Arran Blackburn Stephens (born 1944) is a Canadian entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist. He is co-founder of

Nature's Path Nature's Path Foods, commonly known as Nature's Path, is a Canadian privately held, family-owned producer of certified organic foods. Originally known for its breakfast cereals, it now has a portfolio of more than 150 products. Founded in 1985 by ...

, a leading manufacturer of

organic food Organic food, also known as ecological or biological food, refers to foods and beverages produced using methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resou ...

s. He is regarded as a pioneer in the food industry and has received numerous acknowledgments for his work promoting

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...

, organics, and opposition to genetic food modification.

Early life

Arran Stephens was born on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, the son of Rupert Stephens, a berry farmer and songwriter, and Gwen Stephens. Stephens has a brother, Godfrey Stephens, a well-known Canadian artist. Stephens is of English and Scottish ancestry. His paternal great-grandfather was Lt. General JM Cripps, of the Bengal Staff Corps,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Stephens grew up on a berry farm on Vancouver Island until his early teens, when his parents relocated to Los Angeles, following his father's pursuit of a songwriting career. For a brief time, Stephens attended

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

. In his later teen years, Stephens supported himself as a painter and poet with gallery showings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Vancouver. In 1964 while living in New York, Stephens became interested in spirituality and mysticism. In 1967 he traveled to India to study at an ashram for seven months under the guidance of well known spiritual teacher Sant Kirpal Singh. In August 1967, Stephens returned to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and opened ''The Golden Lotus'', Canada's first vegetarian restaurant in the heart of

Kitsilano Kitsilano ( ) is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, Kitsilano is located along the southern shore of English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay between Fairview, Vancou ...

. In 1968, Stephens went back to India to study further with Sant Kirpal Singh for six months. On March 4, 1969, he had an arranged marriage to Ratan Mala Bagga, and returned with his bride to Canada.

Beginning of Nature's Path

In 1971, Arran (and Ratana) opened LifeStream Natural Foods, a retailer, manufacturer and distributor of organic foods that was eventually sold to

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

in 1981. Around that time, Arran and Ratana would go on to open "Woodlands," a successful vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver. In 1985, the Stephens' founded

, and by 1990 would open North America's first certified organic breakfast cereal production facility in

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south distributary, arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond, British Columbia, R ...

. Originally focusing on cereals and breads, the company now sells a variety of products including toaster pastries, waffles, and granola.

has grown to distribute its products to over 40 countries worldwide, with several hundred employees and production facilities in Canada and the United States. The company's product line has remained 100% certified organic since its founding and the company remains family-run and privately owned. In 2012, Nature's Path acquired Que Pasa Mexican Foods, a producer of organic tortillas, chips, and salsas. Two of the Stephens' four children, Arjan and Jyoti, are active in leadership within the company.

Leadership

Stephens served on the Organic Trade Association (OTA) board during the creation and launch of the USDA National Organic Program. He was an early supporter and founding board member of the Non-GMO Project. Stephens was also a vocal supporter of California's Proposition 37 initiative. Stephens has also served on the boards of The Rodale Institute, and as the Chairman of the Richmond Food Security Society. He has served on the federally incorporated charity, Science of Spirituality of Canada since 1974. From 1971-1975, Arran served on the leadership board for Organic Merchants, the first organic trade association in North America, predecessor to OFPANA and the Organic Trade Association. Furthermore, Arran Stephens also served on leadership boards for the Canadian Health Food Association, Richmond Food Security Society, UBC Land & Food Systems and Kwantlen Polytechnic Food Advisory Board. He received no compensation for his service on these various non-profit boards.

Awards

In 1997, Stephens received the Canadian Health Food Association Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, Stephens received the Ernst & Young Manufacturing & Distribution Award. In 2002, Stephens was honored with the Organics Achievement Award by the CHFA. In 2012, The Rodale Institute announced the establishment of the Ratana and Arran Stephens Scholarship Fund, awarding scholarships to war veterans who are students of organic agriculture, made possible through a donation from Nature's Path. In 2013, the New York-based Leadership Institute honored Arran Stephens as the recipient of the first-ever Leadership Award for Character, Vision, and Impact at The

Leadership Institute The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, that teaches "political technology." The institute was founded in 1979 by conservative activist Morton Blackwell. Its mission is to "increase the n ...

's launch event. He was also awarded the New Hope Hall of Legends Award, which celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to the development and evolution of the natural products industry. In 2013, Arran and Ratana Stephens won the Growing the Organic Industry Award from the Organic Trade Association. In 2013, Arran Stephens was awarded the OTA Organic Leadership Award. In April 2014, Ratana and Arran won the Stewardship Award for their leadership in the food industry from the Food in Canada magazine. In November 2017, Ratana and Arran Stephens won the Leader in Sustainability award given by the Rabobank North America Leadership Awards. In September 2018, Arran was awarded the Organic Pioneer Award from the Rodale Institute. In November 2021, the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

(UVIC) conferred honorary doctorate degrees in Education upon Ratana and Arran. In 2021, Arran and Ratana received the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

. They were among a select few individuals to receive this honor, and they are recognized as extraordinary individuals who made significant contributions to B.C. The investiture ceremony was delayed to March 2022, due to safety considerations for COVID-19. The Stephens received the Canada Marketing Legends Award in 2021 from the American Marketing Association. Ratana and Arran won the Sustainable Food Award from Ecovia Intelligence in 2021 for their contributions to building a sustainable food industry. The 2021 awards were hosted online due to the pandemic. In 2021, Arran and Ratana received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 7th Annual Drishti Awards for their outstanding efforts to contribute to a civil society. In August 2022, Arran and Ratana were inducted into the Grocery Hall of Fame by Grocery Business magazine. In October 2022, Arran and Ratana received the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business 2022 Distinguished Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (DEYA) from the University of Victoria. In April 2024, Arran and Ratana received the Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. In June 2024, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

conferred honorary doctorate degrees in Science upon Arran and Ratana. In September 2024, Arran and Ratana received the President’s Distinguished Community Leadership Award from Simon Fraser University for their unwavering commitment to the health of both people and the planet.

Philanthropy

Arran and Ratana Stephens, and their family company have been involved in many philanthropic efforts over the years, primarily to the following: * Food Banks across North America (over CAD $41,000,000 in food between 2010 and 2023) serving those in need * Gardens for Good, an initiative of

(establishing organic food gardens in underprivileged neighborhoods, community centers and schools) *

Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facili ...

($2,000,000 to the Gastroenterology Department) *

Vancouver Coastal Health Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is a regional health authority that provides health services including primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care, home and community care, mental health services, population and preventive health and addiction ...

Withdrawal Management Centre * British Columbia Children's Hospital * St. Paul's Hospital Wellness Garden *

(UBC Farm / Land & Food Systems) *

(bursaries for students) *

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public undergraduate degree-granting polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions b ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

* Science of Spirituality Meditation Centre *

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

Canada, through a fundraiser exhibition of Arran's artwork at UBC in 2022

Publications

Stephens has authored three books: * ''Journey to the Luminous'' (Elton-Wolf, 1999) * ''Kirpal: Mere Guru, Mere Malik'' (Skyline Publications, 2024) * ''Moth & the Flame: Adventures with Three Mystic Adepts of Our Times'' (Skyline Publications, 2024) Stephens also co-authored with Eliot Jay Rosen ''The Compassionate Diet—How What You Eat Can Change Your Life and Save the Planet'' (Rodale Books, 2011).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Arran 1944 births Living people Businesspeople from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian chief executives Canadian philanthropists Canadian businesspeople Canadian non-fiction writers Members of the Order of British Columbia Writers from Vancouver