history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

the company; Paul sold the company to Sanitarium Health
Foods.
From 1983 to 1986 Rick and Elizabeth had a
commercial cleaning business, which suited the family
structure very well, but was very unsatisfying workwise and
environmentally.
In about 1980 or 1981 Austin Holden had started a
largely macrobiotic import and wholesale business, Kiaora
Naturals, at 374 West Coast Road, Glen Eden, in west
Auckland. Holden soon started a very small shop in the
corner of his warehouse and called it East West Wholefoods.
For the fi rst few years, his only customer was Harvest
Wholefoods. “We kept him going.”
Then in 1986 Rick and Elizabeth started East West
Organics, taking over the building (and business) formerly
occupied by Austin Holden and Kiaora Naturals. They
knocked out all the walls, resulting in a much larger shop
that specialised in organic food, with a big emphasis on fruit
and vegetables.
They had no intention of making soyfoods. However
there was suddenly an infl ux of Asian immigrants to New
Zealand and Asian Tofu (usually made with calcium sulfate
in aluminum pots) became widely available. By this time
organics was really growing in New Zealand. Elizabeth and
Rick wanted to stock organic tofu in their store, but they
couldn’t fi nd a source. They talked with Trevor and Paul
Johnston about making it for them, but the brothers felt there
was no future in it, so they declined to do it.
So in 1996 Elizabeth and Rick started The Organic Soy
Company, again in a small food factory out the back of East
West Organics. They started making nigari tofu again–for
their own store only. For the fi rst time, they started to use
organic soybeans, and as many other organic ingredients as
they needed and could get. “We were right back where we
started. And then exactly the same thing happened again.
Once the word got out that organic nigari tofu was available
again, people started coming from everywhere to buy it. It
was not our intention to get back into the soyfoods business;
we’d already sold our company. But we wanted the quality,
so we had to make it ourselves.” East West Organics is still
operating today, although out of new premises (outgrew old
one), and has just moved up the road slightly.
Their son Daniel joined them in January 1998, and in
October of 1998, they sold East West Organics and moved
the Organic Soy Company to their current premises at Unit
A, 2 Corban Avenue, Henderson, Auckland.
Elizabeth and Rick separated the same year, but
continued on in the family business together. In 2001 their
daughter Jesse returned from Europe and also joined us in
the business. Later that same year Rick left the business to go
to University and currently, Elizabeth, Daniel and Jesse are
in joint ownership, with Rick still having a 10% share. They
started using the brand names (the fi rst being Tonzu) in 2002.
The business is growing slowly, currently producing
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 511
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
tofu, tempeh, soy yoghurt, tofu burgers and teriyaki sauce,
all 100% organic. Elizabeth has moved to part time as the
younger generation are taking on the responsibility for the
business. They currently have 3 full time employees as well
as themselves, so are still reasonably small.
“We see a great future for the business and will probably
outgrow our current premises within the next few years. We
love making traditional soy products, and eventually hope to
make miso and tamari, which will be export products as well
as for the domestic market.”
First sold commercially by the organic soy company:
Tofu (1996), Teriyaki Tofu (1999), Tempeh (1999), Tofu
Burgers (2001), Teriyaki sauce (2003).
All current labels and packaging are new, and have
changed very much from the original. They once made
two tofu spreads, one teriyaki and the other curry fl avour.
However it was hard to get a good enough shelf life out of
them to make them viable, so reluctantly they discontinued
them. They have also changed their burgers signifi cantly.
When they fi rst produced a burger in 2001, they had 3
varieties: Garlic and Cheese, Sundried Tomato, and Feta,
and Vegan. They have discontinued them all and now just
make one that is actually Vegan, although they do not call
it that. The burgers did not sell well; they are not certain
why that was, maybe they were too expensive with all the
organic ingredients and very labour intensive. So they have
simplifi ed and streamlined our current burger making the
whole process more viable.
As the population of the whole of New Zealand is
around 4 million and only 15% of them are vegetarian, they
are playing to quite a small market, this can sometimes be
quite a challenge. In the long term it will be sensible to
develop products that they can export. Address: Founder and
owner, The Organic Soy Company, Ltd., Unit A, 2 Corban
Ave., Henderson, Waitakere, Auckland 0612, New Zealand.
Phone: +64 9 835 3617.
1323. Babb, Michelle. 2007. Soyfoods in a low GI
[Glycemic Index] diet. Soy Connection 15(1):2, 4. Winter.
• Summary: After the low-carb craze, Americans are
starting [again] to examine the types of carbohydrates they
are eating rather than avoiding them altogether. The GI
[glycemic index] is a measure of how fast 50 gm of a given
carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels as it is digested.
Researchers from Harvard University [Massachusetts]
developed the glycemic load (GL), based on an actual
serving or meal, given by the formula GI x carbohydrate per
serving + 100 = GL. “For example, soymilk has a GI of 44
and a GL of only 8 per 8 oz serving. (These fi gures will vary
slightly among brands).”
“Recent research suggests that following a low-glycemic
index diet not only helps facilitate weight loss, but may also
have a signifi cant impact on disease reduction” [incl. type II
diabetes and CVD, cardio-vascular disease]. Soyfoods with