HISTORY OF EREWHON - NATURAL FOODS ... - SoyInfo Center

insurer (Hartford Insurance Company) $400,000 net, or
$0.50 for each dollar Eden felt it was owed.
1980 Nov.–Eden Foods headquarters moves into a
20,000 square foot building at 701 Tecumseh Road in the
tiny town of Clinton (population 2,000) about 60 miles
southwest of Detroit.
1981 Nov.–Erewhon Trading Co. files for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection. Trying to keep up with the superdistributors
in their region (especially Balanced Foods)
Erewhon had moved into an 80,000 square foot warehouse
and added too many items to their product line too fast–
which destroyed the company. Stow Mills picked up the
bulk of their business, with Westbrae scooping up most of
the business for their Japanese imports. Eden had not yet
recovered enough financially to take advantage of this
opportunity. Continued.
16. SoyaScan Notes.1969. Chronology of Eden Foods, Inc.
Part III. 1983 to present. 31 Jan. 1992. Compiled by
William Shurtleff of Soyfoods Center.
• Summary: 1983 July–Eden Foods surprises the U.S.
natural foods industry by introducing Edensoy, a long-life
soymilk in plain, carob, or cranberry flavors, imported from
Marusan-Ai Co. in Japan, and packaged in a stand-up foil
retort pouch.
1984 Jan.–The Muso Company of Osaka, Japan,
appoints Eden Foods its General Agent for North America.
1984 March 2–A series of calamities hit Eden Foods in
quick succession. The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug
Administration) informs Eden Foods, in a strongly worded
letter, that it considers eleven claims in a promotional
pamphlet for Edensoy to be erroneous. The FDA advised
that the “Good for Babies” section of the pamphlet be
deleted.
1985 June 14–The FDA informs Michael Potter that a
six-month-old child in Canada had become seriously ill
after being fed the company’s soymilk as an infant formula.
The mother said her decision to forgo regular infant formula
was inspired by Eden’s own literature–the promotional
pamphlet cited above which said that Edensoy was “Good
for Babies.” Eden took the position: “There’s a problem and
we’re responsible for it.” To date some 18 million packs of
Edensoy have been sold.
1985 June 23–Eden Foods voluntarily mails 10,686
requests for a recall of the pamphlet to its distributors and to
individual retail stores.
1985 July–Eden Foods forms a joint venture
partnership with four Japanese companies, and incorporates
in the state of Michigan as American Soy Products, Inc.
1985–Eden opens a west coast sales office and
warehouse in San Francisco, California.
1986 May–The Lima Company of Belgium appoints
Eden Foods its General Agent for North America.
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HISTORY OF EREWHON 36
1986 Nov.–American Soy Products, Inc. launches a
new generation of Edensoy soymilk products, in original,
vanilla, and carob flavors. Made at a large, new factory in
Saline, Michigan, they are packaged in Tetra Brik Aseptic
cartons. This is the first aseptic soymilk plant in the USA.
1987 Jan. 1–Eden Foods stops distributing products
directly to retail stores (which comprised only 10% of
Eden’s total sales), drops 150 products, and starts serving as
a master distributor, selling only through other distributors.
This decision had a very positive effect on Eden’s growth;
all the energy that was formerly required to attend to 10% of
the business was now free to be focused on developing new
products and the Eden brand.
1988 April 13–Cliff Adler and Michael Potter are in a
serious car accident. Cliff is killed and Michael is seriously
injured. Upon Cliff Adler’s death, Michael immediately and
automatically acquires Cliff’s 34% share in the company–
because Eden Foods Inc. and Michael and Cliff, jointly and
severally, had a buy-sell contract that came into effect in the
event that either Cliff or Michael should die. The value of
Cliff’s stock was $500,000. Michael pays this amount from
his personal funds for the stock. Potter now owns a large
majority of Eden Foods’ stock.
1988 May–While Eden Foods is still reeling from the
effects of the car accident, the FDA files charges against
Eden for publishing inaccurate information in a pamphlet
which stated that Edensoy was “Good for Babies.” Eden’s
previous major effort to recall all of these pamphlets from
retail stores apparently had little or no effect on the FDA
charges.
1988–Eden Foods joins OCIA, the Organic Crop
Improvement Association, for independent certification of
organically-grown crops.
1989 Jan. 20–Nearly 6 years after Eden Foods
published its ill-fated Edensoy pamphlet, the company is
fined $110,000 by a federal judge in Detroit, and its
president, Michael Potter, is fined $25,000 and sentenced to
30 days imprisonment. On Feb. 24 he begins to serve out
his sentence in Bay City, Michigan.
1989 Oct. 12–Michael Potter is convicted of
manslaughter and sentenced at the circuit court in Ann
Arbor to 8-15 years in jail for his role in the April 1988
automobile accident that caused Cliff Adler’s death. He
begins to serve out his sentence in Oct. 1989 in Coldwater,
Michigan. Ron Roller takes over as president of Eden
Foods–the top position.
1989–Eden and OCIA establish standards for food
processing as well as growing crops.
1991 mid-June–Ron Roller, president of Eden Foods, is
asked to resign from his position. He chooses to leave and
go to American Soy products to work full time. There he
becomes CEO.
1992–Eden Foods now has 180 distributors, virtually
all of whom distribute Edensoy. Owners of stock in Eden