BY JENNIFER CRAIN
AS A BOY, Arran Stephens collected kelp
along the beaches of British Columbia’s
Vancouver Island with his father, Rupert
Stephens, who showed his son how to lay
the seaweed between rows of crops back at
their ;;-acre farm; the technique helped
the family grow the fattest and most flavorful berries around.
An inventive ;;;;s farmer who chose
sawdust and compost over chemicals,
Rupert taught Arran to “always leave the
soil better than you found it.” This sentiment led the younger Stephens to devote
himself to healthful food.
Arran, who had become a vegetarian at
age ;;, opened Canada’s first vegetarian
restaurant in Vancouver in ;;;;. In ;;;;,
alongside his wife, Ratana, he founded
LifeStream Natural Food Store, one of the
first of its kind in the country. A decade
later, they sold the store and opened Woodlands, a ;;;-seat vegetarian restaurant.
In ;;;;, Arran and Ratana founded
Nature’s Path Foods and started selling
sprouted-grain bread that Arran made in
the back of the restaurant. Within a year,
Nature’s Path was turning out ;;,;;; loaves
weekly and soon expanded to other grain-based foods.
Early beginnings
In ;;;;, the Stephenses were able to buy
a facility to package their own products,
and were quick to expand and innovate.
They created the first certified organic
breakfast cereal in North America, which
altered the face of the breakfast aisle in the
late ;;;;s. They were early adopters of
ancient grains and health-boosting seeds
such as flax, hemp and chia, and they have
only ever used certified fair-trade chocolate.
Nature’s Path cereal was carried at
Costco’s Quebec warehouse in the early
;;;;s, making it one of Costco’s first
organic brands. Today, Nature’s Path is the
largest independent organic breakfast foods
company in North America, with an array
of ;;; products distributed to more than
;; countries. Fifteen of Nature’s Path products are in rotation in Costco warehouses
throughout the United States, UK and
Canada (see “Company Info”).
Sustainability for a better world
But Nature’s Path is about “more than
just selling cereals and bars,” says executive
vice president Arjan Stephens, son of
founders Arran and Ratana. “It’s really
about creating a better world for our con-
sumers and a better environment.”
As co-CEOs, Arran and Ratana hold the
company to a triple bottom line: social
responsibility, financial viability and envi-
ronmental sustainability. They preserve
farmland, encourage employee volun-
teerism and speak out on social issues. In
;;;;, they proactively labeled their products
“not genetically engineered” and sought to
inform consumers about genetically modi-
fied organisms (GMOs).
“At Nature’s Path we’ve been a strong
supporter of your right to know what’s in
your food,” Arjan says. “People have asked
before, ‘Are you a food company or an activist company?’ And we say, ‘We’re both.’ We
take a stand for what we believe in. We
believe in good food, grown organically,
without toxic chemicals and without GMOs.”
The company recently expanded three
of its product lines and is already working
to create the next healthy trend. “We’re
constant tinkerers. We want to make it
perfect,” says Arjan Stephens. “When we
get to that final product, it’s something that
we’re really proud about.” C
Jennifer Crain is a freelance writer based
in Washington state.
Three decades of organic innovation
Nature’s Path Foods
Left to right: Jyoti Stephens,
Gurdeep Stephens, Arran
Stephens, Ratana Stephens,
Rimjhim Duggal Stephens
and Arjan Stephens.
SUPPLIERPROFILE
COMPANYINFO
COMPANY Nature’s Path Foods
FOUNDERS Arran and Ratana Stephens
EMPLOYEES About 500 full-time
employees
HEADQUARTERS Richmond, British
Columbia
PHONE 1-866-880-7284
WEBSITE us.naturespath.com
ITEMS AT COSTCO
A variety of products, including Kirkland
Signature™ Organic Ancient Grains Granola
with Almonds (also available on Costco.com),
Pumpkin Flax Granola, Qi’a Superfood
Cereal and Love Crunch Granola. (Selection
varies by location.)
QUOTE ABOUT COSTCO
“For over 20 years, Costco has been a collaborative partner supporting our mutual
commitment to product innovation and
sustainability. Our family is proud to have
been one of Costco’s first organic brands,
allowing us to share our delicious and nutritious products with the wonderful Costco
member community.”—Arjan Stephens,
executive vice president, sales and marketing
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