Kashi (company)
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| Subsidiary | |
| Genre | Breakfast cereals, snacks, entrées, waffles |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founders | Philip Tauber Gayle Tauber |
| Headquarters | Solana Beach, California, United States |
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Number of employees
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70 |
| Parent | Kellogg's (2000–present) |
| Website | kashi |
Kashi is a maker of nutritious whole grain cereals and other plant-based foods sourced according to sustainable and ethical farming practices. Founded in San Diego in 1981, the company makes over 90 products sold in the U.S. and Canada. Its original cereal pilaf was identified by the tagline “Seven Whole Grains on a Mission.” The company name is a blended term derived from “kashruth,” meaning kosher or pure food, and “Kushi," the last name of the founder of American macrobiotics.
As of summer 2016, all Kashi products are Non-GMO Project Verified.
As a young married couple in the early 1970s, Phil Tauber and Gayle Tauber founded companies that would allow them to offer customers what they were convinced were the sources of good health: athleticism and wholesome nutrition.
They began with The Plant Pusher, an indoor plant business offering plant and tree maintenance and rental services, with distribution from business offices to supermarkets. In 1978 the Taubers partnered with bodybuilder and celebrity trainer Vince Gironda, with whom they established the first gym that served women as well as men.
As part of their commitment to health via high nutrition and physical fitness, the Taubers continued to search for a high-protein, complex-carbohydrate food that was low in fat and sodium. In 1984 in La Jolla, Calif., they founded the Kashi Company to produce and market ready-to-eat cereals and cereal-based products. The couple pioneered end-of-the-race feeding at athletic events; partnering with and supporting nonprofits that used athletic events to promote their causes; and creating a "Kashi Army" concept prior to social networking. After 16 years in business, Kashi was purchased by the Kellogg Co. in 2000.
Kashi’s acquisition by Kellogg’s in 2000 allowed the smaller company to reach new consumers and the parent company to enter the market for natural and organic foods. In its first eight years under Kellogg, Kashi’s sales grew 42 percent annually on a compound basis, to about $600 million in 2008. Six years later, as competition in the market for healthy snacks and cereals increased, Kashi posted about $500 million in sales.
In 2005 Kashi acquired Stretch Island Fruit Co, a producer of fruit strips and fruit chews. In 2008 Kashi acquired Bear Naked Granola, a producer of granola and bars. Both brands currently operate out of Kashi’s headquarters in Solana Beach, California.
Kellogg’s moved Kashi’s operations to Battle Creek, Mich., in 2013, to consolidate with its other cereal brands. But after sales declines in 2014, the parent company moved the business back to southern California in Solana Beach to help it realign with health food community. At that time, Kashi was established as a stand-alone natural food business and would continue to encompass the Bear Naked and Stretch Island Fruit Co. brands. A new team, headed by CEO David Denholm, who led Kashi in the 2000s, is now running the company as a standalone business. Kashi remains one of the largest natural foods businesses in the United States and the world.
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