Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

Here's the thing about Bob's Red Mill that most people don't realize-it's basically the underdog story of the whole grain world, except the underdog won and then gave the entire company to its employees. Which, honestly, is kind of wild when you think about it.

Bob Moore was 49 when he started the company in 1978. Not exactly the age when most people are launching businesses that'll eventually sell products in over 70 countries. But Moore had this thing about whole grains-an obsession, really-that started when his wife Charlee baked him a loaf of whole grain bread back in the '60s. That one loaf changed everything. He'd also stumbled across this book called "John Goffe's Mill" about a guy who inherited a derelict mill and brought it back to life. Moore thought, "Yeah, I could do that."

And he did. Twice, actually. First in California, then in Oregon after he briefly retired to study the Bible in its original languages (because why not?). The Oregon mill-the one that became Bob's Red Mill-survived an arson fire in 1988. Most people would've called it quits. Moore rebuilt within a year.

But here's where it gets really interesting. By 2010, the company was pulling in over $100 million annually. Moore was in his 80s, and corporations were lining up to buy him out. He turned them all down. Instead, on his 81st birthday, he announced he was transferring ownership to his employees through an ESOP. The whole thing. Today, it's 100% employee-owned by more than 700 people.

The products themselves are pretty straightforward-stone-ground flours, oats, baking mixes, over 400 items total. They use quartz millstones, some dating back to the 1880s, because Moore believed in doing things the old way. Not for nostalgia's sake, but because it actually works better. The stones grind at cooler temperatures, which preserves the nutritional value of the grain. It's slower, sure, but that's kind of the point.

Notice how their packaging always has Moore's face on it? That wasn't his idea initially. A friend suggested it a few years after the company started, and it stuck. The red vest, the white beard, the "To Your Good Health" greeting-it all became iconic. Moore passed away in February 2024 at 94, but his face is still there on every bag.

The company's also serious about sustainability. They've got a 120 kW solar power system, they're part of Clackamas County's Climate Action Plan task force, and they're working on regenerative agriculture practices with Canadian oat millers. They earned gold certification for sustainability from Clackamas County. Not bad for a company that started in an old feed mill.

What's remarkable isn't just that Moore built a successful business. It's that he built it on principles that most business schools would probably call impractical-employee ownership, profit-sharing, traditional milling methods, refusing to sell out. And it worked. The company's still growing, still employee-owned, still grinding grains the slow way.

That's the legacy. Not just the products, but the proof that you can build something substantial without compromising on the things that matter. Moore figured that out at 49, and he never looked back.