Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. Debuts New Products and All-Natural Principles at 2011 Natural Products Expo East
Natural Food Industry Leader Inspires People to Embrace Healthy Living Through Wholesome Food Products and Transparent Labeling
Fullerton, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2011) – Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc., makers of Monterey Gourmet Foods and Wildwood brands, today unveiled a variety of new all-natural pastas and organic salsas at the Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore, MD, along with an aggressive corporate commitment to eight all-natural principles.
To articulate the company’s 30-plus year commitment to all-natural and organic foods and to ensure the highest standard of safety and nutritional quality for its products, Pulmuone Foods USA and its affiliated food companies are committed to the mission to “provide foods that we feel great about feeding to our own children.” Its mission is to adhere to the following All Natural Principles in order to ensure the highest quality of its products:
“Going forward, all of our products will be screened against all eight of the All Natural Principles and we will enforce the same level of scrutiny with our vendors and suppliers,” said Young Chul Kang, PhD, chief executive officer and president of Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. “As a leader in the refrigerated natural food category, we’re always looking for ways to demonstrate our commitment to nature, nutrition and high quality ingredients.”
“While many companies are just now making strides to use more natural ingredients in their products, Pulmuone has a long legacy of commitment to using the highest quality pure ingredients possible,” added Dr. Kang. “We also lead the category in transparent labeling, introducing front-of-pack nutrition labeling in the tofu category several years ago.”
The company currently is refreshing its packaging to feature the Facts Up Front, front-of-pack labeling system championed by the Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association. The purpose of the system is to help busy consumers make informed decisions when they shop. This voluntary packaging change by Pulmuone will be the first in its category and will provide consistent, easy-to-understand nutrition information featuring four basic icons for calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugars.
New Pastas and Salsa Products
The new products debuting at Expo East include Monterey Pastas and Wildwood Organic Salsas:
Monterey Gourmet Foods
Wildwood
Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. is committed to providing authentic wholesome foods featuring the highest quality, all-natural ingredients. A leader in refrigerated all-natural food products, the company’s portfolio includes the Monterey Gourmet Foods brand, featuring all-natural pastas and sauces, and the Wildwood brand, offering meat alternatives such as tofu, salsas, hummus and dairy alternatives. Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. is a division of Pulmuone Holdings Co., Ltd., a Korea-based holding company with more than $1.2 billion in annual sales. In the US, the company has corporate, sales and food science headquarters in Fullerton, California with manufacturing enterprises in California, Iowa and New York.
Committed to providing authentic wholesome food products, Pulmuone Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Korea-based holding company with more than $1 billion in annual sales. The company is engaged in the management of subsidiaries, primarily in the food manufacturing and food material distribution businesses. Currently the company has 23 subsidiaries, including Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. and is a leader in refrigerated all-natural food products. The company’s US portfolio includes the Monterey Gourmet Foods brand, featuring all-natural pastas and sauces, and the Wildwood brand, offering meat alternatives such as tofu, salsas, hummus and dairy alternatives. The company’s roots date back to 1955 when it started as the first organic farm in Korea, selling organic vegetables. Committed to promoting the health of its customers and to sustaining the environment and society, today Pulmuone is a member of the United Nations Global Compact, a policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
A charismatic leader, Mr. Kang has a proven track record of building innovative brands and bringing to market superior products. As CEO and president of Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc., he has successfully grown the organization from approximately $20 million in sales to nearly $150 million in sales in six years, with aggressive growth and acquisition planned for the future. Under his leadership, Pulmuone USA acquired Wildwood, Inc. and Monterey Gourmet Foods, Inc., which significantly expanded the company’s “All Natural” portfolio and further demonstrated its commitment to “promote the health of our customers and help sustain the environment and society.”
Pulmuone Holdings Co Ltd., the parent company in Korea, was named one of the 30 most respected companies in Korea since 2009 for its contribution to the “right foods movement” and focus on sustainability. Mr. Kang instilled these same values and principles into the US organization, which has allowed it to be positioned for future growth in the natural foods arena.
Prior to joining Pulmuone, Mr. Kang served as a reporter and editor for 20 years for the Maeil Business Newspaper. As the managing director of the Vision Korea Action Committee, he directed 11 national strategies consulting projects covering extensive reform agendas including economic, educational and political reform, and convened 10 national leadership workshops that attracted about 300 of Korea’s top leaders at each event.
Mr. Kang successfully designed and organized the World Knowledge Forum and served as its managing director since 2000 until he joined Pulmuone in 2003. At each event, more than 100 world business leaders participate, including Bill Gates and Donald Johnston (head of OECD). Mr. Kang participates in the United Nations Global Compact, which is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
He earned his Ph.D. and MBA degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and his Economics undergrad degree at Seoul National University. Mr. Kang has completed numerous research activities that involved corporate social responsibility and Knowledge Management. Enlisted in the Korean Army, he served as an instructor at the KATUSA (Korean Army Augmented to the United States Army) training academy, where he received an honorary discharge as Sergeant, Chief Instructor in 1982.
With more than 30 years of business management experience, Mr. Breen is responsible for the critical operations of Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc., where he leads the manufacturing and supply chain operations as well as supporting the CEO in functional and cross-functional areas including all financial, sales, quality assurance, customer service, logistics and marketing for the growing company. Pulmuone is a leader in refrigerated all-natural food products and distinguishes its brands by following eight “All Natural” principles. Mr. Breen was integral in formulating and instilling these principles within the company.
Prior to joining Pulmuone USA, Mr. Breen worked for Wildwood Natural Foods, Inc., which started in 1978 as an early pioneer in the organic and natural foods industry in the United States. Mr. Breen joined Wildwood in 1993 as the controller and rose to Executive Vice President in 1998. During his time as Executive Vice President, the company completed one acquisition and constructed two new food manufacturing facilities. Wildwood was acquired by Pulmuone USA in 2005 and Mr. Breen then joined the Pulmuone USA team as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer.
Prior to joining Wildwood, he was treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Foster Medical Supply Inc. a $150 million medical supply distributor headquartered in Waltham Massachusetts. During his tenure the company grew from $90 million to $150 million and successfully completed two acquisitions.
Mr. Breen earned his MBA degree at Babson College in Wellesley, MA and his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ms. Moreno joined Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. in 2010 as Director of Marketing & Innovation and today serves as Chief Marketing Officer. She is responsible for overseeing all strategic marketing initiatives for Pulmuone, Monterey Gourmet Foods and Wildwood brands in the US. Since joining the company, Ms. Moreno has spearheaded Pulmuone’s innovation direction, strategic brand equity development and consumer outreach.
Ms. Moreno has more than 18 years of consumer packaged goods industry experience, with a focus on food products, household cleaning, health & beauty and toys, as well as a well-rounded background in marketing, sales, licensing and business development. For 10 years, she has been passionate about spearheading nutrition strategy and nutrition communication development in the supplement and food industries.
She earned an MBA in International Management at Thunderbird (American Graduate School of International Management) in Glendale, Arizona and a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University.
Mr. Sawyer has 30 years of experience in the culinary and CPG industry and joined Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. as Corporate Chef in 2010. Blending his deep knowledge of culinary arts and the science of food, Mr. Sawyer is responsible for product development and testing, as well as recipe development for the company and its brands.
Passionate about creating healthy, delicious food, Mr. Sawyer began his career in upstate New York while attending Johnson & Wales University Culinary School in Providence, RI. He held positions at five-star resorts and was Chef Tournant and then Chef de Cuisine at the Marriott Hotel’s gourmet eatery Chardonnay’s.
Mr. Sawyer also worked on the West Coast at renowned restaurants Market Hall Foods in Oakland, CA and Wente Vineyards Sparkling Wine Cellar Restaurant.
After working as a professional chef, Mr. Sawyer enrolled at the University of California, Davis in its Nutrition program, graduating in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Food Science & Technology. He has been certified in Culinology® as a Research Chef since 2008.
Dr. Moiseev joined Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc. as Senior Director of Research & Development at the company’s Technology and Innovation Center. Dr. Moiseev has more than 20 years of food technology innovation and R&D experience.
During his career he has worked in a variety of R&D roles. Most recently Dr. Moiseev served as Senior Director of R&D at New World Pasta Co. He also was Chief Food Technologist for Giuseppe’s Finer Foods, where he was responsible for developing the R&D/QA startup plan as well as for ingredient development, packaging formulation and final product specifications. Previously Dr. Moiseev was Senior Process and Quality Assurance Technologist for Heinz North America. In this role he developed screening and optimization product designs for multi-functional teams within the R&D department. He first gained experience in the pasta and tomato sauce categories during his tenure at the Borden Foods company.
Dr. Moiseev earned his Master of Science degree and Doctoral degree in Food Science & Human Nutrition with an emphasis on meat and dairy technology from Utah State University.
Andrew Mun has specialized in corporate finance and within investment banking for over 13 years, with a particular emphasis on executing mergers & acquisitions and financing transactions for growing public and private companies. Mr. Mun has advised both U.S. and international clients in a broad array of industries and product groups including consumer/retail, financial institutions, technology, business services, telecom/media and equity & debt capital markets.
Prior to joining Pulmuone Foods USA, Inc., Mr. Mun was a Senior Vice President at Cappello Capital, a merchant bank based in Santa Monica, CA. Prior to Cappello Capital, Mr. Mun was an Associate Director within the UBS M&A Group in Los Angeles, as well as a member of the Corporate Finance Group and national mergers and acquisitions practice at Houlihan Lokey. At Houlihan, Mr. Mun executed M&A transactions with consumer products & retail companies while also providing fairness opinions and valuation services for companies in a wide array of industries.
Mr. Mun began his career within the investment banking divisions at both PaineWebber Incorporated and Lehman Brothers in New York. He was a corporate financial analyst within the Financial Institutions Group at PaineWebber executing financing and advisory transactions, including sell-side advisory, IPOs, follow-on offerings and private placements with commercial banks, real estate investment trusts and specialty finance companies. He has also focused on mergers and acquisitions and international capital raising activities, for both U.S. and clients in Asia, while with Lehman Brothers in their New York and Seoul, Korea offices.
Mr. Mun sits on the Board of Advisors of M Development & Design (d.b.a. Stella & Jamie), a Los Angeles-based fashion design house serving the women’s contemporary bridge collection market. Stella & jamie designs and manufactures upscale clothing to service high-end boutiques and department stores internationally.
Mr. Mun received an M.B.A. in Finance from The Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance and Economics, cum laude, from Georgetown University. He continues to actively contribute to UCLA and Georgetown University through speaking engagements and as a mentor and advisor to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Artichoke & Garnish
Butternut Squash and Cheese
Garden Veggie & Ravioli
Spinach Cheese Ravioli
Tostada
PastaSlim Fettu
Hummus and Asparagus
Hummus
PastaSlim Spaghetti
Baked Tofu Teriyaki Bowl
Baked Tofu
Baked Tofu Salad
Pasta Slim Spagetti
Pasta Slim Spinach Fettuccine
Pasta Slim Tomato & Herbs Angel Hair
Cubed Tofu
Tofu Taco Crumbles
Tofu
Veggie Burger
Meatless Meatballs
Mild Salsa
Medium Salsa
Hot Salsa
Ravioli Artichoke Colby Jack
Ravioli Butternut Squash
Fire Roasted Mushroom Four Cheese
Ravioli Shrimp and North Atlantic Lobster
Ravioli Smoked Mozzarella Artichoke
Ricotta Florentine Ravioli
Roasted Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli
Roasted Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli
Creamy Alfredo
Basil w. Almonds and Pinenuts Pesto