Odwalla: The Juice Company with a Conscience
Almost everyone in the western half of the United States has heard about Odwalla and the juice they make, but we wonder whether or not people really know about what a cool company Odwalla is. Odwalla was started in 1980 by three jazz musician friends making juice in a work shed in Santa Cruz, California. Their plan was to make enough profit to help fund music programs in local schools. They only had one box of oranges that first day. They juiced them all up with a $200 secondhand juicer, and delivered it to restaurants around town. With the profits from that first day, they were able to buy two boxes of oranges to juice for day two of their business. It's amazing what has grown from such humble beginnings!
Youthful, hip and fresh, Odwalla, Inc. has gone from a tiny backyard juicer to big business faster than you can say "Raspberry Cha Cha." Odwalla's dedication to values like honesty, respect and trust (along with their hippie and peppy outlook on life) is what sets them apart from others in a big way--not only in the juice industry but across the board. Over the years Odwalla has proven, time and again, that they truly are a company with a conscience.
Out of the Gray Haze
The company's founders, Greg Steltenpohl, Gerry Percy and Bonnie Bassett, were inspired to name their company Odwalla after a musical piece titled Illistrum by the jazz group the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The piece tells the story of Odwalla, the mythical leader who guides the "people of the sun" out of the "gray haze." They adopted the name because it expressed their vision and mission to provide the public with minimally processed, great tasting, healthy juice. Like the mythical leader Odwalla, Odwalla, Inc. wanted to lead the public out of the "gray haze" of over-processed foods so prevalent in today's packaged-food culture toward a closer-to-nature way of nourishing their bodies.
Another reason Odwalla is unique is that, while it is a multi-million dollar company now owned by the Coca Cola Co., they have managed to stay very true to their hippie-Santa Cruz roots and original vision: "to nourish people everywhere with the ineffably honest art and rhythm of nature's offerings." This short poem is included on their website:
Odwalla,
A breath of fresh
Intoxicating rhythm
Living flavor
Soil to soul, people to planet
Nourishing the body whole
That really sums up the company's dedication to respecting the earth and providing its customers with delicious, holistic nourishment.
Soil to Soul, People to Planet
Before the fall of 1996, Odwalla was unique in the juice industry because all of their juices were un-pasteurized. Un-pasteurized juice with a pH level of 4.6 or under was approved by the FDA and not thought to be potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, Odwalla's brand of juice proved that wrong. In October of 1996 there were around sixty cases of E. coli reported that turned out to be linked to Odwalla's delicious, but un-pasteurized, apple juice. With one of the victim's dying, it's not surprising that Odwalla's sales dropped 90%.
For any other company, a highly publicized tragedy like this easily could have spelled company doom. But not for Odwalla.
With their truly unique dedication to their customers and a commitment to honesty, Odwalla took full responsibility for the tragic E. coli outbreak. Rather than attempt to place the blame on someone else, Odwalla CEO Stephen Williamson expressed sympathy to those who had been affected by the E. coli outbreak, offering to pay all medical expenses for those who could prove that their illness was due to Odwalla juice. Williamson also issued a recall on all juice products containing apple and carrot juice. The company's recall of all products containing apple and carrot juice cost $6.5 million and involved almost 4,600 locations across seven states. Amazingly, the recall was accomplished in only two short days! The company opened themselves up to the public and the press by opening a website and appearing on TV. They answered the tough questions and explained the situation and what the company was doing to fix it in detail.
In addition to this, Odwalla didn't make its employees take a hit because of their mistake. Throughout the process, Odwalla refused to lay off any of its delivery drivers, instead sending them out to maintain customer relations. They also held daily personnel information conferences where employees could ask questions and receive up-to-date answers, thus keeping them highly informed so that they could, in turn, inform the customers. Not only did this build loyalty with their employees, thus internally strengthening them as a cohesive company-team, it also helped secure their "good guy" reputation with their customers.
Still, a 90% drop in sales is a big obstacle to overcome.
Juicier Than Ever
Amazingly and against all odds, Odwalla's recovery was rapid. The strong customer and employee loyalty that they had built up over the years remained intact. Odwalla now uses a method called Flash Pasteurization, which allows them to kill harmful bacteria while maintaining much of the taste and nutritive qualities of their excellent juice products.
Because of their swift and honest reaction to the E. coli outbreak and how effectively they were able to rebuild their brand's image, San Francisco Magazine voted them "The Best Brand Name in the Bay Area," and they are now one of the biggest juice producers in the western United States. They have also expanded their product line to include "Natural Spring Water," "Nutritionals," "Smoothies," "Quenchers," as well as "Nourishing Food Bars." Needless to say, Odwalla has fully recovered from this scandal and is a healthy, flourishing company today!
Nourishing your Company Whole
So, are we telling you all this just to whet your appetite for Odwalla's sweet juices? Well, no, honestly, though we highly recommend them (especially the Strawberry C Monster--it's great!). The real reason is because we hope to applaud more companies like Odwalla--companies who provide an amazing product and appeal to their customers in a meaningful way.
We challenge you and your company to become a "company with a conscience," so that you too can "nourish your company whole." There's nothing that says you can't make your customers happier and the world a better place.