Food on Purpose banks on raw, vegan, gluten- and dairy-free snacks

Homegrown

By: Candelora Versace | For The New Mexican
Published online: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The growing "raw-food" movement has created a window of opportunity for producers who want to offer convenient options to devotees, but it doesn't come easy. Ask Paul Pennell, owner of Food on Purpose. He'll be the first to tell you that when it comes to a product that is "gluten-free, dairy-free, organic, vegan and raw," it's all about the details.

"There's no quick buck here," he said, during a recent visit to his commercial production kitchen. Pennell is in the kitchen on a daily basis before dawn to handcraft his line of raw superfood cookies, crackers and granola, which are sold locally at Whole Foods, La Montanita Co-op and Vitamin Cottage. Once mixed and shaped, the products go into a
commercial-grade dehydrator set to 115 degrees, low enough to assure the natural enzymes and nutritional components remain intact, but high enough to remove enough moisture to render the products shelf-stable and bacteria-free.

"The safety standards for raw food are extreme," Pennell said. "The key to food safety is the dehydration factor; because the hydration is reduced to the level that nothing can grow in it; that makes it safe to eat."

Pennell said when he opened his business four years ago, convincing the local licensing authorities of the safety of raw food products took some doing. "To them, I think they thought that 'raw' meant 'unsafe to eat,' but there's a whole science and long history behind raw food that has been dehydrated," he said.

Fortunately, Pennell was able to demonstrate to the authorities that he met every standard — and then some — for the safety and integrity of his Nutty Nori Chips, Birds in the Nest raspberry macaroons and Savory Flaxies flaxseed crackers and other products. This year, his business has tripled over last year even though his products have premium price points, a factor he attributes to customers choosing high-quality, nutritious food products they trust, in addition to his careful retooling of the business.

"It's a very small business and the margin is tight. I've had to tighten my labor costs and get my production costs as tight as possible," he said.

When his chef left last year, Pennell said he wasn't sure how he would manage taking over the hands-on production work in addition to his constant marketing duties, but it gave him the opportunity to refine all his production systems as well as his recipes and packaging. "It's not just about growth, but about managing the cost of growth wisely, facilitating that growth. A large portion of my business is in Whole Foods, where I compete with much larger companies that have unlimited marketing budgets."

A professional pianist and songwriter who has been recording since he was a teenager, Pennell has also been in the business of branding and marketing gourmet foods for 15 years. He's active with the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade and has done business placing gourmet foods such as chocolate and baked goods in retail stores, including Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Bed Bath & Beyond and others. A native of North Carolina, he came to Santa Fe in 1996, left for Venice Beach, Calif., and then returned to City Different seven years ago.

"I had a client with a 'cleanse' product, and she had these raw vegan snacks on her desk. I loved them, and I told her if she'd hire me to help her, we could brand and market the snacks," Pennell said about his introduction to raw foods. "Once I got into it, I loved it so much I became a partner, and a year and a half ago I bought out the company. For the last four years, my passion has been educating people about nutrition and the value of whole foods, raw foods and superfoods."

Food on Purpose promotes the extreme nutrition of these superfoods — untreated, unheated foods that are dense with nutrients, including many nuts, coconut, nori (seaweed), flaxseeds and pure Peruvian cold-processed cacao.

Pennell uses a cold-processed dark raw agave for a sweetener in his macaroons. "This is not the over-processed agave that's gotten such a bad rap lately," he said, noting that excess heat and processing has rendered commercial agave into a nutrient-poor sugar instead of the nutrient-rich potential it has when handled properly.

Moving into the new year, Pennell is busy preparing a line of individual superfoods for home cooks, and he has a long-range plan for "On Purpose" components for body-care products, pets and kids. "It's all about intentional choices and powerful foods," he said, repeating his company's own motto. "I love this more than any other job I've ever had. I'm completely surprised by how much I love it."

FOOD ON PURPOSE 

What: Raw, vegan, organic, gluten-free and dairy-free granola, crackers and macaroons.

Where to buy: Available by mail from Amazon and at Whole Foods, La Montanita Co-op, Vitamin Cottage, Body of Santa Fe and Yoga Santa Fe.

On the Web: www.foodonpurpose.com