Company providing frozen meals for 56,000 grocery stores nationwide celebrates 10 years of operation in Pocatello
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Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
POCATELLO
Amy’s Kitchen in Pocatello celebrating 10 years of business
POCATELLO – Acquiring the space that now occupies Amy’s Kitchen in eastern Idaho is something Paul Schiefer affectionately calls “the Pocatello miracle.”
The 44-year-old company president was only 8 when Andy and Rachel Berliner opened what is now one of the leading producers of natural and organic frozen meals in 1987. Its initial plant in Petaluma, California, has grown to include an Oregon and Pocatello location, the latter of which recently celebrated 10 years of operation.
Schiefer tells EastIdahoNews.com the last decade in Pocatello has just flown by, and he’s excited to be celebrating this milestone.
“The plant has grown in both the volume of products it makes and the people it employs. It’s an incredibly important part of our longterm future as a company,” Schiefer says.
Amy’s products, which include soups, burritos, mac & cheese, pizza, and more, are sold in 56,000 grocery stores nationwide. Ensuring each item is as delicious and nutritious as possible is what Schiefer says sets it apart from competing brands.
“We start with great quality, organic ingredients. We use very traditional cooking techniques to develop flavor. We’re able to do that in a very cost-effective way and still make it affordable and accessible to people,” he says.
The Pocatello plant is inside a building formerly occupied by Kraft Heinz. Schiefer says they found it during a particularly turbulent time for the company, and he’s grateful they found it when they did.
He grew up working in the business in various capacities before eventually becoming its president in 2023. Schiefer reflects on how it all began.
In 1987, the Berliners were living in a farmhouse in Petaluma. Rachel was pregnant with their daughter, Amy — for whom the company is named — and was unable to cook. Andy dealt with the situation by bringing home frozen meals.
“He just wasn’t satisfied with the taste and quality of it, and that inspired him to create his own frozen food company,” Schiefer says.
With the goal of making nutritious and great-tasting food, he started making pot pies out of his kitchen using his mother-in-law’s recipe. It quickly became a hit.
The following year, the couple hired eight employees and opened their first full-size kitchen, according to the company’s website.
The menu continued to grow and in 2006, they opened “the kitchen of their dreams” in Medford, Oregon, which they built from the ground up. By 2007, the company was cooking more than 700,000 meals a day.
Schiefer says opening a third location in 2014 was necessary to keep up with growth, but coming to Pocatello wasn’t the original plan.
“We’d planned to open a plant on the East Coast in the New York area,” Schiefer recalls. “We began entitlement and project management work, but the process was slow. We weren’t able to get the building constructed in time, and we were running out of capacity.”
Just as before, they started looking for pre-existing buildings. That’s when they learned the Kraft Heinz building in Pocatello was closing.
“It was almost too good to be true,” he says. “Internally, we called it the Pocatello miracle. We were so excited to find this beautiful plant and workforce that was ready to go.”
The Pocatello location frequently makes donations to the Idaho Foodbank. The company made an especially large donation this fall during a celebration of the 10-year anniversary.
Schiefer says the company is adding new product lines at the Pocatello plant, resulting in new machinery and employees. He’s excited to see the company continue to grow going forward.
“It’s a brand that seems to be well-suited for what people are looking for today,” he says. “We’re excited to see our brand continue to grow and be an important part of our supply chain.”
BIZ BITS
Idaho Falls Pediatrics celebrates 25 years of business
AMMON – Inside the Quidditch room, one of dozens of themed spaces in the 14,000-square-foot castle where Idaho Falls Pediatrics does business, Dr. Ron Porter reflects on the company’s 25th year of operation.
He was the founder when the practice launched in 2000 off Sunnyside and Holmes Avenue, as well as the sole physician. Today, he’s one of five doctors that meet daily with patients and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Dr. Porter and will publish an in-depth story soon.
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