After 30 years at The New York Times, Stephanie Strom recently resigned from the newspaper, having garnered the reputation as the most influential food business journalist in the country.

In this week’s Organic Insider, I interviewed Stephanie Strom and we discussed a variety of subjects, including:

– What food companies should NOT do when pitching to The New York Times

– Whether she dealt with editorial pressure to cover GMOs or organic in a certain way

– How the NYT’s view of GMOs and pesticides changed over the years

– The biggest challenges that the organic industry is facing right now

– How the organic industry can improve, from a PR perspective

To read my full interview with Stephanie Strom, just sign up for a free trial of Organic Insider (no credit card required), and I will send it right over to you.

Wishing you a great day!
Max

For quite a while, I had been hearing all about the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity, Maine and decided to finally make the trip up north last week to see what the enthusiasm was all about.

Needless to say, the event exceeded all of my expectations, and it proved to be a truly special weekend. Not only is it rare that you can go to an event of this size and be able to eat organic food all day (there are no organic meal options at Expo West or Expo East), but you are surrounded by thousands of people who are also deeply committed to this way of life. Read more »

I just got back from a fantastic few days in Baltimore attending Natural Products Expo East, the organic industry’s second largest trade show of the year.

In all of my years attending Expo East, this might have been the best one yet.

There was an abundance of excellent innovation, and many interesting up-and-coming brands exhibited for the first time. Furthermore, both the crowds and the pace of the show were not overwhelming, as is often the case at Natural Products Expo West. Read more »

As the leading pressed organic juice company in the country, Suja has rolled out many great tasting products over the years.

While I will always be a huge fan of Suja’s Twelve Essentials and Lemon Love, its recently introduced fermented botanicals have become my new favorites.

Earlier this year at Natural Products Expo West, I got a sneak peek of these drinks, having no idea that new juices were in development. Within minutes of trying them, I walked over to Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Church and told him “These are your best drinks ever.” I was that impressed. Read more »

With Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods now complete, one of the very first things that it did was to lower prices, in some cases up to 43%.

While consumers may be thrilled that some food items are less expensive, there are very serious consequences of this move, and it will have repercussions for all participants in the organic food sector.

To read my full analysis of what these price decreases will mean, just sign up for a free trial of Organic Insider (no credit card required), and I will send it right over to you.

Wishing you a great day!
Max

(Once Upon a Farm founding team — John Foraker, Jennifer Garner, Cassandra Curtis, Ari Raz)

In what is sure to send shockwaves throughout the entire industry, A-list celebrity Jennifer Garner and John Foraker, former President of Annie’s, have signed on to become co-founders of organic baby food company Once Upon a Farm, alongside current co-founders Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz.

Having recently stepped down as the head of Annie’s, where he led the company for 18 years and negotiated its sale to General Mills for $820 million, John Foraker is one of the most accomplished and respected executives the organic industry has ever seen. And if you combine that with Jennifer Garner’s star power, branding acumen and dedication to both healthy food and helping children, Once Upon a Farm will be a very, very serious force in the fast-growing organic baby food segment. Read more »

Last week, I attended Indie Beauty Expo in New York City, an annual event that showcases independent beauty brands, with a very heavy emphasis on natural and organic.

Even though food is the main emphasis of Living Maxwell, body care products represent an important and growing segment within the overall organic industry. Read more »