The Earth's Best Story: A Bittersweet Tale of Twin Brothers Who Sparked an Organic Revolution

by Ron Koss, Arnie Koss

The Earth's Best Story tells how Ron and Arnie Koss succeeded in creating the first nationally distributed organic foods company to sit next to its mainstream competition on supermarket shelves-a step that revolutionized and empowered the organic-foods movement as a whole-and benefited hundreds of farmers as well as the millions of babies whose very first foods have been organically grown, thanks to Earth's Best. The Koss brothers, Ron and Arnie, had been sprout growers, broommakers, tool restorers, butlers, and natural-foods clerks, yet raised millions of dollars to start the first organic baby food company in the United States. How unlikely was that? The Earth's Best Story is a bittersweet tale about the founding of Earth's Best Baby Foods twenty-five years ago. Told through the dual narrative of each brother, this is not a business tome, although it is rich in entrepreneurial lessons and know-how. Rather, it's more like a "how to," "how not to," and "how they did it" memoir. It's personal, it's intense, it's inspirational, and it's full of reflections and tales of wonder and woe. People of every imaginable background and station in life want to make a difference with their lives. But how do you effectively do that? How does an idea successfully journey across the wastelands separating fantasy and reality? The Koss brothers take the reader on this journey. Theirs is a tale of idealism, naivete, and possibility that reflects the quest to find a place in this world by somehow changing it for the better.

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2010

About the author

Co-founder Ron Koss worked with Earths Best until 1995. In addition to developing organic baby food, Ron is a natural foods product innovator. During his long term employ with the aio Food Group, Ron has secured patents for his work on complete meal supplement ice cream and has also introduced specialized complete meal supplements for people in health recovery situations. Presently, he is working on nutritional products for a global relief aid project. Ron enjoys working as a consultant for socially responsible enterprises and has a special interest in group dynamics, organizational development and conflict resolution. He lives in Vermont with his family.

Co-founder Arnie Koss worked with Earths Best until 1994. Arnie honed his business skills by founding and operating a number of small entrepreneurial companies in Vermont. He was actively involved in the development of organic certification standards, which eventually led to the Organic Foods Act of 1990. Arnie has served as a consultant to several prominent natural products companies and is presently the Managing Partner at aio Food Group, a Hawaii-based product development company that also owns the Punalu'u Bakeshop and Visitor Center on the Big Island of Hawaii. He lives in Hawaii with his family."

Reviews

[Lorilin]

I picked up this book because I use a lot of Earth's Best products and wanted to know more about the company's creators. And I really enjoyed reading it until, with 100 pages left, I realized that the happy ending I thought was coming was most definitely not.

I am sorry to say that I finished the book feeling depressed and really sad for the Koss brothers. Reading their story, I wanted them to succeed! They had such a great idea, and they clearly care about people and the environment. But, in the end, they got screwed. I wish they would have hired a good lawyer. Expensive or not, the right representation probably would have saved them a whole lot of money and heartache in the end. I only hope the Koss brothers are doing well now!

[Joe Dobrow]

Very interesting tale of how the Koss brothers drifted through many entrepreneurial ventures before founding Earth's Best Organic Baby Food -- then built in into a great company, and got screwed. Told from both of their perspectives, which is a bit confusing but actually quite insightful.

[Jessica]

Read this after meeting them at expo west. Necessary read for anyone that is starting a company- talks a lot about the venture capital route without any filters . Thank you for the honesty and proud of what you guys did to the baby food category- can only hope that @amarababyfood can be as disruptive!