and had they known, would not have believed it. To write prescriptions with people is easy, but to come to an understanding with people is hard." Franz Kafka, from A Country Doctor (Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir) READ MORE

Contest: Find the High-Five-ing Happy WFM Clerks Cheerily Stocking the She
Newsweek's Puff Piece Good But Come On Send us a photo, candid shots only please, (or really artfully staged recreations) of any two clerks stocking shelves, slicing cheese, or patting parsley on the produce rack, exchanging high fives and you will receive a prize donated by whatever... READ MORE

This Little Big Pharma Piggy Went to Market
The Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex (lets call it PHIC for short, folks) lobbed another grenade last week, aiming to increase profits yet minimize choice and affordable public health. Last week, Pfizer announced that the testing of its new cholesterol drug Torcetrapib will be conducted only in... READ MORE

Ralph Bigwig Eats His Oats
Is Ron Burkle Just Sewing His Wild Oats Or Is This A Marriage Worth Rooting For? Billionaire grocer and Democratic Party donor Daddy, Ron Burkle, purchased 2.6 million shares or 9.2% of Wild Oats, and according to reports, may start issuing orders to the Oats Board of Directors. Burkle,... READ MORE

Chicago’s Dumpster Task Force Closes Whole Foods
When Good Stores Get Sloppy Anyone who ever worked where there was garbage knows that there are rodents too, but when the Lake View Whole Foods Market was closed for a day due to “substantial rodent activity” I am pretty sure that some team member responsible for cleaning up the garbage wasn't... READ MORE