Our Story

TRUE TO OUR ROOTS

Family owned & operated

Since 1978

ideas for organic juice and smoothie use

Toby started making food in the 1970s from her home kitchen. It wasn’t to make profits or capitalize on “the next big thing.” It was to feed her family simple, nutritious food that they actually liked eating! Forty years later and our approach is still true to its roots. We handcraft food in small batches that we’re proud to share with our family and friends.

The 1970s

Our story begins with Toby, a single, working mom. One of her kids had severe food allergies and healthy options back then were limited. So Toby set out to make simple, healthy recipes the whole family could enjoy.

As Toby shared her food at family gatherings, with friends, and at the local Eugene Saturday Market, word spread and more and more people wanted a taste of her food.

Toby focused on simple ingredients, prepared fresh, with a vegetarian emphasis. She soon discovered a new and exciting protein-rich ingredient… tofu!

After perfecting her recipes at home, Toby and her family began selling tofu at the Eugene Saturday Market in 1978. Word of her delicious vegetarian offerings at their booth, The Tofu Palace, spread quickly.

Toby’s Family Foods was born.

Nearby, in the same community, a group of juice lovers (aka hippies) got together and made a pact to produce juice in its highest form. Genesis Organic Juice began showing up on shelves the way juice was meant to be enjoyed: raw and organic. More on that later…

Photo credit to Rain Magazine

Bottle-washing at the original Genesis Juice cooperative, beginning with the old glass sterilizing machine, Big Bertha. Photo credit to Rain Magazine

Original Genesis Juice cooperative bottles. Photo credit to Rain Magazine

The 1980s & ’90s

As a busy working mom, Toby set out to create a delicious spread she could eat on the go with just about anything. The result was a protein-rich concoction known as Toby’s Tofu Paté.

This first tofu spread was so popular, large supermarkets kept calling to request it. Toby knew it was time to step into the retail market. Today, Toby’s Tofu Paté is known as the Original Protein Packed Plant Based Snack, and it’s still flying off grocery shelves.

As orders quickly outpaced production in her home kitchen, Toby moved to a larger facility and expanded her product line. But her inspiration still came from feeding her family — like her homemade dressings which made eating their veggies irresistible to her kids…

Local restaurants began requesting a new salad dressing and dip, something they called “Ranch”. So, in the early 1990s, Toby’s started bottling Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Chunky Feta dressings for local retail stores.

After graduating from college in the early ‘90s, Toby’s oldest son, Jonah, joined his mom in making Toby’s Family Foods a sustainable family business. He worked pretty much every job until becoming President in the late ‘90s and he’s still at our helm today.

Our brand was beginning to develop a cult-like following in the Pacific Northwest.

The 2000s

In the early 2000s, we began exploring options to extend the shelf life of our Dip & Spread line — without adding a bunch of unnecessary preservatives and additives.

We were one of the first three companies in all of the Americas to acquire a High Pressure Processing (HPP) machine. This brilliant technology allowed us to pasteurize without the use of heat which can strip nutrition and flavor.

Soon after, we learned a neighboring Willamette Valley business, Genesis (the juice-loving hippies we mentioned earlier), was closing their doors. Government regulations banned raw juice in 2004, but they couldn’t fathom boiling away the vitamins, minerals, and flavor of their delicious, organic juice.

Thankfully, we were able to extend a lifeline to Genesis. With our HPP machine, we could maintain the integrity of the juice and save a like-minded local food company from going out of business.

With the acquisition of the Genesis juice line, it was time to grow yet again. In 2006, we found a new facility in Springfield, Oregon, where we’ve been growing ever since.

We still call the Willamette Valley home, but Toby’s products are showing up in more stores throughout the country.

Today

A lot has changed since the 1970s, but the important things remain the same. Our mission is to make simple and delicious foods, using the fewest possible ingredients that are of the highest quality, locally sourced, and minimally processed.

From our family to yours, thank you for supporting our journey!

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