Erewhon Organic (pronounced AIR-wahn) was an organic cereal

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

, and a refund subsidiary of

Post Foods Post Consumer Brands, LLC (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known simply as Post) is an American consumer packaged goods food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota. The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, own ...

. It was known for their allergy-friendly line of organic cereals sold by

health food stores A health food store (or health food shop) is a type of grocery store that primarily sells healthful foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selection ...

across North America, and for being one of the first companies to market

macrobiotic A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is an unconventional restrictive diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobio ...

, organic whole foods in the United States. In 2019, the Erewhon Organic brand was discontinued by its parent company

, and replaced by Three Sisters Foods, which sells a similar product line of organic cereals. "Erewhon" is derived from the 1872 satirical novel ''

Erewhon ''Erewhon: or, Over the Range'' () is a utopian novel by English writer Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler, first published in 1872, set in a fictional country discovered and explored by the protagonist. The book is a satire on Victorian ...

'' by Samuel Butler. In the novel, Erewhon (an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of “nowhere”) is a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

in which individuals are responsible for their own health.

History

Since the early 1950s, married couple Aveline Kushi and

Michio Kushi (May 17, 1926 – December 28, 2014) was a Japanese educator and alternative cancer treatment advocate who helped to introduce modern macrobiotics to the United States in the early 1950s. He lectured all over the world at conferences and seminar ...

had been introducing modern

macrobiotics A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is an unconventional restrictive diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobio ...

into the United States from Japan. They were both students of

George Ohsawa George Ohsawa (born ; October 18, 1893 – April 23, 1966) was a Japanese author and proponent of alternative medicine who was the founder of the macrobiotic diet. When living in Europe he went by the pen names of Musagendo Sakurazawa, Nyoiti S ...

, the founder of the modern macrobiotic movement, since after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In the late 1960s, the Kushis began forming study groups in New York and later in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in which they lectured on wide-ranging topics, from philosophy and spiritualism, to healthy diet and disease prevention. Their following began to increase, and as word spread, they decided to open a store to meet the ever-growing demand for macrobiotic and

whole foods Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined. Examples of whole foods include grains such as oatmeal and rice, fruits, vegetables, dried beans, nuts, seeds, unprocessed meats, and fish. Depending on the context this may sometimes refe ...

products. Erewhon's first product line consisted of processed

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

products, including

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

and shoyu purchased from Howard Rower's Infinity Foods and Japan Foods Corp., both in New York. The Kushis soon realized that the quality of food needed was not available in the United States. When Michio Kushi discussed his difficulties with an old university friend, his friend remembered a former schoolmate who was now in the import and export business. He thought his business friend in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, might be able to help: Akiyoshi Kazama, the founder of Mitoku. In August 1967,

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

and entrepreneur

Paul Hawken Paul Gerard Hawken (born February 8, 1946) is an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, economist, and activist. Biography Hawken was born in San Mateo, California, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his father worked at ...

took over the management of Erewhon, changed the name to Erewhon Trading Co., and began to expand the business. By the early 1970s, Erewhon began contracting with farmers to produce organically grown crops. By 1973 it had established and contracted with 57 farms in 35 states. It also became one of the first companies to establish a “Charter of Quality Standards for Natural Products” for their product line. By 1979, Erewhon's rapid growth stretched its cash flow and financing capacity and the company began experiencing financial difficulties. The business expanded until it included 4,000 products, servicing 2,000 customers by February 1981. As these troubles worsened, many supplier companies stopped shipping to the Boston firm. Because of a deep personal commitment to the Kushis, Kazama continued to fill orders. When Erewhon finally filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in November 1981, Mitoku was its largest creditor and took a $300,000 loss.John Belleme
Mitoku - Japan's Natural Foods Pioneer
''Macrobiotics Today'', November/December 2002 (vol. 42, No. 6) After a series of setbacks during the ensuing years, Erewhon celebrated its resurgence by acquiring U.S. Mills in 1986. U.S. Mills, which was founded in 1908, effectively merged with Erewhon as their line of whole grain cereals and simple manufacturing methods were consistent with Erewhon's. In 2009,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based health foods company Attune Foods acquired U.S. Mills continuing the mission of promoting digestive health through pure ingredients and simple manufacturing processes. In 2013, Attune Foods was purchased by

. The Erewhon brand featured eight organic

cereals A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize (Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, suc ...

including six

gluten free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of prolamin proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats ...

cereals under the Attune Foods banner.

References

External links

Official website
(archived, 13 Apr 2014)
History of Erewhon - Natural Foods Pioneer in the United States (1966-2011)
{{Post Holdings Breakfast cereal companies Organic farming organizations Food manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1966 Food and drink companies established in 1966 1966 establishments in New York (state) Post Consumer Brands brands Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1981

History

See also

References

External links