Vegan Bakers
A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Business
by M. 'Butterflies' Katz
Other Categories:
Vegan Bakers:
Liz Lovely Inc. has been in business a few years and offer artistically presented cookies that are all certified vegan. (by vegan.org) Liz is 100% vegan for about 10 yrs. Dan Holtz, the vice president and co-founder has been mostly-vegan for 8-10 yrs. The bakery staff is currently 100% strictly vegan.
In Dan's own words, “Liz has always wanted to make "great cookies that happen to be vegan." This was not to downplay the vegan aspect of the business, but to ensure that it would be appealing to more than just the small percentage of vegans out there. Our mission is to create awareness about veganism, and you cannot do that with a marginal product that serves only as an alternative to "real" cookies. Liz decided to become a vegetarian at about 14. Meat, eggs, and cheese never really appealed to her. She committed to being 100 % vegan at 20.”
In addition Dan says, “We are a socially responsible business. We are committed to supporting sustainable agriculture by using organic ingredients as much as possible, and supporting human rights through the use of fairly traded chocolate....”
Liz Lovely is located at PO Box 757, Waitsfield, VT. 05673
Phone: (802) 496-6390
Web site: www.lizlovely.com
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Vegan Delights sells only vegan products and they are all handmade. The company owner, Sandra Maupin, has been vegan for 15 years. All the staff is vegan. They have been in business since 2004. Sandra Maupin spent years developing cookies that taste wonderful so that vegans would not feel deprived. The dog treats are made of organic healthy ingredients, but my dog ate them up like they were cookies.
Vegan Delights is located at 316 N.H. St. #101, Aberdeen, WA. 98520
Web site: vegan-delights.com
E-mail: vegandelights4u@yahoo.com
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Nutrilicious Natural Bakery has been in business for 15 years and makes only vegan products. They offer 42 different donuts, cookies and brownies. I've tasted their spelt donuts and they are super! The owners were honest enough to admit that they are not vegan. The owners, Cindy and Steve Maril, who bought Nutrilicious 3 years ago, say “Growing up in a family that ate naturally we were attracted to a natural bakery. I love the fact that we can serve people that are vegan or have diet restrictions for other reasons. We are starting to make some gluten free products, and have always made cookies and donuts from spelt and wheat.” Finally, they add, “We have started making Vegan Horse and Rider treats available on the web-site and in the future we will have Vegan Dog treats.”
Phone: (800) 835-8097
Fax: (800) 337-5214
Web site: www.nutrilicious.com
E-mail: Cindy@Nutrilicious.com
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Sticky Fingers Bakery sells 100% vegan products only. Both owners are vegan, since mid 90's. Five out of seven staff members are vegan. They've been in business since October 2002. They currently offer dozens of vegan sweets as well as vegan stromboli and foccacia. The founder, Doron Peterson, became vegan for ethical reasons, after working in veterinary clinics. “While all our products are vegan, we are a bakery for everyone--not just vegans. Our stuff really does taste that good!” says Doron.
Sticky Fingers Bakery is located at 1904 18th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 299-9700
Web site: www.StickyFingersBakery.com
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Sun Flour Baking Co. has been in business since 1998 and will only manufacture and sell vegan products. Their bakery is 100% dedicated vegan. They have turned down many offers to co-pack products that are not vegan. None of the ingredients used are tested on animals. The owner of Sun Flour has been vegan for 12 years. Half the staff is vegan, including the general manager, who has been vegan for 6 years and vegetarian 4 years before that (since age 14). They offer 50 vegan products, all variations of vegan cookies, with gluten-free and sugar-free options, as well.
The owner of Sun Flour, Rey Ortega, became vegan after years of sickness. Rey was not familiar with the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle because he grew up in a macho, pro-meat environment without any guidance for food choices. In fact, he was an omnivore for many years and adamant that he would never give up meat. However, Rey's constant sickness drove him to research nutrition and he began altering his food choices as a teenager when he cut eggs out of his diet. It wasn't until his early twenties that Rey figured out it was the meat in his diet that had caused his lifelong sickness.
After 6 months as a vegetarian, he realised that hidden eggs and dairy products were also contributing to an unhealthy body, so he cut all animal products out of his diet and adopted the vegan lifestyle. Rey's health improved immediately after changing his food choices and he has been a healthy vegan ever since! After not eating a cookie for months, Rey decided he needed to learn how to make an amazing vegan cookie. He experimented until he found the best combination of vegan ingredients to make a cookie that is soft, chewy, moist and full of flavor!
Rey was so excited to be healthy for the first time in this life, that he decided to embrace the new lifestyle by going into business with a vegan bakery. He opened the Alternative Baking Company in 1994 and worked day and night to create one of the first successful, nationwide vegan cookie companies. Rey left ABC in 1998 to start Sun Flour Baking. Since then, Rey has changed his recipes and now offers gluten-free and sugar-free cookies made with a blend of protein and fiber rich pinto bean and rice flour.
In Rey's own words: “Sun Flour Baking truly cares about our customers and the vegetarian movement. We donate hundreds of thousands of cookies to veg-related events around the country every year. With a vegan owner and vegan manager, we ensure that all of our facility and products will remain 100% vegan.”
Sun Flour Baking Co. is located at 2464 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, CA. 95821
E-mail: lauren@sunflourbaking.com
Web site: www.sunflourbaking.com
Phone: (916) 488-4160
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Sweet Pea Baking Company is a completely vegan company and they also use no refined sugars, no hydrogenated oils, or artificial colors or preservatives, as well as organic fair trade chocolate, and as many local and organic products as possible. The owner, Lisa Higgins has been vegan for 3 years and started this business in the beginning of 2005. Sweet Pea offers a wide range of baked goods, from vegan cheesecakes and cakes to muffins, cookies, scones and brownies.
Lisa tells us how it all began, “I was vegetarian for many years, and fell off the wagon while touring with my band. After about a year of being an omnivore I decided to go vegan. My friend Matt is vegan, and had a large influence on my decision, he really educated me on veganism and the social and animal rights issues involved. I have always loved baking and really enjoyed the science of making recipes vegan. After working on vegan cheesecakes and vegan donuts, more influential friends (Chad and Emiko from Food Fight!) encouraged me to start selling my products at their store. Things just grew from there.”
E-mail: info@sweetpeabaking.com
Web site: www.sweetpeabaking.com
Phone: (503) 449-6228 wholesale and special order cakes, no retail location yet!
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Simple Treats is located in Seattle, Washington, and markets only vegan products. It is owned by Jill Abraham, a vegan for 10 years. The company has been in business for 6 years and 25% of staff is vegan. For retail, the company offers over 100 varieties, plus custom orders. For wholesale, they produce 4 products: Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Chocolate Chip Blondies, Raspberry Jam Dot Cookies, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. In response to my question, Jill wrote: “I became vegan when I made the connection that all animal products come from the factory farming industry. I immediately stopped eating dairy and then also stopped buying animal products, such as leather and wool. We started Simple Treats after we graduated from the Natural Gourmet Cookery School in 2000, and Ellen began creating these amazing vegan recipes. We opened up in 2000, selling to local coffee shops and health food stores, and now are distributing nationwide. We have published a cookbook with all of our recipes, entitled: Simple Treats; A Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free Guide To Scrumptious Baked Goods; by Ellen Abraham.”
Simple Treats is located at 2315 NW Market St., Seattle, WA. 98107
Phone: (206) 545-7324
Web site: www.simpletreats.com
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Nana's Cookie Company is owned by a vegan, Miriam Diamond, (founder and president of Nana's Cookies) The company has been in business for 13 years and offers an assortment of cookies, some gluten-free and wheat-free options, cookie bars and Temptations (Gourmet Chocolate Bars).
“I started this business because people wanted healthy treats that tasted good. My friends spread the word from just a few cookies. I started experimenting and baking more cookies, opened a small kitchen in San Diego, and customers came knocking. Quickly we were getting hundreds of phone calls and e-mails asking for wheat-free, gluten-free cookies.” says Miriam.
Nana's Cookie Company is a woman-owned company headquartered in San Diego, CA. “The company is devoted to providing the world healthy and delicious snacks. Our mission is to put a Nana's cookie in every child's hand.” says Miriam.
Nana's Cookie Company is located at:
4901 Morena Blvd. #401, San Diego, CA. 92117
Phone: (858) 273.5775
E-mail: nanas@healthycrowd.com
Web site: www.healthycrowd.com
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Goodbaker Inc. markets only vegan products. The owner is a vegan for 3 years. Not all the staff is vegan. The company has been in business for 3 years and they offer Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Oatmeal-Spice Cookie Mix, Chocolate Fudge Low-Fat Brownie Mix, Chocolate Cake and Cupcake Mix, Ganache Frosting and Fudge Mix, Wheat-Free Multigrain Pancake and Waffle Mix, and Magic Multigrain Muffin Mix. Lee Busch founded Goodbaker when he became unable to digest animal products due to the medical overuse of antibiotics. This was the beginning of his vegan awakening. He quickly became completely vegan, first for health, then for the animals, and the planet. He wasn't happy with vegan dessert options available, so he started making his own, and they were so good, he decided to share them. Goodbaker's desserts are not simply vegan, they are also whole-grain and use organic ingredients. They are produced artisan-style in small batches for strict quality control. Veg News Magazine called these "the best dairy-free baking mixes on the market" and "a new standard has been set: these mixes are fantastic. Seriously." (April 2003)
Goodbaker Inc. is located at 1 Fitchburg St., Somerville, MA. 02143
Phone: (617) 628-2268 (800) 615-7059
Web Site: www.goodbaker.com
E-mail: info@goodbaker.com
M. 'Butterflies' Katz is the co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm which is published by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org
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