In The Beginning

Eden was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1968 by a group of friends who were trying to source good food. They were motivated by their studies of a worldwide phenomenon centered upon macrobiotics and its principles of whole grains, plant based protein, and locally grown food produced without toxic chemicals, etc.

Because they couldn't find this kind of food in the grocery stores, they started the Eden food co-op, placing $200 orders to Erewhon in Boston and Chico-San in California. They also began traveling rural roads to find farmers who were interested in organic farming methods.

The Eden co-op became a natural food store offering whole grains and beans, soyfoods, sea vegetables, miso, cereals, vegetable oils, sesame butter, nut butters, and the like. The store expanded with a cafeteria, bakery, and books. Known for a time as The Eden Deli, it was one of a very few places in the U.S. where you could get natural, organic, and macrobiotic food.

People came from near and far. Other health food stores began calling, asking how they could get the unique foods that only Eden carried, and the Eden® brand began.

In 1972 Eden moved into its first warehouse and established relations with artisan Japanese traditional food makers. This led to importing sea vegetables, teas, miso, shoyu, umeboshi plums, kuzu root starch, rice vinegar, rice bran pickles, mirin, whole grains, dry beans, etc., and solidified Eden as an important source for the natural products industry in the USA and Canada.

Eden Today

Today Eden is the oldest natural food company in North America, and the largest independent manufacturer of 'dry grocery' organic foods. We have put down deep roots at our headquarters in Clinton, Michigan, about 20 miles southwest of Ann Arbor. Here is where we manage grower relations, manufacturing, import / export, trucking, quality control, customer relations, marketing, web sites, etc. All EDEN food is received at, and ships from our main and secondary warehouses in Clinton, or from the Eden Warehouse West in San Francisco. The majority of Eden foods, over 95%, are sold in natural food stores, co-ops, and supermarkets via traditional grocery and natural food distribution channels. Web, employee, and wholesale sales make up the remainder.

Local First

Eden believes in local first whenever it makes sense, and most ingredients are grown from a few miles to a few hundred miles of Eden's Michigan headquarters. These include organic soybeans, dry beans, cabbage, spelt, apples, tart cherries, strawberries, pastry wheat, and tomatoes. Other North American family farm organically grown Eden foods include grains from the Midwest and Western high plains, almonds and brown rice from California, flax seeds from Saskatchewan, sesame from Texas, dulse from New Brunswick; and much more. Other fine foods come from afar, like Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain, high altitude (11,000 ft.+) Quinoa from the Andes Mountains, Chamomile from Egypt, and traditional natural foods from Japan.

Most of Eden's manufacturing centers around home. About 25% of the Eden line is prepared or packaged right in Clinton: freshly milled whole grain flours, gomasio, unrefined vegetable oils, vinegars, soy sauces, roasted almonds and seeds, packaged snacks, whole grains, sea salt, popcorn, and more.

EDENSOY® is made 12 miles east at American Soy Products in Saline. The EDEN Organic Pasta Company is in Detroit, EdenSprings® Artesian Water is a few hours upstate near Grayling, and Meridian Foods (Eden's cannery for Organic Beans, Refried Beans, and Rice & Beans) is a little ways south in Eaton, Indiana.

Just a bit farther out, Eden Organic Traditional Japanese Pasta is made at the Sobaya Company in Montréal, Québec.

In addition to these Eden owned and partner-owned facilities, many Eden Foods are created by directly working with co-packers and grower/processors who share a passion for 'no shortcuts.' These relations provide Eden Organic Tomatoes, Quinoa, Barley Malt, Mustards, Olive Oil, Eden's Organic Fruit line, Sea Salt, Dulse, Misos, Shoyu, Ume, Green Tea and Infusions, Wasabi, Kuzu etc. …

More About Our Facilities »