SIJ Q&A JU LY 2 0 0 5

Name change a ‘natural’move for Pacific Foods

BY C ELESTE LE C OMPTE

All the doors are propped open and the sharp

smell of roasted red peppers lingers in the air at
the Pacific Foods process development building
where CEO Chuck Eggert keeps his office.
A food scientist and horticulturalist by
training, Eggert says he prefers to work on
product development and at the company’s
195-acre organic and transitional farms in
Oregon. Pacific Foods began acquiring farmland
five years ago and turning it over to what Eggert
describes as “1900s style farming,” with a
combination of cattle and crops, and an emphasis
on cover crops and healthy soil.
Going back to the roots of food and farm is at
the core of Eggert’s vision for Pacific Foods. As
the company unveils its new corporate identity,
“Pacific Natural Foods,” and introduces a new line
of chilies, stews and rice dishes, Eggert says he’s
focused on retaining the company’s commitment
to the earliest wave of natural food consumers.

Celeste LeCompte
The name shift will make the company’s
values and practices visible to all consumers,
explains Kevin Tisdale, director of marketing.
From expanding its farming operations to its
in-house efforts to reduce landfill-bound waste, Chuck Eggert said he finds new product inspiration by simply wandering around the greenhouse.
the company exudes pride about its evolving
practices. and organic foods. I think they’re adopting a lot We found that by asking the questions we can
While a technician experimented nearby with more of the nomenclature. It’s unclear whether verify what we’re getting. Then, when we sell a
extracting the distinct flavor of roasted peppers, they’re adopting more of those practices or not. product, we can tell people, when they ask us the
Eggert sat down to talk with SIJ about the questions, that we know the answers. A lot of it is
company’s metamorphosis from Pacific Foods to SIJ: So, how do you define natural? it’s important to our customers, but it’s important
Pacific Natural Foods. Eggert: When we first started doing our to us because we use the products too. We want to
‘Certified to the Source,’ we found a lot of know what’s in there.
SIJ: Why have you decided to become Pacific ingredients where we were buying, were… Well,
Natural Foods? How have you changed what take natural honey. The natural supplier said, SIJ: Why is communicating your definition of
you’re doing as a company? ‘Well yeah, it’s natural honey because it’s got natural to your customer base more important
Eggert: I don’t think we’ve changed anything honey in it.’ What they forgot to tell us is it’s got now?
we’ve been doing. At this point we’re probably 40 90 percent high fructose corn syrup, and it’s Eggert: I think when we started in natural
percent organic and 60 percent natural, and we because you couldn’t dry natural honey. So I think foods everybody knew everybody. We were selling
felt this was a better representation. Our concern a lot of it is going back and asking the questions. to the core natural foods consumer that shopped
was that we started out as a natural food company When we look at our Certified to the Source, at a Nature’s, shopped at a Whole Foods. And
and our core consumers have always been natural we’re up to about a five- to seven-page question- people understood and asked questions. People
and organic. naire. Before a supplier can sell to us they have to knew who you were. And as our company has
I don’t think we felt we were at the point we go through and answer all these questions. And grown and our consumer base has changed, we
could take ‘Pacific Organic Foods.’ then we put in all the little subtle questions like, felt it was more important to educate people
We’re not an organic food company. Not What are your processing aids? What ingredients about what some of these differences are.
because we don’t want to be, but because it’s very are you using to make particular flavors with? Also, there’s been a huge change in how
difficult in a lot of the product categories we deal Someone could say it has soy sauce in it. Well, people look at natural and how they look at
with to make everything 100 percent organic. there’s all kinds of different soy sauce. We don’t sustainability and organic from when we started
Many times you can’t source enough ingredients. just want to know it has soy sauce in it, we want the company in 1988 to now. The more we can do
As we went along, we wanted to make a clear to know what kind of soy sauce you used, because to help explain that and help educate people helps
definition of who we were versus a lot of the more many times there’ll be what we consider non- us broaden our customer base.
mainstream food processors talking about natural natural ingredients in the soy sauce. We’ve found that once people try an organic

12 Sustainable Industries Journal

JU LY 2 0 0 5 SIJ Q&A
food or try a natural food or understand the sus- the irony is that simplicity is still the best way to need to do more education. We need to explain to
tainable aspect of local farming versus importing do it. And it actually in many respects is the people that on our ingredients statement there
products from around the world, there seems to easiest way to do it. might be 10 to 12 ingredients, which is different
be an awareness that continues to grow. That’s On almost any product development you can than having to devote the whole back panel to the
becoming a very important thing in people’s lives. tell the age of the person doing the product ingredients statement. We, for a number of years,
development by how many ingredients they use. were in the unique position that our consumers
SIJ: You have an emphasis on local farming Someone that’s a food scientist that’s just out of knew.
and production right now. How is that changing school will come up with something with 30 I think the national statistic is 8 percent of the
as you become a national brand? different things in it. The person that’s been population has been in ... a natural foods store —
Eggert: It’s kind of a conundrum that we face. doing it here for a while will have five. So, a lot of a Whole Foods, a Wild Oats. So our consumer is
We probably sell 60 percent of our products on our ... development is based on going back to 8 percent of the population currently, and we’re
the West Coast and 40 percent on the East Coast. classic techniques to make ... simple flavors. trying to reach out to the next 8 percent. We’re
And a lot of the projects we’re working on, with I think that’s our natural inclination, to not trying to reach out to 100 percent of the
our flavors and with how we’re raising the simplify the number of steps to make a product. population. It is a baby step; we’re not trying to do
products, are things that we think can be How can we make the flavor or minimize the a Goliath leap.
transferred to other regions of the country. So we number of components we have in our things? I think that we can accomplish two things. I
try and design our formulas and flavors so they And I think that what we’re doing can make a think we can help expand our product line. But
can be done in other regions. That’s something difference. We can enjoy what we’re doing, and we we can also help educate people, which helps our
that’s going to be more and more important as can provide opportunities for people with what industry in total and develops a lot of the
time goes on. we’re doing. We can model to the community and sustainability-type things.
We’re working with packaging that is fairly other people that these things are doable and you
minimal in the cradle-to-grave aspect. In a lot of don’t have to pay a premium to have local products. SIJ: Natural foods consumers are your base,
our flavor development we’re doing the same but a lot of your efforts seem to be attempts to
thing — trying to minimize the steps it takes to
make a product. Typically ... peppers would go
“Once people try an reach out further into the mainstream market.
What does this mean for your future?
from California to New Jersey, be made into a organic food or understand Eggert: I think philosophically our No. 1 goal
flavor that’s shipped back here to be put in a soup
product that goes back there. Logic just tells you
the sustainable aspect of is to take care of the natural food consumer. Over
the years we’ve seen a number of people that see
that these things need to be simplified. local farming, there seems the allure of mainstream, because it’s a much
It’s easier if you’re just dealing with a local bigger market, and they forget who their core
market, and it becomes more difficult as you ... to be an awareness that consumer is.
get a broader base. So it’s a little bit of a
conundrum.
continues to grow.” We believe that if we meet the needs of our
core consumers, it will just expand out as people
become more and more aware of what we’re
SIJ: As you expand your operations, do you doing. Consequently, we’re not changing to meet
think that you’ll have farms in other parts of the the mass market; we’re letting the mass market
country as well? change to meet us. We’re very careful when we
Eggert: We’ve gotten into farming as a way to SIJ: How do you feel like you’ve been able to expand our product lines and do other things that
understand the supply chain. What we’d like to do do that? we’re not compromising our core values to get
with our farms is start raising a crop, understand Eggert: I should clarify that. I’m not saying more business.
what we’re doing with the crop, and then create that you’re not going to pay a premium compared But partially, the rest of the world seems to be
an open forum so that anyone else that we deal to an existing product. But ... I think that as scale changing and embracing a lot of these concepts
with can come and look at what we’re doing. We goes up and as the awareness goes up and people that we’ve been working on for years.
can say, ‘Look, you can farm this way ... You need actually delve into the labels and the sourcing and
to approach it with a different set of viewpoints. what they’re buying, then it is a comparable SIJ: Why?
But you can actually make money doing it.’ So shopping experience. Eggert: I think there’s a realization that eating
our goal isn’t to constantly expand our farms and Can you always find something cheaper? Yes. habits need to change, that people need to be
farm everything ourselves. I think it’s really to be But that’s where you have to look back at the more aware of what they’re eating, where it’s
used as a model for other people. quality of the source and quality of the finished coming from. Obviously, local is better. But
You have to take away the ‘This is how it’s product. We always like to look at it from a label knowing, having a sense of confidence where
always been done’ and look at it from the stand- and ingredients standpoint. What are you actually your food is coming from, is really critical.
point of what’s the most responsible way to do it, buying? I’ve always used the example that eating
and what’s the most technically advanced way to grapes in January isn’t particularly normal.
do these things? And once you do them it’s SIJ: You’ve talked about the importance of There’s certain things you need to look forward
amazing. They do work. But you do have to work reading labels and knowing about the products to — grapes in August from California and
at it. It doesn’t just happen. you’re buying as a consumer. There are a lot of Washington. It gives you a reason to be excited
I think in agriculture in particular — and the people who aren’t used to reading labels the way about something ...
same with food processing — it’s turned into ‘It’s you’re talking about. How do you get past that, But it hasn’t hurt that people have learned how
just easier to put additives in,’ and ‘It’s just easier and do you think that’s going to change? to grow organic food that doesn’t look strange
to put preservatives in and artificial colors.’ And Eggert: I think it will change. I think there’s a anymore. G

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