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Shipping Shape

Moss Landing’s Diamond Organics sends prime local produce all over the country overnight.

Monterey County Weekly By Anina Marcus
December 06, 2007

Minot, North Dakota is quite a ways from the Central Coast. There the soil, setting and the seasons do not allow for the fields of greens which are enjoyed here, where arugula and radicchios abound and farmers markets are full of fresh produce year round.

Diamond Organics is bringing Minot and Monterey County a lot closer, produce-wise. Housed in a 33,000-square-foot packing and distributing warehouse, its Moss Landing headquarters is located right smack dab in the middle of one of the highest concentration of certified organic farms anywhere in the U.S. Here, high quality organic foods, including just-picked produce from neighboring farms, get packed, shipped and delivered nationwide, guaranteed to arrive upon the customer’s doorstep the next day. Orders are received daily by fax, through the website, or by phone with the help of the catalog.

Founders Jasch and Kathleen Hamilton had always been interested in getting their food at its freshest, starting with the planting of their own organic garden in Rockport, Maine, where they grew sprouts and other organic vegetables. When another nearby nursery started growing the then-little-known microgreen called mache, they agreed to distribute it to many of the trendier restaurants in town. They soon realized they wanted to make freshly picked and organically grown produce available to home cooks everywhere, not just top chefs in top restaurants.

Since arriving here in California 20 years ago, they have built a solid reputation as a premier distribution company, carefully selecting what is unique from each farm, getting to the know the growers behind the food, and seeking out new varieties of local vegetables. Kathleen ticks off her favorites with enthusiasm, many of which she says are popular amongst her customers in Minot.

“Neon pink chard from Serendipity Farms down the coast, the red Russian kale from Blue Heron Farms in Corralitos, the Blenheims apricots and cherries from Van Dyke Farms in Gilroy are unsurpassed,” she says. “Next June you will actually taste the most magnificent blueberries grown right here in Watsonville soil...a first. They come from Healo Yepez, the operations manager for Dutra Farms, who tried growing hundred of varieties before he found the blueberries that like it here.”

Kathleen, who has run the company since Jasch passed away several months ago after a prolonged illness, walks me through her aisles and aisles of food items. One area is only for frozen and refrigerated orders, another for putting together gift baskets (a huge portion of their sales) and then there is more still—ranging from biodynamic wines (grown in special compost and planted according to the phases of the moon) to Happy Girl Farm Pickled Vegetables from Aromas. There are some things from farther off, including sockeye salmon jerky and Nova Scotia alder-smoked salmon lox from Dave’s Albacore of Alaska who, according to the catalog, is “one of the few remaining hook and line commercial fishermen.”

With a new state-of-the-art organic kitchen, a variety of prepared foods are also available for home delivery—including soup and even sushi. Specialty salads like the mesclun ($2.59/3 oz.)—organic baby lettuces, arugula, baby spinach, radicchio and frisee—and “the Fusion” ($7.95/16 oz.), with its red cabbage, jicama, carrots, grapefruit sections and peanuts with a dressing of safflower oil, tamari, apple vinegar, mint, basil, cilantro and sea salt, look tantalizing.

The seasonal quiches are rich, creamy and buttery—tomato, onion and mushroom or broccoli cheese are quite good. The spinach feta brioche and caramelized onion brioche ($8.39/each) are very flaky, and, for those in the market for super protein, there’s the buffalo meat loaf ($11.95/26 oz.).

With a staff of 20, Kathleen is gearing up for the holiday feasts: On the website are photos of Heirloom Bronze 14-16 pound turkeys that you can order frozen, packed in dry ice ($5.95/pound), homemade sweet potato biscuits, cranberry and orange relish, root vegetable gratin, and pumpkin and cherry pies all baked from scratch.

Organic samplers ($82; free delivery) are also popular.

“These are a great way to introduce the public to a wide variety of seasonal produce,” she says.

The sampler I receive is no ordinary box of veggies. Beneath dry ice lay plastic bags of miniature zucchini, mizuna, kale, sugar snap peas and basil. Next layer: kiwis, Fujis, blood oranges, avocadoes and precious heirloom tomatoes swaddled in shredded paper. At the bottom rests an egg crate protecting the precious cargo. The tastes prove up to par with a testimonial I find on the website: “My daughter asked if the pea pods were candy.”

January 03, 2007

In April, Diamond Organics Inc., a mail-order organic products company in Moss Landing , opened 125,000 of its stock shares directly to public investors and sold more than $800,000 worth of them. Since then, investors have fared well as the company grew by 12 percent last year, and sales increased from $3.7 million in 2005 to $4.2 million in 2006.

Husband and wife team Jasch and Kathleen Hamilton co-founded the company in 1990, just after the "organic movement" was sparked in the mid '80s. The popularity of going organic, coupled with the Internet boom, created "happy circumstances" for the company, boosting the number of people wanting to buy organic, as well as the appeal of conveniently grocery shopping online, Jasch Hamilton said. Diamond's 16 years in existence, however, was not as easy as riding the coattails of the increasingly fashionable organic trend and iMacs.

Webvan, another mail-order produce company, went bankrupt in 2001. Webvan shut down after attempting to quickly deliver groceries at the same price consumers spend when they shop at a grocery store themselves, according to research by the Journal of Operations Management.

Diamond found a way to make mail-order products work through a simple shipping and packing technique. While Webvan tried to use their own delivery trucks, Diamond delivers through FedEx, said Jasch Hamilton. "We know how to pack products so that we don’t need our own trucks," he said.

Diamond figured out how to deliver perishable and non-perishable items alike within the same package by using dry and regular ice. "We can ship steak with flowers in one box overnight," he said.

Diamond used profits from the sold stocks to launch an Internet advertising campaign, expand the business' staff and boost production. People living in all parts of the country now demand organic items ranging from meat, dairy, skin care products, cosmetics and flowers from the best local growers and bakers. While some shoppers use Diamond for special occasion gifts, others order their everyday groceries on the site and skip the trip to the grocery store.

The organic movement increased awareness of the health and environmental benefits of buying organic produce, grass-fed livestock and from small local farmers. On Tuesday afternoon gift baskets were being assembled with smoked salmon from Dave's Fish Market in Santa Cruz, baguettes from Gayle's Bakery in Capitola as well as California wines and cheeses.

The Hamiltons have their sights on bigger horizons. In the works are plans to grow their own vegetables and fruit in the surrounding area, as well as opening new sites in every major region of the country to be able to speed up food delivery times. Diamond built its 35,000-squarefoot facility big enough to house a $10 million operation, Jasch Hamilton said.

To place an order from Diamond's guaranteed delivery service , visit the Web site www.diamondorganics.com. Diamond Organics Inc. is located off Highway 1.

CRANKY CONSUMER
By TERESA RIVAS, August 31, 2006; Page D2

Home delivery of organic produce is a burgeoning option for busy, health-conscious consumers.

Organics make up only about 2.5% of the nation's food market, but demand is rising so quickly that many of the country's estimated 10,000 organic farms say they are having a hard time keeping up.

To see how organic-delivery services work, we ordered five batches of organic produce to see just how fresh the fruits and vegetables were when they arrived. All promised to support certified sustainable organic farmers. From each service we ordered, via the Internet, a large or family-size box, usually priced between $45 and $70, typically with enough food for a family of four to eat salads and snacks for three to four days.

Overall, the produce ordered was better-tasting than supermarket fare. It was delivered as promised and arrived well packaged against the summer heat. In keeping with the companies' organic missions, the produce was packed in recycled paper and cardboard, with ice packs to keep produce chilled; it was rare that anything suffered en route. When a couple of the boxes were left on the doorstep for a few hours the greens weren't wilted, though it wouldn't be advisable to leave any produce delivery outside all day. Boxes typically weighed 10 to 14 pounds.

Each company had its own quirks. While nationwide overnight delivery is available, usually the shipping will cost you -- sometimes as much as the produce itself -- and often wasn't available on weekends. Smaller, local organizations usually have weekly schedules when a driver will be in the area, so the delivery costs are nominal and usually included in the price. With these providers, however, the time frame to order, online capabilities and credit-card use may be limited.

The simplest process was ordering a box from Diamond Organics, available for purchase online or over the phone. Orders placed before 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday ship overnight anywhere in the country, and samplers and gift baskets come with free shipping, though custom orders carry shipping fees of about $20 plus $1.20 a pound. The food was fresh, but with a number of unmarked leafy greens, we had an amusing time passing them around for guesses. ("Oh yes, this is definitely the arugula. Isn't it?")

Another user-friendly nationwide service is Boxed Greens in Tempe, Ariz. Overnight delivery is available Tuesday through Thursday and orders can be placed online or by phone. In-state customers in Arizona have smaller delivery fees and can get guaranteed early-bird service so perishables aren't sitting out all day. Nationwide, shipping fees are larger and depend on the order. For our order, the shipping was as much as the order, roughly $70, and it arrived in two large boxes. (All our other orders arrived in one.) While recipes came with most orders, Boxed Green gave us the most, and we were relieved not to relive our culinary ignorance when we saw labels on more obscure items. ("So this is what kale looks like.")

My Organic Grocery Store, the third nationwide shipper, is in Wisconsin, so we were surprised when our order was sent to us from Boxed Greens, one of the service's partners. Estimated delivery date isn't given at check-out, but its Web site listed a shipping policy of five to 10 days. Ours came sooner. One of the bananas was packed too close to the ice, but otherwise the food was fine.

Local companies are also an option. Door to Door Organics, of Pipersville, Pa., delivers to most mid-Atlantic states, from Connecticut to West Virginia, and also has offices in Colorado. Shipping is included in the price of boxes. Custom boxes, however, carry a $10 delivery fee. Once users register, they receive an email letting them know when ordering is active for the coming week, from midafternoon Friday until noon Monday. If you miss this window, you have to wait until the next week. Within the local delivery area, your town will be served on either Tuesday or Wednesday. Outside van service, deliveries arrive Wednesday by UPS. We were surprised to see greens floating loose among the food, but then less plastic is a plus for the environment.

A different approach is employed by Suburban Organics of Voorhees, N.J., which serves New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Instead of signing up online, you must email or call the offices to register as a new consumer, and then you can place your order. Credit cards aren't accepted, and cash or check must be left on the day of delivery. We left a check taped to our front door since we were still sleeping when the delivery arrived. Like Door to Door Organics, we could only place an order over the weekend for a Wednesday delivery. The contents of our box varied a bit from the online menu for the week. ("Where are the limes?") We were compensated elsewhere, though, coming across green beans in our box.

By Chantal Tode, July 27th, 2006

Diamond Organics' mail-order strategy is still a diamond in the rough -- it continues to be refined in an attempt to find the best return on investment. This year, the company is decreasing its catalog circulation but will put more emphasis on a postcard strategy that is proving successful.

The company got its start selling organic food to restaurants from a warehouse in Maine in 1990. It mailed its first catalog to consumers several years later and relocated to a 35,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Moss Landing, CA, in 2004.

Just as the trend for organic foods continues to grow, with new Whole Foods stores opening all the time and even Wal-Mart recently starting an organic program, Diamond Organics has seen its sales grow about 20 percent every year since the mid-1990s.

However, the company's catalog has been less successful. Rising paper and postage costs and low response rates forced co-founder Jasch Hamilton to slash circulation to 150,000 this year from 250,000 last year.

Yet the book continues to expand as more product categories are encompassed by the organic umbrella. Two years ago, the catalog numbered 64 pages, last year it was up to 72 and this year there are 84. Diamond Organics mails a catalog four times a year.



The added space is being allocated to organic meat, which continues to rise in popularity since the company added the category four years ago and now accounts for 20 percent of its sales, Mr. Hamilton said. Diamond Organics also has expanded its selection of fish as well as items from its in-house kitchen, which go under the Kathleen's Kitchen label. These include home-cooked entrees, vegetarian sushi and Buffa-loaf, made from buffalo meat.

However, its signature specialty remains its produce, Mr. Hamilton said. "Our biggest-selling item is our avocados," he said, and the company's fruit and vegetable gift baskets are also popular.

Diamond Organics offers next-day delivery nationwide on orders placed by 2 p.m. Pacific time. The price of gift baskets and samplers includes free delivery.

"Our goal is to open distribution centers in different parts of the country," which will let the company work with more local organic farmers while continuing to offer next-day delivery, Mr. Hamilton said.

What has proven more successful than the catalog is a postcard strategy the company began for the holiday 2004 season. Based on its response that year and in 2005, the company added Mother's Day in 2006 and looks to extend the program to other holidays as well.

The postcards highlight a selection of the company's best organic food gifts and call out Diamond Organics' ability to offer next-day delivery nationwide. They are mailed with last-minute gift giving in mind. So for Christmas, for example, the in-home date might be Dec. 10.

The postcards "work better than any catalog," said Mr. Hamilton, noting that the typical response rate is 4 percent.

The cards mailed to 50,000 best buyers in 2005. But for the upcoming holiday season the company wants to raise that number to 100,000.

While the postcards focus on gift giving, the company's site at www.diamondorganics.com is geared to the more than 50 percent of its customers who shop the brand for their everyday needs. Web sales account for 50 percent to 60 percent of Diamond Organics' volume, Mr. Hamilton said.

The company also sends two e-mail blasts a week featuring recipes to 35,000 names.

By JENNIFER PITTMAN, Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 21, 2006

MOSS LANDING — A year after Diamond Organics launched a direct public offering campaign, more than 500 individual investors have bought $800,000 in company stock to shepherd the national organic mail-order business through its next expansion phase.

The offering fell short of the company's original $1 million goal but still offers plenty to build sales at its Moss Landing headquarters. After costs, the direct public offering should net the company about $600,000 to grow the business.

"We learned a lot," said Jasch Hamilton, who founded the company with wife Kathleen Ucinski Hamilton in 1990. "It was really wonderful to see the people come by and see what their investment is about."

Diamond Organics, which had its beginnings in a small Maine-based produce company that served organic produce to local restaurants, now boasts an 84-page catalog that includes buffalo and more fish products than ever in addition to the staples of organic flowers and produce, bath products, nuts and prepared foods.

The company specializes in next-day, no charge ground delivery service and aims eventually to cut operating costs through strategically placed distribution centers that link regional organic farmers around the world with local customers.

Scott and Susan Schaaf of Aptos bought shares in large part to support a local company with a good idea. Scott Schaaf, a residential real estate agent, said he eats organically when he can but is "not over the top" with it.

"Most of my investments are in real estate, mutual funds, stocks and bonds so this is a little bit off the norm," Schaaf said. "Their profile isn't the most attractive but I think they've got a good game plan. It's a bit of a leap of faith but you've got to have faith in local business, right?"

Last year, Diamond sales grew 11 percent from $3.359 million to $3.724 million.

"We did that with virtually no advertising," Hamilton said, noting the company has been focusing heavily on Internet advertising and e-mail newsletters to introduce new products.

The company also has worked to cut expenses. Losses shrank from a negative $454,670 in 2004, which was primarily attributed to the cost of building and moving into a new facility, to a loss of just $85,000 last year. Hamilton says the company will break-even by year-end.

"It's just a matter of tightening every screw whether it needed it or not," Hamilton said. "We now want to pour a little more advertising in and see what kind of growth we can get."

Last year the company sent out half as many full-color catalogs but sent out postcard style reminders just before Christmas, the company's busiest season. Revenues grew 35 percent in that period from the previous year.

"Life's too short for cheap chocolate and cheap food," said direct public offering investor Ruth Ezell who bought 200 shares. "I'm from a small town in the Florida panhandle and we don't have farmers' markets here. The only way for me to get things like this is to order them," she said. "I've invested for years in different things. I just keep my eye out for things that are up and coming."

The company's last couple years of losses doesn't concern her. "They're just growing pains," Ezell said. "You've got to invest in things to grow."

And, the organic industry continues to grow.

While the future pace of growth will eventually slow from its current 16-20 percent annually, the next 20 years will see continued proliferation of organic products, according to the Organic Trade Association.

"All organizations agree that by 2025, organic products will be sold anywhere and everywhere. Increased sales in restaurants were mentioned by more than one as a trend that will continue to 2025," said the OTA in a recent report on the industry. "The overall increase in organic sales and acceptance should also translate into increased organic acreage."

News that big-box stores such Wal-Mart just announced expanded organic sections is not a concern for Diamond, Hamilton said.

"Wal-Mart can't work with people who have 2 acres of farmland," Hamilton said. "That's why we want to open local distributors across the country. There are always going to be big guys. If you want mass-produced food you can shop there. We specialize on working with small farm growers. We're about small growers and we always will be. We will be about high quality. We're not growing to get big and take over Safeway."

Annual growth in the organic food industry will slow, according to the Nutrition Business Journal, which forecast and annual growth pace of 10-15 percent for 2006-2010 and 5-10 percent for 2011-2025. By that time, U.S. organic foods sales will have grown from $12 billion in 2004 to $50 billion in 2025.

Contact Jennifer Pittman at jcopeland@santacruzsentinel.com

Diamond Organics Inc.

WHAT: Provides organically grown food and other organic products by direct home delivery to customers nationwide. The company hopes one day to provide free, next-day delivery.

HEADQUARTERS: 1272 Highway 1, Moss Landing, CA 95039. In 2004, the company moved from an 8,500-square-foot building in Watsonville to a new 35,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center with acres of bare fields nearby.

BACKGROUND: Incorporated in 1989 in Maine and reincorporated in 1995 in California. The company was fully operational in its new Moss Landing space in October 2004.

EMPLOYEES: Between 20 and 30 employees depending on the season.

LEADERSHIP: Jasch Hamilton and Kathleen Ucinski Hamilton, co-founders and managing directors.

INFORMATION: (888) 674-2642; http://www.diamondorganics.com.

HISTORY: Prior to this offering, the company had raised $1.3 million in a series of smaller offerings. The direct public offering involved open houses for potential investors who toured the facility and met staff and co-founders. About 80 percent of the direct public offering investors were from California; 10 percent from New York where the company conducted a small ad campaign and the rest were located throughout the United States.

DIRECT PUBLIC OFFERING: The one-year offering closed April 15 after raising $800,000 from 500 investors throughout the nation. About 80 percent of the investors were from California. Shares were $8 each for a minimum of 100. Employees could purchase a minimum of 20 shares.

FINANCIALS: The company reported a loss of $85,000 last year, compared to a loss of $454,670 in 2004, which was primarily attributed to moving-related costs.

GUIDANCE: The company expects to make a profit in 2006.

CATALOG CRITIC
By NINA SIEGAL, Special to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, June 17, 2005; Page W11C

What could be better than enjoying a slice of ripe pear and feeling like you're helping the planet, too?

Vendors of organic fruit say their produce is not only grown without pesticides and fertilizers, but also tastes good. With U.S. fruit sales at their peak this month and next, many Americans are going organic: Online purveyor Diamond Organics says its sales have increased about 20% each year since the mid-1990s, while distributor Melissa's reports 10% annual growth in organic-fruit orders for the past three years.

So we decided to compare apples and oranges -- not to mention grapefruits, avocados and pears. We ordered boxes or baskets of mixed organic fruit from five online retailers, sampling kits that cost $30 to $80. Then we enlisted the help of Dennis McGovern, a produce manager with Iowa City-based New Pioneer Food Co-op, who purchases, handles and tastes as much as $10,000 of organic produce every week. (He doesn't do business with the companies we tested.)

Pricey Pears

The first thing we determined: These are some pricey pears. While companies say contents of their boxes may vary by season, we asked Mr. McGovern to price out the fruit in the boxes we got, and he said ours cost us about twice as much as we'd have paid the local specialty grocer -- even before shipping costs. So we looked for well-presented boxes with carefully handled fruit that would be appropriate to send as a gift.

The 15 pieces in Got Fruit's $55 Organic Fruit Banquet were well arranged, with tasty apples. But the navel orange had a small spot of mold, one kiwi had a hole through the center and two of the five pears had gashes on the skin. The Organic Extravaganza from Cherry Moon Farms, a $35 box of 14 individually wrapped pieces from avocados to kiwis, tasted like supermarket fruit.

Growers say there's a difference. Their use of the word "organic" is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has guidelines on how organic produce is shipped, labeled and grown -- not only without most pesticides, but also without genetic modification and from farmers who use renewable resources. Organic produce should have a seal or a stamp somewhere in the packaging indicating the name of the verification agent.

Do Extras Equal Value?

The Fresh and Dried Fruit box from Melissa's/World Variety Produce included some tasty fruit, but Mr. McGovern calculated its value at about $26, so the $42 price seemed a bit steep. Harry and David's basket came with a few nice extras, including spiced pear tea and organic peach/apricot preserves from Italy, but the assortment priced out to about $25, and cost us $70.

We loved our Organic Fruit Sampler from Diamond Organics. It had the best item of any box, a Hawaiian organic pineapple so tasty we ate it in one sitting. The box included a nice variety of South American pears, Fuji apples from Washington state, a blood orange and a Valencia orange that rewarded our taste buds. The kiwis were huge and juicy, and the strawberries were on the verge of perfect ripeness, placed in the box on top of an icepack.

"This is the most volatile item in any box of fruit," said Mr. McGovern, picking up the carefully packed strawberry container. "They took great care with this box." At $54, with free shipping, it's our Best Overall and our Best Value.

* * *

Diamond Organics
Organic Fruit Sampler, $54
888-674-2642
diamondorganics.com

Quality: Best Overall. Best Value. The 16 pieces of fruit were ripe and delicious (especially the Hawaiian pineapple) with bursting strawberries carefully packed on top.
Shipping Cost/Time: We were nervous when we weren't told a shipping price at time of order, but it turned out to be free. Arrived within four days.
Return Policy: Guarantee - If you aren't satisfied, the company will replace items on next order or issue a refund.
Phone/Web Experience: Attractive Web site with lots of variety, from Forest Nameko Mushrooms to Hachiya Persimmons. Registration required, but checkout was simple.
Comment: Diamond Organics also follows up with organic cooking ideas and recipes by email.

* * *

Harry and David
Organic Fruit Basket, $69.95
877-322-1200
harryanddavid.com

Quality: Ten pieces of fruit, nicely packaged in a basket, plus tasty extras (such as spiced pear tea and organic peach/ apricot preserves from Italy).
Shipping Cost/Time: We paid $17.81. Fruit is sent when it's ripe, so you can't set an arrival date. Received within nine days.
Return Policy: "You must be delighted" or the company will offer an appropriate replacement or full refund.
Phone/Web Experience: The Web site is easy to navigate, and has a limited range of organic options.
Comment: Harry and David also has an "organic club" -- three months of organic-fruit deliveries for $89.95.

* * *

Cherry Moon Farms
Organic Extravaganza, $34.99
888-378-2758
cherrymoonfarms.com

Quality: Box of 14 individually wrapped pieces: Avocados were good, but grapefruit, kiwis and apples weren't particularly fancy or tasty.
Shipping Cost/Time: We paid $9.98. Site let us pick a shipping date -- our shipment came on time, within three days.
Return Policy: "If you are unsatisfied in any way" the company will replace your item or refund your money.
Phone/Web Experience: Hassle-free shopping and ordering. Site emails reminders for special occasions.
Comment: Several major retailers sell Cherry Moon Farms fruit boxes, including Family Farms Direct.

* * *

Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc.
Fresh and Dried Organic Fruits in a Carton, $42
800-588-0151
melissas.com

Quality: Twelve pieces nicely packed in paper, with good variety of apples and sealable plastic bags of dried fruit.
Shipping Cost/Time: $12.95; came within three days. You can request special delivery date, but it's hard to figure out shipping costs before ordering.
Return Policy: If the product isn't acceptable, the company typically sends out a replacement the next day.
Phone/Web Experience: Web site is pretty and easy to use. But you have to register to check out.
Comment: For a gift presentation, Melissa's also offers "Fresh and Dried Organics in a Basket," for $56.

* * *

Got Fruit
Organic Fruit Banquet, $54.95
800-455-7020
gotfruit.com

Quality: A moldy orange, a broken kiwi and a couple of gashed pears -- but the apples were tasty.
Shipping Cost/Time: Free shipping for third-day delivery. Two-day shipping is fastest they offer, but there's a charge for it.
Return Policy: Full refund or replacement if you aren't satisfied with your order. Phone/Web Experience: Unexciting, but hassle-free.
Comment: The company suspects that the damage occurred in transit and offered to replace our fruit.

Jewel of the Valley
Aug 3 2004 By Bob Walch for the Register-Pajaronian
"Diamond Organics brings top-quality foods to your doorstep"
Emblematic of how far they have come since the early 1980s, Diamond Organics' new headquarters off Highway 1 between Watsonville and Moss Landing stands as tribute to a husband-and-wife team who had a dream and followed it.

Thirteen years ago, Jasch and Kathleen Hamilton had the idea that top-quality organic foods should be available to individual home cooks, not just to the best chefs who know how to find this produce. It shouldn't matter where in the country the individuals lived; they should have access to fresh, organic food by just making a phone call.

The idea was, "Call us today and by tomorrow you'll have the freshest, best tasting organic food right at your doorstep," Jasch explained.

That's the concept that inspired Diamond Organics, a catalogue firm that uses overnight delivery to ship its organic food all over the United States.

Originally, while they were living in Rockport, Maine, the Hamiltons began growing organic produce. This developed into a wholesale business as they supplied Boston hotels and restaurants. To assure their customers of a year-round supply of fresh produce, they made arrangements to have California organics flown east during the winter months.

Since he had grown up on the Central Coast and attended University of California, Santa Cruz, Jasch was familiar with organic growers such as Bill Donovan and was able to connect with the right people.

"We began with a little sprout business and market garden farm, met other organic growers, brought them in and the business just began to evolve," Jasch explained.

It was during this time, especially the winter months, that the idea began to form to create a business that would provide fresh organic produce to individuals so they would have access the same way as professional chefs did. Appealing to gourmet cooks, organic food fans and people who just enjoyed fresh, out-of-season produce, the Hamiltons felt they were "on to something."

"We figured if the top-notch chefs were using produce delivered by overnight service, other individuals would be interested, too," Jasch said. "We could provide the same fast service and get the product to the home consumer by using FedEx."

They had a lot to learn about catalogue marketing as well as fulfillment (getting the product out the door quickly) and customer service issues, but they plunged in. In the spring of 1990, Diamond Organics made its first sale of home- delivered organic produce.

Taken under the wing of Irwin Helford, a man honored as "the cataloguer of the century," the Hamiltons were off and running. Not only did Helford offer advice but he became one of their early shareholders.

Learning as they went along, Jasch explained, "We were the first firm shipping fresh, organic produce directly to the home. At times, we were learning by trial and error."

In 1991, the firm moved from Maine to California. "We started in a 20-foot trailer in Aptos," Kathleen remembers. As the business grew, relocation to larger quarters on Pine Street in Watsonville was necessary. Today, Diamond Organics is in a 33,000-foot facility, employs about 30 people and has projected sales for this year of about $4 million.

The company has enjoyed annual growth of about 20 percent. With the new facility now in operation, the milestone of reaching $10 million in yearly sales is not too far off, they hope.

Jasch also explained that the company offers an investment plan for anyone interested in purchasing shares of stock. "We are a privately held company but we do direct market shares," he said. The suggested minimum investment is $8,500.

From offering just a few items, Diamond Organic's catalogue has grown to 64 pages. The wide array of items extends from greens, fruits, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms and flowers to Fair Trade coffee, soy foods and a whole line of organic beef, buffalo, poultry and pork.

On average, in a normal week the firm will fill 800 orders. As with most catalogue/Internet companies, the peak time of the year is always the holiday season. "During the Christmas rush that will be about 800 a day," Jasch said. "It peaks on the 18th of December. That's absolutely the biggest day of the year for us. The phones are ringing off the hooks and it's totally insane around here."

The Hamiltons also pointed out that Diamond Organics does not sell to walk-in customers at their office/warehouse. Presently, all sales come from their catalogue and Web site.

"We aren't allowed to make retail sales from the building because of a safety issue turning off Highway 1. Local people can call us and we'll ship right to the their door, but they can't stop by and pick anything up," Kathleen said.

© Register-Pajaronian 2004

August 22, 2004

By DONNA JONES, Sentinel staff writer

Bunches of bright orange carrots sit beside boxes of yellow squash and green peppers on metal shelving inside a new warehouse on Highway 1 just south of Salinas Road.

From artichokes to zucchini, the well-stocked pantry is filled with vegetables and fruits. There are bottles of olive oil, too, and pasta, nuts, cashew butter, chocolate, beer and wine — French and domestic. Turkeys, cuts of beef and pork, even buffalo, chill in a walk-in freezer.

All of it is organic, and all ready for shipment to places like Abingdon, Va., Ocean City, N.J., and Lancaster, N.Y.

This is the new home of Diamond Organics, a 14-year-old, mail-order grocery business founded by La Selva residents Jasch and Kathleen Hamilton. Daily, the Hamiltons and their 25 employees ship 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of organic groceries to online and catalog customers throughout the United States.

"It’s a new way of shopping," said Jasch Hamilton, who talked about his business while showing off the company’s nearly completed 33,000-square-foot headquarters. "Pick up a phone, and it’s delivered, and it’s great stuff."

Organic influence

Jasch (pronounced Yosh) Hamilton believes in his business, and not on a purely economic basis. He believes in the value of good food, and he thinks in some small way, Diamond Organics is providing a public service to people hungry for healthier lives.

Though he finds the continued spread of the "fast food nation" disconcerting, he's heartened by the growth of the organic movement. Even large mainstream supermarket chains sell organic produce, he noted.

"I'd like to think we've contributed to some of the organic consciousness going around," he said.

The seeds of Hamilton's own awareness were planted early. He grew up in Boulder Creek, and got a first taste of organic growing from his grandfather. During the 1950s, when gardeners were experimenting with new chemical sprays, his immigrant grandfather grew his fruits and vegetables following age-old traditions from his native Italy.

"He was really a peasant farmer," Hamilton said.

In the 1970s, Hamilton attended UC Santa Cruz, and though he was a philosophy major, studied at the university's well-known farm. It was there he was introduced to theories behind organic gardening.

After graduation in 1977, he headed for Maine and became involved with an organic farming group founded by famous back-to-the-landers Scott and Helen Nearing. He also met Kathleen, and soon the couple had a market garden and a flourishing sprout business.

But the Hamiltons found challenges in Maine's brief growing season and driving a delivery route to sprouts customers in Boston during harsh winters. Hamilton found an easier way when he hired a guy in Aptos to obtain and ship fresh produce to his New England restaurant customers.

The Hamiltons discovered they, too, enjoyed opening and savoring fresh greens when their garden was covered in snow, and the idea for a grocery delivery business was born.

Building up Compared to the industry's big guys, such as Harry and David, Jasch said Diamond Organics is small potatoes. In a multibillion-dollar industry, its annual gross sales are between $3.5 million and $4 million. Hamilton said figuring out how to make the business work with the high cost of delivery via a nationwide carrier has been tough. Perishable groceries must be delivered the next day, and most of his customers live too far for ground service. That means costly overnight charges.

Mostly, the company breaks even, he said.

Still, he hasn't given up the premise that the online or dial-up grocery is the wave of the future. Delivery vans dropping off orders just makes more sense than millions of individual trips to grocery stores each day, Hamilton said.

"The real goal is free home delivery, and you do that with inexpensive ground service and building (the cost) into the price structure," he said.

The key to affordable delivery is a network of distribution centers so ground service is practical, he said. But first he has to show the model can turn a profit.

That's where the new building comes in.

"It's a massive risk," he said. But it's make or break time for the business.

Since 1997, Diamond Organics has operated from an 8,000-square-foot building on Watsonville's west side, and the cramped space has limited growth. Last year, he wasn't able to send out a Christmas catalog, even though gifts are a significant portion of sales.

"We couldn't handle it," Hamilton said.

This year, with the additional space, he plans to send out 300,000 color catalogs before Christmas, including one in mid-December for last-minute givers.

Potential promise Shingled dormers pop out from corrugated steel panels at the front of the 33,000-square-foot building. The newly planted landscaping features native plants. Light from large square windows laid out in geometric shapes brightens interiors.

The building, visible just south of Salinas Road on Highway 1, is still in progress. While the warehouse portion of the first floor is done and in use, Kathleen's Kitchen, where the company will produce its line of prepared entrees, soups and baked goods, remains empty. The Hamiltons work from a trailer at the site, while waiting for completion of upstairs offices, which feature acid-etched concrete floors in sea-like shades of blue, green and brown, and expansive Pajaro Valley views.

It's the future Jasch Hamilton sees. He pointed out a dirt strip at the back of the building, where he'll be able to garden, and next door there's 17 acres he hopes to lease so he can grow some of the organic produce.

He envisions the ramshackle barn near the front parking lot as a retail store and restaurant someday — though that has to wait at least until Caltrans builds a planned overpass at Salinas Road, a project that is four years away.

Standing in front of the building in late afternoon, Hamilton noted how the fog had cleared, leaving blue skies. He swung an arm to indicate the 4.5-acre property.

"There's space to grow," he said.

Healthy presents that are almost too tempting to give away
When you give a healthy gift at holiday time, you're expressing your loving kindness very plainly. That's because you're giving someone you care about a free pass to a healthier lifestyle.
These gifts of health are reasonably priced. Though you might think buying a $20 bottle of olive oil for yourself is a tad extravagant, as a gift for someone else, it's a bargain. Which brings me to another point: Put yourself on your gift list. Treating yourself to an extravagant cooking oil or a massage or flowers will enrich your holiday season too. So here are gifts that I love to give and receive...
Organic Produce
The luscious fruit and vegetable offereings from Diamond Organics arrive garden fresh and are available in lots of delectable combinations. From about $30, which includes overnight delivery. Call toll-free (888) ORGANIC (888 674 2642) or check out their web site.

Saveur, Jan-Feb 2000

Foods for Giving: Totally Organic

Finding treats for the healthy eaters on your list can be as challenging as a trip to the North Pole on snowshoes. Not this year. We've gathered some goodies that provide you with choices beyond a turkey-shaped soybean mushroom loaf or a box of tofu wrapped with a festive bow...
5. Using whole-grain flours, such as spelt and kamut (great for those who have wheat allergies), Diamond Organics' bakers turn out breads, rolls, and pastries. Sourdough breads are a specialty. The Passion Kamut loaf is full of raisins, dried apricots, hazelnuts, almonds, and orange peel. It's $6.20 a loaf, plus shipping and handling.
The company also offers greens and vegetables, guaranteeing freshness. Try the best-selling Original Sampler, which has 9 pounds of impeccable greens, herbs, vegetables, and fruit. The cost of $48 includes overnight delivery to most areas. Or, build your own basket. Call toll-free 888/674-2642 or go online to www.diamondorganics.com.
December 2000

The catalog looked to grown-up me like a penny candy store looks to a 5-year-old with a pocket full of change. Diamond Organics: The All-Organic Food Catalog opens with a close-up shot of gorgeous mesclun salad greens. All-organic. It continues with organic olive oils, organic edible flower mixes, vivid greens, mushrooms and herbs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, noodles, baked goods, pantry staples, wine, beer, coffees and even personal-care products.

By the time I reached the pages featuring the all-organic samplers, I was dialing (888) ORGANIC (674-2642). Call before 11 a.m. PST, and your produce will be harvested that same day, packed and shipped out immediately, and arrive on your door step the very next day, I was told. A one-two punch, so to speak. I bit, and bought the Grand Garden Salad Sampler. For $48, I received a huge box of organic greens, lettuces, vegetables, edible flowers and recipes. FedEx overnight delivery was included in the price. I felt like I could feed my whole block salads for a week. Better yet, the quality was impeccable. The lettuces tasted like real, honest-to-goodness, earth-grown lettuces. The cherry tomatoes weren't those candylike sweet things, but real tomato-y bites. The frisee was crisp, mildly bitter and delectable, the arugula properly peppery, the baby spinach tender and fresh. I felt like putting out a salad buffet.

What a terrific holiday gift for the foodie who has everything but cold-weather access to great organic produce. What a time-saver for folks entertaining this season: Order a box of produce, wash it and serve. What a god-send for those looking for healthy, quick alternatives to work-night dining.

The folks we have to thank for Diamond Organics are Jasch and Kathleen Hamilton, who started their organic produce business in Maine, but moved to California several years back in order to have a longer growing season. Now they ship year-round. "The market's demand for organics is growing exponentially," Jasch Hamilton says. "Consumers have become very selective about what they put into their bodies. They want their food and other products to be organic, healthy and as fresh as possible. That's what Diamond Organics is all about."

To learn more, call that same toll-free phone number I did -- (888) ORGANIC.

Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/08/99, Copyright 1997-1999 IN Jersey. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 2/25/98).

"Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want."-Geal Greene

The holidays are about to begin, and we've come up with a gift idea that will make the holiday cheer last all year long: Food of the Month clubs. There's one for every imaginable product, not to mention a few that strain credulity. In recent years we've alerted you to clubs for microbrewed beers (January 2000) and bacon (August 2001). Here's the current crop of worthy contenders for those on your gift list. And don't forget to include yourself!
Seasonal Eating
Diamond Organics' Sampler of the Month is a cornucopia of exquisite fruits, vegetables, herbs, and sometimes nuts. Selections spotlight what's in season, such as greens and salad trimmings in June, a squash assortment in September. The same seasonal focus also guides the Diamond Dinner Club, shich delivers the makings of an organic, vegetarian meal for four (or more; portions are enormous) once a month. Recipes are included, as are produce (pristine) and most of the necessary groceries. Many of the months have an ethnic bent (Middle Eastern, Italian, Greek, Japanese); during December, the club bows to time pressures of the holidays witha a simple offering- this year, premade cookies. The sampler and the dinner club have no monthly minimum. Each costs $54 for one month, overnight FedEx shipping included, and there are price breaks at 3-, 6-, and 12-month subscription levels. 888/674-2642; www.diamondorganics.com.

Diamond Organics
Healthy eating isn't always easy at holiday time, but a gift box overflowing with fresh organic California produce can restore the balance.
Like a breath of summer, the "Orginal Sampler" brings persimmons, pears, baby greens, fresh herbs, squashes, chard, and more to you overnight.
Also elegant: the dried fruits and nuts. (888) 674-2642.
November 1998

Dinner's in the Bag
If the groceries you have on hand are dictating what your family's eating for dinner, consider Diamond Organics' Menu of the Month club.
Every month, you'll be sent a gourmet vegetarian menu created by accomplished chefs and famous cookbook authors with everything you'll need to make dinner for four.
Each totally organic selection includes main dish, side dish, starch or bread, salad and dessert. Fussy eaters take heart: Unlike other "club of the month" deals where you pay for a year and get no choice in what you'll receive, Diamond Organics is very flexible. You can choose all 12 selections or any combination. Join the club for one month or stay a member for the entire year.
Prices, which include FedEx delivery, vary according to duration of club membership. Call (888) 674-2642 for more information or to order.
May 1997

Diamond Organics, of Freedom, Calif., ships its fresh greens, lettuces, herbs, edible flowers, fruits, vegetables, and more on a cushion of shredded wood. They also offer organic samplers with cooking suggestions.
August 1994

Updated Fruit Baskets
Diamond Organics fruits, vegetables and herbs are hand-picked and quick-shipped anywhere in the U.S. A sampler is $42.
December 1993

Whatever greens, vegetables or fruits you buy from this company, the flavors and freshness make you think you did your own harvesting. All are organic. The fruit and vegetable sampler is $42 for 10 pounds and includes shipping. The monthly gift of seasonal fruits and vegetables, breads and pastas is $42 a month, including shipping.
NYT, November 16, 1994

If you grew these greens yourself, they could not look or taste any better. A wonderful assortment of organic greens that includes arugula, frisee, radicchio, kale, mesclun, red chard and others, are available in any assortment you prefer; $42 for 10 pounds, including next-day air shipping.
NYT, November 18, 1992

The only way to get fresher fruits and vegetables is to pick your own. These were still suberb a week after delivery. What is available depends on the season. A 10-pound sampler is $42, including next-day delivery.
NYT, November 13, 1991

The Farmers' Market Hits Your Doorstep
April 13, 2005 By Katy McLaughlin, 
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
New Food-Delivery Services Offer Organic Produce; Eating a Box of Radishes

It's one of the stalest marketing terms in the book: "farm fresh." But today, a new crop of food-delivery services is promising just that.

A variety of small, fast-growing operations are carving out a niche business by offering groceries that have traveled quickly from the fields to the dinner table. Typically the services bypass the traditional warehouses that dominate the food-distribution system, and instead buy straight from farmers during the growing season.

AT YOUR SERVICE
The outfits take many forms -- some are Web-based delivery companies, while others are essentially membership clubs run by individual farms, known as Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs.
Members pay an up-front fee, and in return get a box of fresh produce every week. Some programs even boast that their carrots and tomatoes were picked only a few hours before they reach customers' hands. In addition, the produce can be less expensive than specialty grocery stores offering similar goods. The delivery operations are growing quickly. Currently, at least 1,200 farms nationwide offer CSAs, according to the Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources in Chambersburg, Penn. That's more than double the number listed by the organization six years ago. One CSA launched last month by Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, which operates on a New York estate formerly owned by the Rockefellers, has already sold out its 60 memberships -- at $800 a pop. For that amount, members get a large box of fancy produce, including arugula and radicchio, for 20 weeks a season. Other CSAs charge much less; Hog's Back Farm in Arkansaw, Wis., charges $450 for 18 weeks of fruits and vegetables, for example.

ORDERING OUT
Organic delivery services: Companies will deliver a preset package of organic produce for a weekly fee. Online groceries: Some online grocers specialize in locally grown produce, which they say can be fresher than groceries in a typical traditional supermarket.
CSAs: These are essentially membership clubs run by individual farms. An upfront fee of several hundred dollars entitles members to a weekly box of food.

Arrangements like these do make some demands on consumers, however. Most CSAs don't deliver; instead, consumers must collect their boxes at the farm or a designated pick-up point. Some farms also require members to pitch in and help pack and distribute the boxes for a few hours each season. And if the farm's strawberry crop is a bust, but there's a bumper crop of kale, you had better like kale. Kathleen Weldon, an administrative assistant who joined a CSA in Cambridge, Mass., recalls last year receiving one box that was almost all greens and radishes. "It does push the boundaries of your culinary expertise," she says. "I didn't know you could cook radishes."
The booming popularity of CSAs and other providers is the latest evidence that consumers are in the market for both organic and specialty produce, and are willing to change their shopping habits to get it. In recent years, specialty produce has become increasingly available not only at gourmet chains and traditional supermarkets, but also farmers' markets. In five years, the number of farmers' markets nationwide rose nearly 30%, to 3,706 in 2004, according to the Department of Agriculture. A share in a CSA usually costs from $300 to $500, according to the Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources. It operates a national directory of CSAs on its Web site www.csacenter.org.

Joining a CSA is generally straightforward. Contact the provider, and it will usually provide a membership form that lists prices and describes what a member can expect to receive.

Farms aren't the only ones angling for the farm-fresh dollars. A handful of online grocery stores are specializing in direct-from-the-fields food. Westsideorganics.com in the San Francisco Bay Area, which delivers organic groceries to consumers' doors, says it has doubled its customer base during the past six months. Meanwhile, other specialized produce-only delivery services are reporting steady growth. In May, Freshdirect.com, an Internet grocery store operating in the New York metropolitan area, plans to roll out a mobile version of a farmers' market. The company says it has struck deals with a number of farms that ordinarily sell in New York City's farmers' markets. Now they will sell part of their crops to Freshdirect.com, which will market it as "local" produce on its Web site.

The traditional route for supermarket produce is from the farm to a truck, then to a warehouse, then onto the storage room at the back of a supermarket, and finally out onto store shelves.
Small delivery companies say they are able to knock several days off the supply chain because they buy directly from farmers and deliver to consumers, without detouring through warehouses. "There's virtually no handling," says Ash Sud, president of Westside Organics.

Small companies that specialize in farm-fresh product can deliver on their promise at least some of the time, says Steve Lutz, executive vice president of the Perishables Group, a consulting firm that specializes in perishable groceries. That's because many supermarkets are so large that they are often forced to truck in supplies from big production farms in California or Mexico. But in the past 10 years, many supermarket chains have greatly improved freshness by handling produce at the right temperatures and reducing the time it spends in the warehouse and storage room, says Mr. Lutz.

But some produce isn't fresh no matter who sells it, says Mr. Lutz. For example, apples are almost always picked in the fall and stored in cold rooms during the rest of the year.
A recent test of five services that deliver a weekly box of organic produce to the door indicates that organic produce has come a long way since it first developed a reputation for looking more pockmarked and less perfect than conventional produce. All five companies delivered fresh, shiny fruits and vegetables. But the services varied widely on price (one charged $6 a pound for a mix of items) as well as convenience. (For more results, see nearby chart.)
And some of the companies have some primitive aspects. To register for automatic payment with one service, lovedelivery.com, we had to first snail-mail an imprint of our credit card, which we were told to make by putting it under a sheet of paper and rubbing it with a pen. But once we were signed up, the produce -- including lots of blackberries and exotic mushrooms -- worked out to be a bargain.
--Christina Binkley, Mary Lu Carnevale, Jane Spencer and Sarah Tilton contributed to this report.