Here’s a great Feature Story on Nutiva, as we prepare to move our HQ.  From Ventura County Star.
Read the original article HERE.

Photo by Chuck Kirman, Photos by Chuck Kirman / Star staff

Nutiva, with its headquarters and warehouse in Santa Paula, has been a pioneer in getting hemp food products to consumers.

Now in its 11th year, the company has branched out into coconut and chia seed products and generated about $10.3 million in revenue during its most recent fiscal year, which ended in June. Its founder wants to reach $100 million in sales by 2015 and $1 billion by 2025.

As it moves toward those ambitious goals, Nutiva continues to expand its product offerings in retail stores and online and will move its headquarters and warehouse to a new 18,000-square-foot location in Oxnard next month to house a growing team of employees and pallets of products.

Selling hemp products has meant becoming an advocate and working to build a domestic hemp industry.

Wearing a shirt of hemp fabric, Nutiva founder and CEO John Roulac quickly sorted through a display of everything that can be done with hemp — from Nutiva’s food products to insulation for cars, pressboard for construction, even the random Frisbee made of hemp “plastic.”

“We’re not just selling a product, but also educating,” Roulac said.

Because of its relation to marijuana, industrial hemp has had a spotty reception in the United States, although the plant doesn’t have the narcotic qualities of its cousin.

Nutiva garnered a lot of press early in its existence. After government officials seized a shipment of Nutiva hemp bars from Canada in 1999, the company became a central figure in the push to get hemp food products on store shelves and keep them there.

“It’s changed a lot, but it has a long ways to go,” Roulac said of the current perception of hemp.

He shakes his head that medicinal marijuana can be grown in California, but industrial hemp is still illegal.

He has advocated for bills to make cultivation legal. The governor vetoed the most recent one in 2007, because cannabis plants, including hemp, are a federally regulated controlled substance, although it is legal to import, buy and consume hemp foods in the United States.

Roulac said he wants to start sourcing the company’s hemp closer to home. Nutiva currently gets hemp from Canada. “We will grow hemp in America. It’s just a matter of time,” he said.

Hemp remains a cornerstone of the company’s business, but its coconut products are grabbing a larger share of sales. Roulac advocates Nutiva’s coconut oil as the best oil for cooking. A new product, Coconut Manna, is garnering demand as a spread or ingredient for smoothie drinks, he said.

Photo by Chuck Kirman, Photos by Chuck Kirman / Star staff

‘Awesome’ business

Enrique Candioti, owner of Henry’s Frozen Delight in Ojai, has started using Coconut Manna in his raw vegan ice cream, replacing the coconut butter he was using before. He said the product works well and is less expensive than the butter, and it adds an extra layer of flavor and texture when combined with the organic young coconut he also uses in his ice creams.

As a business, Candioti said, Nutiva is “awesome.”

“They’re very efficient and well-organized,” he said. The process is easy for wholesale customers, and the company is quick to fix things if anything goes wrong.

“They’re a small company,” Candioti said. “I get the impression that John has a very personal relationship with his employees. There’s always communication.”

Candioti counts himself a personal fan of Nutiva’s products, including its hemp seed. He’d like to eventually create a hemp-flavored ice cream.

Education drives demand

Roulac said the company wants to have a few “super foods” and focus on them. Consumers are seeking out natural and organic food products.

In 2008, natural and organic food items registered $29.7 billion worth of U.S. sales, up 11.4 percent from 2007, according to Nutrition Business Journal information reported by the Natural Products Association.

Nutiva doesn’t advertise beyond Google, but it focuses on educating the public on organic and sustainable products, which helps to build brand awareness.

A lot of people still don’t know what hemp seed is, much less how to use it. Nutiva will reach its revenue goals by moving more into the mainstream, Roulac said. The company is starting to do that through sales on Amazon.com.

A little celebrity endorsement doesn’t hurt, either. Roulac said sales spiked after a celebrity chef sprinkled a little hemp seed on her yogurt in February.

Continued growth

Inc. magazine put Nutiva on its list of the 5,000 fastest-growing businesses in 2009, because of the company’s 145.2 percent revenue growth from 2005 to 2008. The company also made the magazine’s list this year, announced last week, based on its 104 percent growth — from $4.4 million in revenue in calendar 2006 to $9 million in calendar 2009.

Nutiva employs about 20 people, with 11 in Santa Paula. The company has added employees as it has grown and added products.

It started out sharing space with an organic coffee company, then moved into its own office and warehouse space two years ago. Now, it’s moving to a larger building in Oxnard. Roulac said he wanted to stay within the county as the business grew.

Roulac said he looks to other successful businesses for lessons on how to grow — for example, Patagonia for its sustainable and charity efforts, and Zappos for its customer service and employee happiness.

The company donates 1 percent of sales to charity and programs including one that gives coconut trees to farmers.

Author Credit: Allison Bruce

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/aug/28/seeds/
- vcstar.com

Did you know that organic hemp farming use rotations with plants to fix nitrogen into the soil ? Much healthier for the soil and all critters that we live with.  Most non-organic hemp farmers order their fertilizer from chemical dealers, and when applied into the soil cause runoff in lakes and streams. The gulf of Mexico has a huge dead-zone over 50 miles wide caused by these same non-organic chemical fertilizers. So when choosing hemp foods, look for the USDA Organic Symbol and choose an ethical brand which is focused on organics.

This article comes to us from hempnewstv.wordpress.com, and brings up some very important connections between global climate change and the beneficial CO2 to oxygen conversion created by large hemp crops.  Enjoy!

The hemp plant can be used in thousands of different products, including large-scale things such as houses and cars. Hemp is also able to be made into smaller goods as well, from health products to paints.

An extremely important goal that hemp must be applied to immediately is the reversal of global warming. Upon first hearing such a statement, it may seem ridiculous that one thing could solve a world problem. However, utilizing hemp on a massive scale could indeed achieve this objective.

To understand how hemp can stop global warming, you need to understand how climate change is occurring. Greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, build up in the atmosphere. This high concentration of gas traps heat inside the Earth, leading to a general increase in temperature.

The negative effects of the advanced stages of global warming would be devastating and destructive. We cannot afford to wait; we must act now to counter these horrible consequences.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

This article comes to us from the Progressive Party blog.

By Rep. David Zuckerman

This week a Vermonter, Will Allen, joined others from around the country in an act of civil disobedience in order to get attention to the laws governing hemp cultivation. By attempting to plant help seeds on the lawn of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) they clearly were pushing the envelope to generate this discussion.

To put this in context, North Dakota and Vermont are the only two states that have adjusted their laws (We did this while I was chair of the Agriculture Committee) to allow farmers to cultivate and harvest hemp. However, both states laws are trumped by federal law due to the interstate commerce clause of the US constitution. This section has been interpreted widely by the US government to take control of many policy areas that used to belong to the states. It does this by the idea that any product that can cross state borders for commercial purposes is to be regulated by the federal government.

Hemp was brought into the federal law jurisdiction back in the 30’s and 40’s when it competed with trees as the main ingredient in paper as well cotton as a fiber. The paper and cotton industries went after it with false media claims and corporate propaganda to tie it to marijuana use as well as to the latino/a culture (racism). While the general public had used and known hemp as a very good product (as both paper and fiber) public opinion was swayed over a very short period of time. Soon, through an act of Congress, it was made illegal to grow by categorizing it a schedule 1 drug under our drug laws. Thus becoming the only drug that has been classified by Congress instead of through the regulatory process (Crack, Cocaine, Morphine, Heroine, all classified by the DEA, not Congress). As a schedule 1 drug, it is deemed to have no useful purpose to society whatsoever.

Click HERE to read the rest of this article at the Prog Blog.

Nutiva Applauds Hemp Advocates Arrested for Planting Hemp at DEA’s HQ in Washington DC.

Six hemp advocates planted hempseeds at the US DEA headquarters (700 Army Navy Dr Arlington, VA) lawn today October 13th.

Four of the planters are my friends (see full VoteHemp.com post below) and they have been arrested and are being held in jail. Please contact your US House of Representatives and US Senators and President Obama to:

A)  request  they be released from jail and
B)  the US federal government allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp (a non-drug crop).

Nutiva is a strong supporter of growing hemp once again in America and congratulates the hemp planters for taking this brave action in the face of DEA injustice against this healthy and sustainable crop. The world needs hemp farming if we want to get off oil reliance and create a better future.

Check back for more updates and on VoteHemp.com. We suggest everyone reading this post become a VoteHemp.com member and support this great cause.

Article from VoteHemp.com:

Farmers, Hemp Industry Leaders Arrested for Planting Industrial Hemp at DEA Headquarters in Act of Civil Disobedience to Protest ‘Reefer Madness’

Fed Up Captains of Hemp Industry Plant Hemp Seed on DEA’s Lawn with Ceremonial Shovels

DEA’s Continued Blockade of State Industrial Hemp Programs Violates Common Sense as well as Obama’s Presidential Directive to Federal Agencies to Respect States’ Rights

Hemp Planting Oct. 2009 ~ DEA Headquarters ~ American Farmers Shall Grow Hemp Again ~ Reefer Madness Will Be Buried

The Thai cabinet agreed to promote the
growing of hemp as a new economic plant for Thailand.

Another country takes a positive step forward in creating new rural jobs utilizing the amazing hemp plant. It’s a non-drug crop yet the US government still bans it’s growing in America. How many more years before the US government jumps on the hemp bandwagon?

Writer: BangkokPost.com

Published: 22/09/2009 at 05:11 PM

The spokesman said the cabinet agreed to set up a committee to implement the plan.

The cabinet on Tuesday agreed to set up a committee to promote growing of hemp as a new economic plant on high land, as proposed by the National Economic and Social Development Board, deputy government spokesman Vachara Kannikar said.

Mr Vachara said the NESDB submitted a proposal for planting and growing hemp on high land from 2009-2013 to the cabinet. The plant was already being grown by various royal projects aimed at generating supplementary income for farmers.

The NESDB  had concluded that hemp can be used to produce textiles, food, furniture, health products, and cosmetics.

However, there were limitations on growing hemp since it is categorised as a No 5 narcotic plant in the form of  marijuana.

Therefore, farmers have to grow it secretly, despite the fact that hemp is an economic plant.

This article was published this morning at MNDaily.com which is The Minnesota Daily news blog.
The study contains encouraging news for the future of Hemp, Hemp Foods, and Hemp Clothing products in America.

We’re excited about this.

University research demonstrates the irrationality of U.S. pot policy.

PUBLISHED: 09/17/2009

EDITORIAL BOARD

Scientists in the College of Biological Sciences have identified the genes in Cannabis sativa responsible for the production of psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Cannabis can be used for both industrial hemp and marijuana production, although the appearance and chemical composition vary similar to the difference between dog breeds. This research is a clear reminder of the folly of America’s ill-conceived marijuana policy; where worries about individual recreational use has spilled over onto the unrelated issue of hemp cultivation. Current industrial hemp varieties have THC levels at or below 0.3%, while the average THC content of marijuana is above 10% and can surpass 30%. Fearing this trace amount of THC, scientists hope to apply this research to genetically engineer a fully-THC free plant.

Hemp was once a widespread crop throughout the upper Midwest. Its long, strong fibers were used to make cloth, paper, and rope while the oil in the seeds was important in food and cosmetics . The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 banned hemp production , fearing cultivation could mask the growth of marijuana. But no industrial farmer would risk the quality of hemp fiber or seed oil by cross-planting marijuana.

Despite the domestic ban, hemp production has continued abroad and hemp-based products are increasingly imported. Furthermore, hemp’s rapid growth and woody interior make it a leading candidate to replace flawed corn-based ethanol as a renewable fuel. The University’s research did not make hemp plants more productive, demonstrate new uses, or find techniques for converting hemp into bio-fuel. The perceived necessity of removing the minimal amount of THC in hemp is solely based on an irrational fear of marijuana.

Click HERE to browse through this and other stories over at MNDaily.com

This month Maine Governor John Baldacci signed into law LD 1159, the Maine hemp farming bill. The bill establishes a licensing regime for farming industrial hemp, though the licensing is contingent upon action by the federal government.

A joint resolution was passed by Vermont urging Congress to recognize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity.

Read the whole story.

Nutiva® 1% donations helps support VoteHemp in the hemp industry’s efforts to grow hemp once again in the USA.

Hemp Factoid:
The 1913 Yearbook of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called hemp “the oldest cultivated fiber plant,” mentioned how the crop improves the land, and said that it yields “one of the strongest and most durable fibers of commerce.”

More amazing facts on hemp history.

Posted By: Jane Wells

CNBC – View original article on Hemp

What if Americans could buy cigarettes but were banned from growing tobacco? Buy bread but not allowed to grow wheat? That is the case with industrial hemp, a product in everything from car doors to milk…legally.

Hemp farming was banned in the U.S. decades ago as part of the earliest drug wars. Hemp contains THC, like marijuana. But hemp is not marijuana. “It’s like a Chihuahua versus a Saint Bernard,” says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, which sold $29 million in hemp-related products last year. The THC in industrial hemp is so minute that “the only thing you will get from smoking it is a headache,” says Gregg Baumbaugh, CEO of FlexForm Technologies, which uses hemp in car doors for Dodge Vipers. Both companies import their hemp from Canada or France, adding 10 to 15 percent to costs.

>> Continue reading on CNBC

Growing Hemp Food and Body Care Sales is Good News for Canadian Hemp Seed and Oil Producers

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), a trade association consisting of hundreds of hemp businesses, has just released final estimates of the size of the U.S. retail market for hemp food and body care products in 2008. Data supporting the estimates show that retail sales of hemp food and body care products in the U.S. have continued to set records in 2008.

Strong sales of popular hemp items like non-dairy milk, shelled hemp seed, soaps and lotions have occurred against the backdrop of state-licensed hemp farmers in North Dakota fighting a high stakes legal battle against the DEA to grow hemp for U.S. manufacturers. The new sales data validate U.S. farmers’ position that they are being shut out of the lucrative hemp market that Canadian farmers have cashed in on for over a decade now.

The sales data, collected by the market research firm SPINS, were obtained from natural and conventional food retailers, excluding Whole Foods Market and other establishments not providing sales data – and thus underestimate actual sales by a factor of at least three.

According to the SPINS data, hemp grocery sales grew in the sampled stores by 42% over the previous year ending December 27, 2008, or
$2.56 million, to a total of $8.64 million. The SPINS data also show that sales of hemp body care products grew by 19%, or $3.00 million, over the previous year to a total of $19.12 million. Finally, according to SPINS, combined hemp food, body care and vitamin product sales grew by 22%, or $6.11 million, over the previous year to a total of $33.51 million.

Due to significant sales excluded from the SPINS data, such as The Body Shop, Whole Foods Market and restaurants, as well as the fact that many unreported leading mass-market brands of suntan lotion and sunscreen products include hemp oil, the HIA estimates the total retail value of North American hemp food, vitamin and body care product sales to be in the range of $100-120 million for 2008.

“Farmers who want to grow hemp to support the steady double-digit growth are mad as ever about being shut out by our backward federal government,” says David Bronner, who makes Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps and uses hemp oil in all his top-selling products. “The HIA is confident that the total North American hemp food and body care market over the last year accounted for $100-120 million in retail sales,” adds Bronner, who also chairs the HIA Food and Oil Committee.

“We expect double-digit growth in the hemp food sector to continue through 2009, as consumer interest in ‘green’ healthy products grows,” comments Eric Steenstra, HIA Executive Director. “It is amazing that the growth of the sector is as strong as it is, given the stigma of hemp being the only food crop not legal to grow in the U.S.”

A federal bill was introduced in Congress earlier this month that, if passed into law, would remove restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp. The chief sponsors of HR 1866, “The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009,” Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX), were joined by nine other U.S. House members from both sides of the aisle. More information on the bill can be found at: http://www.VoteHemp.com/legislation.

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) represents the interests of the hemp industry and encourages the research and development of new hemp products. More information about hemp’s many uses and hemp advocacy may be found at www.HempIndustries.org and www.VoteHemp.com.

SOURCE Hemp Industries Association

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