Leslie Loves Veggies, and so do we!

Leslie, a pretty awesome blogger, who just recently reviewed our products at Leslie Loves Veggies site, and is hosting a giveaway (courtesy of ecoVegan lol) till Jan 16, 2011.   Now it's a very good chance to try some ecoVegan products for free!  woohoo, who doesn't like that?!

A New Year to start with vegan, even better!  

Judge not, that ye be not judged

Honestly, I was disappointed at my thoughts of vegan people are nicer now that I see so many people having not friendly comments of Michael Vick wanting to own a dog. 

Dogs are so heavenly sweet and they bring so much compassionate and love and cheers to us; despite of what Vick might have done in the past, says who he cannot change or have a second chance, and let the animals heal his soul again.

I leave this for all of us to think 

"Judge not, that ye be not judged"

LinkedIn: You don't call your friends "followers"

Dear LinkedIn:

When I joined you I used you as professional networking and you served good purposes.   Since when you also follow other social networking and call my contacts/friends/colleagues "followers"?? They are not followers, they are my professional personal contact. 

I would really like for you to change back to "connections" instead of "followers."  Thank you for your attention

Vegan people are nicer and friendlier

Do'nt you agree?

For example, if you contact VeganEssentials or VeggieBrothers or Eco-Vegan Gal, they are always pleasant to talk to!! =D 

 

Did you know? Food Tax

This is how you can see which states to charge what tax, and the examptions!  Awesome tool, thanks!

ideas=? execution

Whenever there is an idea, that means research, planning, making the sounded decision, and execution.  So when you suggest something to us and don't see it being implemented right away, don't get disappointed yet.  We are always growing and improving and want to serve with the good quality of product and service, so we listen and decide whether it's viable and change accordingly. 

What is sad is my point of contact in the factory is going on maternity leave and i will be dealing with ..... let's just keep it that way and pray for the best! 

Happy Holidays

From Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa

From North to South, East to West, to the Universe

We wish wherever you may be

There’s always Love, Peace, and Happiness

 

what is ecoVegan's purple cow?

I have so many ideas in mind, and with such a grand vision!  There are many things to try and to find out what will make ecoVegan stand out in the crowd. 

One thing we have been doing is food sponsor as we would like to support the local communities who also support compassionate, cruelty-free, and sustainable lifestyle, just like us!  That has got us somewhere, but not far.  

We also did the consumer show, which was a good turnout, and as a result we have some returning customers. 

The next thing we are doing, which i think is a little different from the others, is that we would like to include a postcard that a user can actually use to send to their friends when they order online! How does that sound?

I think nice. 

And I think that means also gotta work on the online store too! And Thanks to Google they have a lot business solutions! 

Sunshine Patties Review

Halo Monday again!  Are you having a meatless one like we do? 

Here's a review for sunshine patties (a.k.a sunshine who? according to previous post) by James Bean of Spiritual Awakening Radio.

Note to self: This image color looks quite different from what we have... ? Not sure why.

2010-12-17

Halo world.  This is really a lifestyle. 

There are a lot of things I want to say, but now just focusing on getting things done first! 


Thank you for being patience with me.! 

In the meantime, in case you have not seen our business cards, here's the design.  Many thanks to our dear friend Joo for her endless effort and awesome design!  More to come later.  

ecoVegan website update

It wasn't exactly a revamp for the website; but it did take me the whole morning and slightly afternoon to trouble-shoot some minor details. 

At least I am learning Dreamweaver too! 

One thing I do have to continuously emphasize for any occasion, is to communicate clear, concise, and consistent; whether you are a manager, a pm, a graphic designer, a janitor, a shipper, a financial analyst, a mother, a buyer, a consumer, etc, etc, etc.  I just cannot tell you how important it is to communicate direct, beforehand, and to the point; this will really make your life easier. 

By the way, ecoVegan products now also available at Whole  Foods Market in Santa Cruz! 

 

Ocean's Delight

I just have to quote this line from Lynn Chen's blog, "I guess it’s not a delight for those who don’t like food from the Ocean." 

Funny how people have been asking, what's our best seller.  Definitely the spicy bits is a hit, and when people try ocean's delight, they also quite like it too. 

And in case you have not heard of it, VegFund is a great organization to start your own "free" Vegan activism in your area.  Highly recommended. 

 

Marketing & Sales Plan

I could just emphasize how important these are, as well as your financial plan.. Well, since these are confidential to the company, I won't disclose here. 

But for any business/marketing manager, this is a must have! 

Food Safety Alert Widge

Awesome tools for keeping you informed for the recalls! 

Food Safety Widget.
Flash Player 9 is required.

Green Earth Natural Foods.... and their decision

Disappointed, very disappointed that Green Earth Natural Foods decided to drop our products after they run out this batch of inventory.  

There were a lot of requests for the products in the World Veg Fest and Green Festival, and I wonder what is the purchasing/decision factor? Is it the location, the price, the products, the experience, the purpose, or the emotional attachment, or all of the above?

After running out of this batch, I hope there will be more people requesting so they will considering carrying again; and in the meantime, we will do more marketing to promote the products to the public too.

Dealing with factory or distributors.

1. Must have an agreement which lists out all the terms & conditions.  Always go back to the agreement if the factory comes up with some ridiculous comments
2. Must have an agreement.
3. Speak the same language so you can negotiate better. 
4. If it's not that big of a deal, accept it and make it sounds like you are doing a big favor. 
5. Always have a backup plan. 
6. Be polite and courteous, yet firm in your request. 

I know these all sounds common sense, yet I hope I will always remember this and can be advisory for others who consider working with a third party factory.

Good luck!

Did I mention Whole Foods?

Say yes to Whole Foods because we are coming!

Visit the following stores to get ecoVegan products!  And, do tell your local grocer that you want to see ecoVegan products available at their store with the ecoVegan product request form (we had first one happening yesterday) :)

Berkeley

Whole Foods Market

3000 Telegraph Ave.

Berkeley CA 94705

Cupertino (coming second week of Dec)

Whole Foods Market

20955 Stevens Creek Blvd.

Cupertino CA 95014

Los Altos (coming second week of Dec)

Whole Foods Market

4800 El Camino Real

Los Altos CA 94022

San Jose

Whole Foods Market

1146 Blossom Hill Rd.

San Jose CA 95118

San Mateo (coming second week of Dec)

Whole Foods Market

1010 Park Place

San Mateo CA 94403

San Rafael

Whole Foods Market

340 Third St.

San Rafael, CA 94901

Walnut Creek (coming second week of Dec)

Whole Foods Market

1333 Newell Ave.

Walnut Creek CA 94596

Is there something missing?? Yes, the San Francisco one!  We are located in San Francisco and we are not yet in any of the stores?  It will be coming soon! 

FDA inspection

It was a surprise visit for the FDA inspection today and I am glad that here at ecoVegan we are well prepared and have our actions together.  

If you are also in the food business and/or considering starting-up, here are a couple things I would recommend:

1. Get all the certifications/permits/license required in the very beginning.  If you are not sure, a business plan is the best way to start because it will force you to look for the requirements (permits/license/certification) needed to operate a business.  Tips: Score or SBA.

2. When dealing anything with food (either manufacturer, pack, repack, warehouse,etc), be sure to register for FDA.  And trust me, they (and the State of CA Department of Public Health) will come and visit.

3. Always keep a log and record of what was done, whom you spoke to, and the conversation or the action.  And have someone detail orientated to maintain the record.

4. Follow the rules/regulation/guidance/recommendation per the industry.  Tips: FDA Guidance Documents. 

5. Insurance, insurance, insurance!  Even though it should have always been covered in the business plan, never forget insurance. 
 
There are definitely more, but for now, after the FDA visits, that's all I can think about!