Happy Friday! Here’s a little Friday fun for you. Enjoy!

An advertisement circa 1985 when we were still transitioning from Moore's Natural Foods to Bob's Red Mill

Impact Huller: Photo courtesy of http://forsbergs.com/products/15-d-ih.html

Please excuse my play on words, I couldn’t resist. For the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of spending a few hours a week working with Bob on a labeling project. During these talks, we inevitably talk about more than just labeling. Last week we got onto a very interesting topic- the process of hulling and why some grains are more work than others to hull.

The hull is the tough outer layer of a grain- this is outside the bran layer. Think corn husk on a smaller scale. All true grains (those that come from a grass species) have a hull. Some, such as modern wheat, have easily removable husks and can be hulled by simply shaking the kernel out of the hull by hand. Others, such as oats, barley and spelt have tough hulls that take a little more encouraging.

That said, I began to wonder how do they remove the hull? Bob told me all about it. Forgive me if I didn’t get all of the technical specs covered. The hull is removed in a machine called an Impact Huller (see photo at left). Grain enters the hulling chamber and the impeller wheel throws the grains against agitators (really, really fast). This impact removes the hull, which is then removed by vacuum pumps.  This process happens very quickly and produces grains that are intact, but removed from their hull. Bob said it’s one of the loudest machines he’s heard and makes little popping noises as grains slam into the walls.

I thought it was very interesting. I hope you did too.

Wow. What an amazing gift to be an employee at Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods. Business is booming, exciting new products are emerging, and our boss just up and gave us the company. We’re sure you’ve heard about the ESOP by now, but hey—we’re still really excited about it. After all, what could be better than owning a company that was built by  a man whose very presence radiates a kindness and humbleness seldom seen in this 21^st century business world?

We’ve learned a lot in these last couple months, namely that our customers are now more supportive of us than ever because of Bob’s humility. There is a continuous flood of encouraging emails from our customers and friends and we feel it necessary to thank you for your support and commitment to our company.

Honestly, we couldn’t have gotten this far if not for your belief in our mission statement of whole grain health. There is an infinite supply of food company choices out there, and we feel proud and honored that our products make it to your dinner table time and time again.

Bob’s booming laugh saturates the halls of our corporate office. Seriously, it’s loud! But its resonance is just one of the many ways that we know how much he cares about us, as employees and as a family working toward one healthy goal. We are incredibly blessed and eternally grateful to work for such a caring, successful company. Thank you for helping us reach such an achievement.

If you haven’t heard the news, please refer to our website at www.bobsredmill.com and click on Company>Press Releases and join us in our exciting new venture. Then shoot us an email and let us know what you think!

It is a question that more and more people are asking about the products they buy.  It can also be a difficult question to answer when you’re trying to pick out what to take home from the grocery store. At Bob’s Red Mill, we have found that the people who enjoy quality food are often the same people who want to know that their food is being produced in a safe and responsible way.

Photo 1: Bob in the field

Let’s face it, some of those foods on the grocery store shelves today look like they might have come straight from outer space. When you look at the packages, it is hard to imagine what kind of plant or animal these foods originally came from, much less pronounce half of the words listed as ingredients.

At Bob’s Red Mill, we like to keep our ingredients lists short and simple. Our straightforward clear packaging lets you see what you’re getting the moment you pick up the bag. We really mean it when we say that “You Can See Our Quality”.

Because we don’t disguise the products we sell with complicated treatments and chemicals, finding the best possible growers of what we mill is critical to our success. We tirelessly search for top quality product, and are always on the lookout for growers using the best possible farming practices. Sending our experts into the fields to see things first hand is just one of the ways we ensure quality and build relationships with our suppliers.

Photo 2: Roger in the field

In the following three pictures you’ll see Bob Moore the president, Roger our Quality Control Lab Technician, and Neil our Purchasing Manager, getting out in the field visiting some of our crops in the ground.

Now for the contest! We’re giving away a gift pack containing four of our favorite products using those ingredients to five lucky winners who can correctly name the crops pictured.

Photo 3: Roger and Neil in the field

How to enter: Just email us before 5 p.m. PST on March 10 at marketing@bobsredmill.com with the correct answers and put “Crops” in the subject line. We will pick five winners at random from those who can correctly identify the crops.

Photo 4: Roger and Niel in the field

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

In case you missed the segment on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer last night, you can view the clip with Bob here: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/boss-company-workers-9882190

If you missed the NPR segment, you can listen to Bob’s interview on Markplace here: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=marketplace/pm/2010/02/18/marketplace_cast1_20100218_64&starttime=00:07:24.0&endtime=00:11:15.0

Bob's vanilla cake featuring Charlee and him.

We celebrated Bob’s 81st birthday on Monday with cake, cake and more cake. It takes a lot of cake to share with 209 employees. In addition to sharing his cake, Bob announced that he, along with his partners in business,  is passing ownership of this company into the hands of his employees. This ensures the future of Bob’s Red Mill will be managed by employees who care passionately about the company’s success.

Employees were overwhelmed with the announcement and heartened to hear that their future is secure with this new development. For years, Bob has declined offers to buy the company or take the company public. Most of my coworkers have been uncertain about what will happen in five, ten years. Bob’s gift to us has ensured that the employees and the company will have a future together.

What does this mean for you? Really, nothing much. The company will continue to produce high quality whole grains and gluten free foods as we always have. Don’t worry, Bob isn’t going anywhere. Possibly my favorite quote from all of his interviews this week is this one from The Oregonian, “I may have given them the company,” he said, chuckling, “but the boss part is still mine.”

Partners Bob Moore, Robert Agnew, Dennis Gilliam and John Wagner sign over ownership of the company Tuesday morning.

Want more info?

Read the article on the front page of The Oregonian. Read the press release.

Jan Chernus, Jessica Olson, Bob and Fans at the Grand Re-opening of Hawthorne Fred Meyer

On Friday, July 31^st, Hawthorne Fred Meyer celebrated the Grand Re-opening of their newly remodeled store. The new “Green Living” store is the first of its kind in the Fred Meyer family (owned by Kroger) and is designed to be an Earth-friendly grocery experience. The store is certified under the US Green Building Council’s LEED program. New store features include an expanded Nutrition Center (where our products are found), a fresh sushi bar, gourmet cheeses and desserts, an expanded deli and even an electric car charging station!

Bob was asked to come out and celebrate the Grand Opening. With Jan Chernus and Jessica Olson (both from our Western sales team) in tow, Bob made a grand spectacle by handing out samples of our Gluten Free Brownie Mix (which was a big hit) and taking photos with customers. The event had a great turnout and Bob was the star of the show. People were continually amazed that he is indeed a real person and right in their own back yard.

For those of you in the Portland area, there are still Grand Opening events going on through the end of next week. Visit FredMeyer.com for a schedule of events.

Ever wanted to show Bob

how much you love his products?

Here’s your chance.

Bob's no stranger to being behind the camera- now it's your turn.

I will be giving a presentation to Bob and other members of our company about what it is we do online and how we meet people like you. Beyond showing them just how many friends we’ve made and how many tweeps we have, I would like to show our company how incredibly inspiring our customers are and continually prove to be.

So get silly, get serious, get wild and send me a 30 second (maximum) clip showing me why you love Bob’s Red Mill. I will award the winning clip (and the creative genius behind it) a $50 gift card to be used on our website and there will be sweet prizes for two runners-up. So tell your friends and get out your cameras- videos must be entered by 8/17/09 to win.

Here are the rules (because we have to):

1. Everyone is eligible to enter (except those lovely employees who work for Bob’s Red Mill).

2. Keep it clean! Videos with foul language or other inappropriate material will not be eligible for this contest.

3. We will be sharing this content online and by entering you give us permission to use your video as we see fit. If you have any qualms about that, please feel free to email me directly and we can work out a compromise.

How to enter:

Post your video one of two ways:

1. Post it to Youtube and send us the link via Twitter, Facebook, as a comment to this blog post, or old-fashioned email (marketing@bobsredmill.com)
2. Post it on Facebook to the Bob’s Red Mill Fan Page

Include your details:

Name
Address
Phone Number
Email

Bob will be speaking at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon on April 17, 2009 at 3:30-4:30 pm. The presentation is free and open to the public. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping by and listening to his presentation. He’s a powerful speaker and will inspire you with his stories.

Over the last week I have been assisting Bob in preparation for an upcoming presentation at Oregon State University. For those of you have met Bob, you know that he is a veritable encyclopedia of whole grain information and could expound on this topic for hours on end. I have learned a lot in the years I have worked here and been inspired to change my eating habits for the better.