Newman’s Own started in 1982 as a small boutique operation. All profits go to the Newman charitable foundation, and, to date, the company reports that $370 million has been generated for charity. Newman’s does not offer any organic cereal choices. Newman’s Own Organics, a company started by Paul Newman’s daughter Nell in 1993, has been… Read more »
Scorecards
Barbara’s Bakery
Barbara’s Bakery was founded in Northern California in 1971 by 17-year-old Barbara Jaffe. In 1986, Jaffe sold the company to Weetabix Food Co., a British cereal maker, which is owned by the investment firm, Lion Capital. Weetabix Food Co. also owns the Alpen brand, a conventionally produced muesli labeled “natural” that’s found in many stores…. Read more »
Three Sisters
Several brands like Mom’s Best, Three Sisters (available exclusively in Whole Foods Markets), Bear River Valley and Isabel’s Way are owned by Malt-O-Meal. Malt-O-Meal was founded by John S. Campbell in 1919 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Today, the company owns nearly a dozen brands, none of them organic. One of the brands is Three Sisters, a… Read more »
Kashi
Kashi is owned by Kellogg, the largest breakfast cereal maker in the country. The company was founded by W.K. Kellogg in 1906 and has 31,000 employees and annual sales of $12 billion (half in the cereal category). Kellogg markets numerous non-organic conventional breakfast cereals under the Kellogg’s brand name, including Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, and… Read more »
Udi’s Granola
Udi’s Granola is not certified organic.
Nutritious Living
Nutritious Living is a brand owned by a company called Organic Milling Corporation, which is quite misleading since it is not an exclusively organic company. Organic Milling Corporation manufactures mostly non-organic products, including non-organic cereal and granola, for other brands, store-brands and its own brands including Breakfast Choice, Mill Select, and Nutritious Living brands and… Read more »
General Mills
General Mills owns cereal brands including Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Kix and Total. General Mills had $6.5 billion in retail sales for breakfast cereal alone in 2009 and is the country’s second largest marketer of breakfast cereal. General Mills also owns the Cascadian Farm brand, which is all organic. Some General Mills breakfast cereals, such as… Read more »
Bear Naked
Bear Naked, like Kashi, is owned by Kellogg, the largest breakfast cereal maker and one of the largest food corporations in the country, with more than 31,000 employees and annual sales of $12 billion. Bear Naked was founded, like many other granola companies, by young entrepeneurs with a successful granola recipe and a home kitchen…. Read more »
Mom’s Best
Several brands like Mom’s Best, Three Sisters (available exclusively in Whole Foods Markets), Bear River Valley and Isabel’s Way are owned by Malt-O-Meal. Malt-O-Meal was founded by John S. Campbell in 1919 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Today, the company owns nearly a dozen brands, none of them organic. One of the brands is Three Sisters, a… Read more »
Post Natural
Post Naturals is the “natural” line of Post Foods, which is a division of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. None of Post Foods’ cereal products are certified organic. Ralcorp Holding, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation, based in St. Louis, Missouri, with approximately $4 billion in annual sales.
