Kashi

What do indoor plants, bodybuilders, and the 1984 Olympics have in common? They’re all major stepping stones for the rise of Kashi, an innovative food brand with a view to change the world.

It goes without saying that this fiber-fuelled brand is making it easier (and tastier) than ever to start the day on a good note. From cereals to protein bars, Kashi makes cereal, protein bars, plant-based ready meals, and even waffles to fuel everyone from athletes to school kids.

Kashi’s tagline is “Seven Whole Grains on a Mission”, and it’s certainly more than fitting. Even the brand name itself comes from virtuous roots. “Kashi” is a divergence from “kashrut” — the Hebrew word for “fitness” or “Kosher food” — and an ode to Michio Kushi, a proponent of spiritual development, philosophy, and most famously, the macrobiotic diet.

But before their grain-based products were gracing grocery store shelves across the country, founders Gayle and Phil Tauber were on a different kind of plant-powered mission.

From Bodybuilding to Breakfast

$25,000 was a lot of money back in 1984. In fact, it was the Taubers’ life savings. They’d made their living through a few different business ventures throughout the 1970s, including a thriving indoor plants business.

Despite the risks, they decided to put everything they had into their next big dream: a healthy, wholegrain cereal.

Why? Because the banks wouldn’t lend them a dime. They even had to create their first product line on credit from the manufacturer.

Gayle and Phil weren’t your regular health freaks. They were intent on combining their love of health and nutrition with a sense of purpose; a means to initiate positive change in the world.

They had already dabbled in this arena by previously helping to co-found the country’s first co-ed gym with LA bodybuilder Vince Gironda, helping to tear down a major barrier for women in the fitness industry. A line of supplements soon followed.

15 years after starting their first indoor plants business, the Taubers made the jump into the breakfast game and never looked back.

But it wasn’t smooth sailing from the start.

They launched with a product called a pilaf: a blend of their now-signature seven wholegrains that made for a delicious and nutritious cooked breakfast— which, while appetizing, was a different cuisine to the usual boxed cereals Americans were accustomed to.

Being fitness enthusiasts they were, the couple decided to take samples of their flagship product to a local sporting event: the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Their pilaf was well-received by the athletes and, eventually, all manner of health-conscious breakfast lovers. Soon, Kashi pilaf was just as welcome at the breakfast table as it was at the end of a marathon.

For Gayle and Phil, this was just the beginning.

Grains for Good

Kashi creates a variety of delicious products that are high-protein and low-sugar, with different options for gluten-free, vegan, keto, and grain-free enthusiasts alike. But Kashi is less about labels and more about the intention behind the brand.

The Taubers’ commitment to social impact didn’t end with the opening of their co-ed gym. Almost three decades after their foray into the fitness world, Kashi is synonymous with not just a plethora of healthy breakfast products, but social endeavors.

The brand has invested extensively in ensuring its products are doing more than improving people’s health. Kashi addresses health on levels far beyond nutrition, including social health and equality.

They’ve achieved this by investing in fair trade ingredients, non-GMO certification, and more sustainable packaging. Kashi has also contributed to various charity efforts, from ending childhood hunger to conservation.

As they like to say, it’s all about “nourishing both people and planet”.

That said, sometimes labels are important. That’s why Kashi has created their iconic “Certified Transitional” badge for farmers who are in the process of gaining organic certification.

For many farmers, making the switch to organic practices can be expensive and even unobtainable. Kashi’s badge secures financial support for these farmers, paying them fair wages during a time where they’re unable to charge organic prices for crops that are yet to be certified.

It’s Kashi’s view that this certification doesn’t just serve their farmers, but becomes widespread across the entire food industry.

Now that’s innovation.

The Neverending Pursuit of Good

Kashi’s founders started out with a goal to promote health on many levels and haven’t stopped since. And it doesn’t look like they’ll be easing up any time soon.

With less than 1% of US farmland being able to claim organic certification, Kashi is still actively working to increase that number. Today, they’ve fully transitioned over 9,000 acres of farmland to organic and paid more than $3.5 million to 19 farmers on their pathway to gaining full organic certification.

And on the food side, they’re branching out to more breakfast-lovers every year. Their recently-launched Kashi GO cereal means that those who follow keto and grain-free diets can now enjoy fairtrade, GMO-free cereal that’s as flavorful as it is healthy.

Despite their successes, founders Gayle and Phil Tauber are still as humble as ever. As Phil himself admitted when accepting their Distinguished Alumni Awards from California State University:

“Truthfully, we have a bit of a deficit in self-esteem in terms of thinking we’re anything more than just normal humans on this planet.”

It’s all part of the Taubers’ “real food philosophy”. And with a brand named after a celebrated philosophy lecturer, you’d be remiss to expect anything less.