March 14, 2023
Carlotta Mast, SVP of Natural Products for Informa, left, welcomes industry members to the New Hope Community Purpose and Impact Awards ceremony on March 7. On the right, Lacey Gautier, VP of Events, waits to present trophies to the award winners.
The Ecosystem Award is given to a person or organization that has done something meaningful to improve, connect or align the broader purpose-driven natural products industry ecosystem. The winners are One Step Closer and The Climate Collaborative.
Lara Dickinson, executive director Since 2012, One Step Closer has been stewarding an ecosystem of regenerative innovation and collaboration in the natural products industry. Since its founding, OSC has ideated and launched five industry-wide initiatives focused on bringing leaders and companies together to work through the toughest challenges of our time. One, the Packaging Collaborative, is composed of over 40 leading companies in the industry, working together on testing and research to drive innovation. The organization also engages over 100 brands in its Zero Waste Campaign, which bridges policy, advocacy, and tangible action for companies and consumers. This year, OSC launched the OSC Venture Fund to support early stage, mission-driven natural products brands. Entrepreneurs provide the funding in this program to support the next generation of industry leaders.
From left, Courtney Pineau, executive director, and Caitlin Oleson, director of operations and programming The Climate Collaborative also grew from One Step Closer's creation. Launched in 2016 in partnership with the Sustainable Food Trade Association, the nonprofit now engages more than 700 companies that have made more than 2,600 commitments to bold climate action.
The Health Award honors those define success as making positive investments in people. The winner is Ray Clark, the longtime steward of Clark's Nutrition Center, which evolved from the store that Clark's father started. The independent chain is celebrating 50 years in business in 2023.
Ray Clark, longtime steward of Clark's Nutrition Center The independently owned Clark's Nutrition Center, which evolved from the store that Ray Clark's father started, is celebrating 50 years in business in 2023. With just four stores in southern California, Ray Clark and his wife, Carol, have trained thousands of employees and educated hundreds of thousands of consumers about nutrition and supplements. Ray Clark actively worked to help pass 1994's Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which ensures that consumer can access a wide variety of supplements. Clark's Nutrition Center is a family business. Sons Bruce and Jeff have both served as company presidents, while daughter Tracy is the chief financial officer. Now, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren have started working in the stores. Director of Education Starkie Sowers—an employee of more than 42 years—developed a five-level training course for employees.
Ray Clark with son Jeff Clark, president; daughter, Tracy Clark, chief financial officer; and Starkie Sowers, director of education
Joy is a state of mind and a state of confidence and hope. Both recipients of this year's Joy award create joy in this industry just as much as they support all manners of health and justice.
Founder and president of executive search firm Orchid Holistic Search Angela Marturano has driven change in the industry for more than 13 years as she has placed hundreds of individuals in positions that align with their values and missions. Marturano focuses on categories that support human and planetary health, such as herbs, supplements and organic foods and beverages. Yet her impact goes beyond her business. As a thought leader, she shares stories and tips to inspire and motivate individuals she might not even know. She encourages all people to intentionally find work that brings them joy and to seek employment that offers respect and dignity. Her dedication to promoting joy in the workplace is contagious.
Founder of Planet FWD and Moonshot snacks The founder of Planet FWD and Moonshot snacks, Julia Collins considers joy her superpower. She launched Moonshot in 2020—a snack brand focused on sustainability—to inspire a climate-friendly food movement and received the Expo West Virtual 2021 NEXTY Award for Best New Savory or Salty Snack. "I intentionally designed a brand filled with joy, hope and optimism. Moonshot is a way for people to take small steps every day toward a healthier planet and life. To find joy, empowerment and connection with one another and our planet," Collins wrote. In case you missed it, Patagonia Provisions announced on March 7 that it has acquired Moonshot; both brands are extremely active in supporting regenerative agriculture and other methods of mitigating climate change.
Bi-Rite Family of Businesses received the Justice Award for its role in growing 18 Reasons’ Nourishing Pregnancy program, which provides nutrition information and healthy food to underserved pregnant women.
Carlotta Mast presents Bi-Rite owner Sam Mogannam with the Justice Award Trophy In 2021, Bi-Rite Family of Businesses and the nonprofit 18 Reasons’ Nourishing Pregnancy program joined forces to provide the BIPOC community in San Francisco, California, access to healthy food and well-being programs through cooking classes, grocery delivery and support classes. The free program supports pregnant women for four months before and after they give birth. Bi-Rite fulfilled many roles, from grocery guidance to food sourcing; from space for food storage and packing boxes to identifying delivery partners; and raising funds from its shoppers. With Bi-Rite's support, the program has grown this year to four cohorts of 60 people each from just one cohort with 21 pregnant women when it began. While this means the Nourishing Pregnancy Program has expanded beyond Bi-Rite's space, the retailer is helping the program transition to a wholesale grocery partner that can handle most of the sourcing and packing Bi-Rite sees this growth as the best reward for its efforts in helping launch the program.
Sam Mogannam, founding partner of Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco, California, (middle) displays the Justice Award trophy.
Creating business success while also being high integrity and creating positive impact is possible, as this year's winner, Ziba Foods, demonstrates.
Co-founder Patrick Johnson Ziba Foods' founders are determined to support Afghanistan's women through the growing and harvesting of high quality, nutrient-rich, heirloom and wild-grown fruits and nuts, which the brand makes into snacks. It was designed as a social enterprise to benefit the country's marginalized communities and create healthy products that consumers will enjoy. All processing occurs in Afghanistan so the brand can provide steady, full-time jobs to as many residents as possible. While Ziba created a transparent global supply chain, it also provides farmers fair compensation by paying them in advance. The brand offers employees—at least 80% of whom are women—year-round, full-time employment.
From left, Ziba Foods co-founders Kabir Arghandiwal, Raffi Vartanian, Patrick Johnson
The Almond Project is a multi-year, farmer-led partnership created to identify more sustainable farming methods and pave the way toward a more resilient future for almonds.
Lacey Gautier presents Joe Gardiner a trophy for the Regeneration Award
Joe Gardiner, VP of Business Development for Treehouse California Almonds, speaks after accepting the Regenerative Award. Formally created in April 2022, The Almond Project started as a partnership between Simple Mills, Daily Harvest and Cappello's—working with Treehouse California Almonds—to make almond farming more sustainable. White Buffalo Land Trust, a Calfornia-based nonprofit is the project manager. Over the course of five years, Pacific Ag Management is incorporating soil health practices including cover crops, sheep grazing, compost application, and reduction of chemical inputs on 80 acres of conventional and 80 acres of organic farmland. Ecological Outcome Verification monitoring via the Savory Institute is testing the change of ecological state of the land over time.
Greg Steltenpohl Pragmatic Visionary Award A year ago, friends and family of natural products pioneer and plant-based visionary Greg Steltenpohl launched an annual $100,000 grant for early-stage ventures in the food space. The founder of Odwalla and Califia Farms, Steltenpohl died in March 2021 after dedicating his life to changing the food system through business.
Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of Stonyfield and a 30-year friend of Greg Steltenpohl "Greg believed in the ability to create positive change through business and in the impact the plant-based movement could have on the health of people and the planet," Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of Stonyfield and a 30-year friend of Steltenpohl, said in 2022.
Eli Steltenpohl, Greg Steltenpohl's son
This year's recipient is SIMPLi, the first South American ingredients company to earn Regenerative Organic Certification. Sarela Herrada and Matt Cohen launched SIMPLi in 2020 to create single-origin ingredients through a 100% traceable international supply chain. Their goal is to reduce extreme poverty and inequities in the marketplace and improve the integrity of supply chains. SIMPLi won the 2022 Expo East NEXTY Award for Best New Organic or Regenerative Organic Certified Product. In a rare accomplishment, it was also the first time the brand was an Expo East NEXTY Awards finalist.
Continuing its history of recognizing individuals and organizations who are directly aligned with New Hope Network's mission, the company presented eight Community Purpose and Impact Awards in six categories during Natural Products Expo West.
New Hope Network's mission—to cultivate a prosperous, high integrity consumer packaged goods and retail ecosystem that creates health, joy and justice for all people and regenerates the planet—is illustrated throughout the industry, every day. New Hope staff members see it in hundreds of ways through the NEXTY Awards program, from the day products begin arriving at the door until the awards are announced.
Exhibitors and attendees at both Expo West and Expo East also see this mission in action through the education sessions the attend the booths they visit every spring and autumn. It would be impossible to honor every person and organization that shines in the natural and organic natural products environment, so a committee of New Hope Network leaders chose to spotlight these outstanding members this year.
Click through the gallery to meet the winners and learn more about them.
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