Just being vegetarian and organic doesn’t guarantee a business is sustainable or socially responsible. Take Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, for example. Despite its expansion into plant-based foods like Freshly’s Purely Plant, Garden Gourmet, and Sweet Earth, Nestlé has faced accusations of deforestation, questionable water sourcing, and child exploitation.
Then there’s Amy’s Kitchen, a renowned organic vegetarian food company known for providing affordable, nutritious ready-to-eat meals since 1987. However, recent allegations of unsafe working conditions in its California factory have led to calls for boycotts against the company.
Rachel and Andy Berliner, who began selling organic vegetarian pot pies from their home in Petaluma, California, founded the family-operated Amy’s Kitchen, named after their daughter Amy.
The $600 million food conglomerate is best recognized for its canned soups and its extensive range of frozen food items like pizzas, pasta dishes, and burgers, widely available in supermarket frozen food aisles. In addition to its fast-food outlets in California, Amy’s products are sold in over 30 countries, offering more than 200 vegetarian options.
One of Amy’s Kitchen’s standout frozen offerings, the fan-favorite burritos, is easily identifiable by their rustic packaging. According to Teamsters Local Union 665, the largest union in the US, employees at Amy’s roll out an impressive ten plant-based burritos per minute.
Flor Menjivar, a five-year veteran employee of Amy’s Kitchen, shared with Sliced that she has even managed to produce 12 burritos per minute. She claims, “They make us roll so many burritos that our bodies ache from the strain.”
While Amy’s Kitchen’s website emphasizes a commitment to goodness as its guiding principle, this year, questions have arisen about the company’s altruistic stance. Some workers have raised concerns about unsafe working conditions, including blocked fire exits, worn-out floor mats, faulty equipment, and inadequate training. These allegations have sparked criticism and calls for a boycott of Amy’s products.
The Controversy Surrounding Amy’s Kitchen
Amidst its 35-year history, San Francisco-based Amy’s Kitchen has stood out as a family-owned business, offering a stark contrast to many large, faceless food corporations.
Renowned for its use of organic ingredients and a diverse range of canned and frozen foods catering to vegetarians and vegans, including gluten-free bean burritos and Neapolitan-style thin-crust cheese pizzas, Amy’s has carved a niche for itself.
The brand’s mom-and-pop vibe is more than just a marketing tactic: CEO Andy Berliner and his wife Rachel Berliner launched the business in the milk barn of their Northern California ranch, naming it after their daughter, Amy. The Berliners have been vocal about their commitment to using only ingredients that their daughter can pronounce, emphasizing simplicity and quality.
Amy’s Kitchen has also gained recognition for its public acknowledgment of its employees. In a February post on the company’s Facebook page, Rachel Berliner highlighted their commitment to employee well-being and environmental stewardship, stating, “Taking care of our employees and their families while respecting our planet has always been core to everything we do at Amy’s.”
However, recent allegations have tarnished Amy’s once-spotless reputation. Despite its expansion to include around 3,000 employees and facilities in California, Oregon, and Idaho, the company has been accused of bullying, mistreatment of employees, and creating unsafe working conditions at its Santa Rosa, California, plant, leading to several reported injuries.
News reports detailing these complaints, including coverage by NBC and Eater, have sparked a boycott against the brand. This development comes as a surprise to many loyal customers who have long admired Amy’s Kitchen for its wholesome image.
A complaint has been filed with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and questions have been raised about the company’s B Corp status, which recognizes businesses for their high social and environmental performance.
While Amy’s Kitchen has denied many of the allegations, claiming a commitment to employee safety and well-being, the boycott continues to gain momentum. Small independent grocery stores, including Mandela Grocery Cooperative in Oakland, California, and Earth’s General Store in Edmonton, Alberta, have already removed Amy’s products from their shelves, with others expected to follow suit.
Rachel Berliner has pushed back against the boycott, attributing it to union-led negative campaigning and asserting that employees are neither calling for nor supporting it. However, activists leading the boycott, such as those from the Food Empowerment Project and Veggie Migas, argue that Amy’s treatment of its employees contradicts its stated values and that consumers are increasingly unwilling to support brands that prioritize profit over people.
Despite the company’s loyal customer base, the boycott may have a significant impact on Amy’s Kitchen, as buyers who are emotionally invested in the brand are more likely to feel betrayed by its alleged actions. As consumers become more socially conscious, they may be less forgiving of companies that fail to live up to their stated values.
Ultimately, the outcome of the boycott remains uncertain, but it serves as a reminder that in today’s world, a company’s reputation is only as good as its treatment of its employees and its commitment to social responsibility.
What reaction do Andy and Rachel Berliner give?
Andy Berliner and Rachel Berliner, CEO and co-founders of Amy’s, vehemently deny the allegations leveled against their company. In a recent Instagram post from March, they stated that all 16 water stations at the Santa Rosa factory are functional, fire doors are kept unlocked, and employees have unrestricted access to restroom breaks.
They further announced that Amy’s will invest an additional $50 million in safety-related initiatives over the next five years. Amy’s also addressed the allegations on its website with a blog post mirroring the Instagram statement, refuting claims of hazardous working conditions in both Santa Rosa and San Jose.
Rachel Berliner emphasized in a statement to the Vegetarian Times that accusations of denied restroom breaks, union interference, and lack of drinking water are completely unfounded. She expressed willingness to meet with any union representative once they have earned the right to speak for Amy’s employees. However, Teamsters informed Sliced that despite their requests, Berliner has not yet agreed to a meeting.
