Revolution Foods, a start-up founded by two UC Berkeley Haas School of Business MBAs was recognized as a finalist in the San Francisco Business Times’ East Bay Innovation Awards.
The company was co-founded by Kristin Groos Richmond and Kirsten Saenz Tobey, both of which were Haas MBAs. Their start-up was a finalist “for providing high quality, healthy meals for families of all income levels.”Revolution Foods was created with the goal of bringing healthy meals to local school children. Since launching, the company has expanded nationwide with a compound annual growth rate of 125-percent. Revolution Foods is now a $70 million business, providing jobs to 1,000 largely inner-city employees who prepare a million meals a week in 10 states and Washington, D.C. About 85-percent of Revolution Foods’ meals reach children who are in free or reduced-price meal programs. Revolution Foods now also produces healthy meals in grocery stores.
In addition to this accolade, Richmond and Tobey made Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list of “young hotshots who are rocking businesses.” CNN Money put Revolution Foods on its 2012 list of 100 fastest-growing inner-city companies, Inc. magazine named it the sixth fastest-growing food and beverage company, and Fast Company included it on a list of most-innovative food companies.
But “what we’re most proud of is that over 50 percent of our schools reported tangible academic improvements since starting with Revolution Foods,” Tobey says.
“They are phenomenal. They were top-tier students, got married, had babies, got their MBAs, and started Rev Foods—all at the same time.” says mentor Kellie McElhaney, faculty director of Haas’ Center for Responsible Business. “They’re women in positions of true leadership and amazing role models.”