BIC May 2015 - Amaranth profile

1995

2015

Amaranth Foods Celebrates 20 Years of Healthy Living

By Tiffany Burns

You are what you eat eat.

Ken Klatt, founder of Amaranth Foods, is a man with a mission: to promote healthy foods, nutritional awareness and environmental responsibility.

That mission has turned into a multimillion-dollar operation, in the form of four eco-conscious, sustainably rooted stores in Alberta. Amaranth Markets offer natural and allergy friendly groceries, premium vitamins, food-based supplements, specialty items and quality body care.

Amaranth is actually an ancient grain, flexible and hardy enough to grow in both alpine areas and low-lying valleys. Not only can the leaves be used, so can the seeds. That versatility inspired Klatt as he honed his concept for a business that would reinvent the way to eat in a healthy, mindful manner.

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Ken Klatt, founder of Amaranth Foods

Amy Buckman, community ambassador

“Eating healthy is part of our heritage,” explains Klatt. “We have just somehow lost that ability.” During the early ’90s in Calgary, interest in natural foods was considered a subculture. “For it to be mainstream, we needed to change that.”

For Klatt, customer experience was a main driver. As an accountant interested in organic foods, he felt awkward shopping at the local organic store – especially if he was wearing a suit. He wanted to create a place where everyone was welcome and labels like “hippie” or “corporate” were meaningless.

Philip Wong, manager

people could have careers from their passion for natural food and earn enough to make a decent living.

“How do I bring that person into our resource pool and make it a win-win?” he says of his approach. “If you can make that work purposeful, then you are satisfying many things.”

Community ambassador Amy Buckman is an example of that forward-thinking outlook for Amaranth employees. Nine years ago, she was a cashier, but couldn’t continue to work at the store because of childcare issues.

Klatt didn’t come from a retail background, but he had identified a major hole in the marketplace. With the heartfelt goal of encouraging healthy living, he opened his first store at Crowfoot Shopping Centre in 1995.

“I remember, we were sitting on the grass outside and my daughter was with me,” says Buckman. “Ken said, ‘Let’s try a few things and see what sticks.’”

“Rather than stand on the streets and demand organic farming, it’s better for us to create a demand for organic goods,” says Klatt. “Therefore the farming catches up. For us to do that we needed to go to a business model that was customer friendly.”

It was well before working remotely had become commonplace.

Buckman became a conduit to the community beyond store doors, taking part in activities as diverse as hosting dinners and showing children how to wash their hands. She’s also dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood to get kids to try new vegetables.

A few years later, he had an opportunity to buy property in Arbour Lake. In 2000 he moved the original store from Crowfoot to the new property. The Arbour Lake location is still the main headquarters for Amaranth today.

Success came from being a leader in the natural foods marketplace. Klatt and the Amaranth team identify what customers want based on dietary needs and nutritional research, with a focus on balance rather than the ups and downs of following trends.

Klatt also sought balance for his increasing number of employees. He wanted to create a working environment where

Amaranth Whole Foods Market |

ctrca.com

Congratulations to Amaranth Whole Foods Market on their 20th Anniversary!

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In 2011, Klatt opened two more stores, at 130th Avenue SE in Calgary and in St. Albert in the Enjoy Centre. Last year, he added a fourth on trendy 4th Street SW in Calgary’s beltline district.

As part of his preparation to guide his growing health food business into the future as he prepares to reduce his role in daily operations, Klatt brought in Philip Wong, who’d worked for Amaranth as a teenager. During the years in between, Wong made a name for himself as the person behind Café Koi, offering an Asian-fusion menu that includes vegetarian and gluten-free dishes.

Wong, whose imprint is noticeable throughout the 4th Street store, is already thinking about the next Amaranth location.

The site still has to be determined, but it will be larger and incorporate a café. However, while the company is planning more growth, he does not foresee it expanding beyond Alberta.

He’s also cautious about the pace.

“We don’t want to grow faster than our management team can handle,” says Wong. “That’s key. We are an owner-operated business. The executive team is in-store seven days a week.”

As Amaranth celebrates its 20-year anniversary, its founder is already thinking about the next 20 years – and the competition.

“We were the pioneers, thinking out of the box,” says Klatt. “The reality now is that is not the case anymore.”

Many of the products Amaranth introduced to Calgary are now sold in conventional stores. In grocery behemoths like Walmart and Superstore, organics aisles are the norm. Klatt considers it a positive sign in his mission to encourage healthy living.

“It shows we’ve been successful,” he says, smiling. “That’s my legacy.”

As a smaller business, Amaranth Foods is more nimble in its reaction to the marketplace. The company can bring in new products faster when customers demand it. And Amaranth customers are loyal – Klatt has clients whose children are now regular shoppers at the store.

Regular customers are well rewarded for their loyalty. This year will mark $1 million in cash back to customers from the Healthy Living rewards program. But as Klatt will tell you, eating healthy is the best reward. •

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Thank you Calgary for supporting us since 1995. Here's to 20 more!

1995

2015

3 locations to serve you

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