Paul’s Food Revolution
I’ve always like Paul Newman for his acting.
I liked him even more after he started Newman’s Own.
His idea of a food company was supposedly just a joke when he started it with writer A.E. Hotchner in 1982, but it came to be taken quite seriously.
Sure, his success relied a lot on his name, but his company is a model for people who want to do the right thing.
Doing the right thing for Newman was giving all the company’s profits to charities. He never harped much on the food itself, except during the obligatory promotional stints.
But just as a movie with Newman in it was almost a sure sign of quality, so was a salad dressing, chocolate bar or other food with Newman’s Own on the label.
In fact, quality ingredients, fair labor practices and philanthropy were part of Newman’s business plan from the beginning. And though his daughter Nell had to talk her dad into starting a line of organic foods in 1993, he was smart enough to go along. It’s not too much to say that Paul Newman and Newman’s Own helped make organic food mainstream.
(Newman’s Own Organics became a separate company in 2001, but still operates the same way, giving away profits to charity)
And Newman made provisions for the company to continue after his death by setting up the Newman’s Own Foundation.
And, next to all the benefits that charities received, you know what the best part of Newman’s Own is?
The food tastes good.
