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Tier 2 of Our Granola Company Values: Healthy Planet

granola company sustainable values

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times: there’s only one planet Earth and it’s our job to take care of it. As a family-oriented granola company, we’re also future-oriented. And we think that means making sustainable choices now that leave the planet better for the next generations. That’s why tier two of our values is, fittingly, supporting a healthy planet. 

 

Why we gave our granola company three-part values

When we purchased Little Red Wagon Granola over a year ago, we had fallen in love with the hand-baked, delicious granola. And the company’s commitment to supporting local. 

We added our own three-part values because, first and foremost, we think a company (even a granola company) should stand for more than just its products or services. This month’s blog focuses on our dedication to sustainability and making this planet as healthy as we can. 

 

How we support our goal of a healthy planet 

Sustainability in packaging, sourcing, and consumption are all equally important. The key here is that it’s not just up to food companies (like us), it’s also up to individuals (like you!) to make a difference. 

 

Sustainable packaging

We’re so excited that our new packaging has begun hitting the shelves of our favorite grocery stores (maybe you’ve seen them?!). The vibrant packages do more than make you smile as you put a bag (or five) in your shopping cart. 

Our sustainable packaging means these beauties use non-toxic ink from a manufacuter that reduces greenhouse gas emmission. Plus, they’re fully recyclable. After you’ve finished your last bowl of granola, just drop them off at a Store Drop Off location. 

 

Healthy, sustainably-sourced ingredients

Scroll through the granola shop on our site or turn your bag over, and you’ll find a deliciously short ingredient list. We left out the bad stuff in favor of ingredients you can pronounce that we intentionally source. If you read our blog on sustainably sourced oats, you know that we work with a small farm in Canada that’s committed to minimally processed, delicious oat-producing. 

The nuts, dried fruits, and other scrumptious add-ins are equally intentional. You won’t find any unnecessary ingredients on our lists. Because we know how important good food is for our customers and the planet.  

 

Waste reduction 

Did you know that about 80 billion pounds of food are thrown away annually in the United States? We don’t know about you, but that makes us want to eat every last crumb. Food waste might be only one piece of the healthy planet pie (had to), but we’re committed to doing our part to decrease it.

That’s why we designed an efficient process that ensures all food goes from our bakery to our customers with as little waste as possible during production. This also means that we purchase ingredients from and partner with brands that also make commitments to minimal waste. And use every last crumb! 

 

More than your average granola company 

At Little Red Wagon Granola, we want you to feel good about every bag you buy. And with each purchase you’ll be getting more than just crunchy, perfectly baked and spiced granola clusters. You’ll also be getting our commitment as a company to one of the most important things––a healthy planet. Now that’s worth celebrating. 

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Tier 1 of Little Red Wagon Granola Values: Healthy People

little red wagon granola employees

In the last year, we’ve all seen how an imbalance between work and everything else can wear on people. And if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we could all do with a lot less stress in our lives. The first tier of our Little Red Wagon Granola values is healthy people––supporting those that make our company what it is. 

Little Red Wagon Granola tiered values

Because our values are three-tiered, we want to give customers a chance to learn about each one in-depth. We developed these tiered values because we believe that every company should stand for something and work toward making the world and their employee’s lives better. Our focus this month is on healthy people and how we try to maintain that value across our business, especially when it comes to how we treat our employees.

How we support our goal of healthy people

We wouldn’t be where we are today without our incredible employees. They’re the people who embody Little Red Wagon Granola values and work tirelessly to craft delicious, quality granola. We support our ‘healthy people’ value in three big ways: work-life balance, competitive wages, and comprehensive benefits. 

Work-life balance

If you look at recent work-life statistics, they’re pretty shocking. Over half of US employees need help managing this balance. And 25% surveyed felt work-related stress to the point of screaming. We think we can do better. 

That’s why we gave our employees a Monday through Thursday schedule (nine-hour days). So each week they have an extra day to regroup and relax. This schedule helps employees take care of their life outside of work, spend extra time with family and friends, go to a weekday appointment, and practice self-care. 

Competitive Wage

No matter how a business shows or says they value their employees if the pay does not reflect their values, it’s probably not the best place to work. We offer our employees a competitive, liveable wage so they can fully enjoy their work with one less thing to worry about. 

Comprehensive Benefits

We think benefits play an important role in a balanced life. Since they’re not scrambling to find time or resources to stay healthy, our employees can focus on what matters. To support this, we offer competitive health benefits and paid time off. 

And although we can’t go out because of COVID, we make it a point to pause, celebrate, and indulge for the holidays and important milestones throughout the year. Even at six feet apart. We are a food company after all, so we enjoy good food and ‘breaking bread’ together to show our team that they’re appreciated. 

Granola with intention 

When you purchase a bag of Little Red Wagon Granola, you’re supporting a team of highly dedicated and passionate individuals. Every cluster of granola in every bag is baked with intention and quality in mind––by people who are encouraged to have balance in every facet of their lives.

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New Year, New Look. Introducing Our New Sustainable Food Packaging

Sustainable food packaging

Happy New Year! We’re starting 2021 with a new look and we have new sustainable food packaging and recyclable bags that should start making their way to you in the next month.  If you’ve been indulging in our delicious granolas for a while now, our current packaging is probably familiar to you. The kraft tin-tie bags with our iconic red wagon stickers carried us from our farmer’s market days to our expanding Little Red Wagon Granola family. We knew we wanted to have a new look but wanted to be true to our roots: classic, simple, and fun. 

Introducing our new sustainable food packaging

The new fully sealed bags will ensure that the granola you love will taste as fresh as the day we made it.  In turn, this can help reduce food waste and prevent food safety issues before they happen.  They are also recyclable and on the back of every bag, you’ll find the “Store Drop Off” label.  Please bring your bags to local retail stores where they collect plastic grocery bags for recycling.  

Part of our sustainability mission 

The bags are also sustainably made which is a win-win-win for the environment, our customers, and our company.  We strive, in all areas, to do things that are good for our customers, our employees, and for the environment. We believe that every product can positively impact the earth through the choices we make as a company. We’ve partnered with vendors that use industry best practices and leading technology to ensure that the bags are manufactured in a way that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and VOCs.

Packing a punch with flavors and color 

Our granola flavors have always been special and now our bags pack a punch too with their vibrant colors that highlight our great recipes.  We hope you enjoy the new look. Please keep your eyes peeled for the new designs at your favorite community grocery store.  

Grab your new bag!

Whether you’re a long-time fan or just stumbled upon our granola, now’s the time to try a bag!  With our fresh look and new sustainable food packaging, we’re ready to start the new year on a positive note. We are looking forward to all the good (and snackable moments) to come and hope you are too!

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The Difference Sustainably Sourced Oats Make in Our Whole Grain Granolas

sustainably sourced oats in whole grain granola

At Little Red Wagon Granola, our mission has always been to source the best ingredients. So that you can taste the difference in every bite. And the basis of any great granola is high-quality oats. We use sustainably sourced oats as the key ingredient in each of our whole grain granolas. Which gives you all of the quality and none of the fluff. 

Where We Get Our Oats 

To make the freshest, most flavorful granola we needed quality oats that were delicious solo but could hold their own against our flavor profiles. Every perfect cluster of Little Red Wagon features Northerly Oats. These minimally-processed oats come from a sustainable agriculture farm in Canada that cares as much about their products as the people who consume them. 

Benefits of Using Sustainably Sourced Oats

Part of our mission is to use sustainably grown ingredients in line with our healthy food, healthy people, healthy food mindset. For our oats, sustainable growth means they use modern technology and traditional methods “to meet today’s food needs, without starving the future.” Other benefits of these oats include:

Flavor

The lack of preservatives or additives in our oats makes them naturally sweet, nutty, and creamy. But they’re also subtle enough to let flavors like Chunky Monkey and Cosmopolitan be the stars in our whole-grain granola.

Texture

Check out the bottom of the bag on competitor granolas and you’ll see mostly powder––something that comes from using lower quality oats that break and crumble during the production process. At Little Red Wagon Granola, we call these lower quality oats “fluffy” oats. Our minimally processed, hearty, consistently sourced oats result in the clusters that we all love and enjoy. When baked to perfection, our granola becomes crisp, crunchy, and delicately nutty clusters of goodness and joy.  

Consistency

Because of supplier consistency, every grain in every bag is the same high quality. Even more impressive, the folks over at Northerly can tell us exactly how, where, and when each individual grain was grown. So each batch of our granola is also consistently flavorful and delicious.

Taste the Difference in Our Whole Grain Granolas 

We’re all about balance at Little Red Wagon Granola. And whole-grain granola that’s balanced for the good of our customers and our planet starts with sustainably sourced oats. Taste the difference today by trying one, or preferably all, of our unique flavors.