January 25th 2002 >> Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Amy's makes vegetarian cooking easy
by Cynthia Wollman

Andy and Rachel Berliner were busy parents-to-be and discovered they had little time to frequently cook food that was as healthy as they'd like. So, in 1987 with daughter Amy soon to be born, the Petaluma couple created their own company, producing wholesome, organic vegetarian convenience foods ranging from pizzas to stir-fries.

Since then, Amy's Kitchen has expanded from a limited menu of a single pot pie to more than 80 products. The company, in a 107,000-square-foot facility (they also have a 40,000-square-foot warehouse) in Santa Rosa, employs 650 people and does $100 million in annual sales.

The Berliners have geared their products toward "health-conscious people too busy to cook," just as they were when they began the company.

"On the box, its says we started the business because we didn't have time to cook; now we don't even have time to breathe," Andy said with a laugh.

Amy's Kitchen was constructed when Rachel was pregnant and for the first time in their lives, Rachel and Andy had to shop for convenience foods.

"The more pregnant Rachel got, the less energy there was for gardening and cooking," Andy said. When they went to the supermarket, they "were shocked at the poor quality of prepared meals that were natural and organic."

Basically, "the flavor profile wasn't good," said Andy, 55. So Amy's Kitchen became one of the first companies in the country to use organic vegetables on a grand scale, using 5 million pounds of Californian tomatoes, 4 million pounds of onions, and almost 5 million pounds of grain annually.

The couple met in 1979 on a meditation retreat in India. They led a wholesome lifestyle that included eating organic vegetarian foods they grew and cooked themselves.

Neither had a food background before this venture: Andy graduated from Purdue with degrees in biology and psychology, and went on to work with Magic Mountain Tea in San Rafael. Rachel majored in art at Santa Monica City College and was a doctor's assistant.
Amy, now 14, grew up on their first commercial product, vegetarian pot pies.

Although the Berliners say they don't restrict Amy from eating meat, she has chosen to be vegetarian. Regarding meat, she says, "How can I miss it? I've never had it."
Despite being the namesake and heir to Amy's Kitchen, Amy is fairly modest. In fact, her friends' parents tend to be more excited about her celebrity status than her friends themselves. Amy might be most popular for having the best lunches at school."I have to make her more cheese toaster pops because her friends always eat the extras," says Rachel, 48.

The whole family is vegetarian -- even the pets, though they don't credit the diet for the longevity of their 22-year-old cat."No, I think she just has good genes," says Andy. Rachel explains, "Cats really aren't meant to be vegetarian. They have to have certain enzymes, certain amino acids, which we give to her." When the cat was younger, she would hunt to supplement her diet.
"Dogs are easier to be vegetarian," says Rachel. She says their dog's vegetarian diet is why he "never has bad breath." Rachel's conversion to vegetarianism was inspired by a vegetarian crusader who traveled with a live lamb.

"I was 16 years old, and I never really connected that what I was eating was once a live animal. I just wasn't aware of that. Once I put the two together, I didn't want to do that (eat meat) anymore."

Living in Los Angeles and having a father and brother who were already vegetarians made Rachel's transition easy.

Andy, however, grew up in the meat-and-potatoes city of Chicago. As a young adult, he was exposed to Eastern philosophy and its vegetarian concepts. In addition, when his father was stricken with cancer, Andy joined him on a low- fat vegetarian diet.

His vegetarian lifestyle took hold when he moved to Sonoma 30 years ago. "Once I lived in the country with all the animals, I've never considered eating them."
Amy's Kitchen products are sold throughout the United States and also can be found internationally. The Berliners have distributors who sell to retailers in places such as Singapore, Dubai and New Zealand.
With the furor over mad cow disease, the vegetarian diet has become more popular in Europe, particularly in England. The most popular Amy's products there are pot pies, lasagna and pizza.

Overall, Amy's best-selling products are the spinach pizza and the cheese enchiladas. When Amy's started its canned soup line about two years ago, people asked why they were venturing beyond frozen foods.

"We only go into a business if we feel we can make a significant improvement," Andy said. Sure enough, all seven of their canned soups are among the top 10 best-selling soups in the natural foods industry, according to Spins, a San Francisco firm that tracks natural foods marketing.

"A lot of the initial product ideas were trying to take things that were already favorite foods, but only available in commercial presentations (i.e. pot pie, macaroni and cheese)," Andy said.
They also have been inspired by their travels. The idea for shepherd's pie was sparked by a trip to Canada. They had a Thai stir-fry in England that they liked so much, they flew the chef to the United States to help them develop the product.

The Berliners work with chefs to create products to their taste. They also take consumer feedback seriously. Not long ago, a petition by vegans to remove honey from their pizza crust persuaded the Berliners to change the recipe.

At home, the Berliners "eat very simply." Rachel does most of the cooking and usually makes meals such as pasta or quesadillas. Surprisingly, "Amy's is more complex food than we usually eat, so that's our gourmet night," Andy said.

Andy says he and his friends eat Amy's pizza weekly, and the Berliners eat the veggie burgers on a regular basis. Although they don't eat Amy's products every day, owning the company has its benefits: "We used to spend hours making pasta sauce. Now we just open the jar."

Amy's Kitchen is still privately owned. What is stopping the Berliners from selling their company and retiring?
"We enjoy the business and enjoy providing the service to people."

In addition to profit sharing and scholarship programs for the employee's children, they offer language and citizenship classes. At a recent Cinco de Mayo celebration, the Berliners serenaded their employees with mariachi.

"It's our love for Sonoma County that keeps us here," Rachel said. Sonoma may not be the most economical place to run their business, but, Rachel says, "We love Sonoma County. We love it so much."

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