Simply Suzanne is known for the healthiness of its granola. Now it's getting the certification and refreshed branding to drive the message home.
The Detroit-based company is now known as Simply Suzanne Natural Foods. It recently scored non-GMO verification from the
Non-GMO Project, which is nonprofit working to identify healthy foods that don't use genetically modified ingredients.
"We want to make our products attractive from a health and uniqueness standpoint," says Suzanne Vier, owner of
Simply Suzanne Natural Foods. "We want to make that information easily accessible to the consumer."
Simply Suzanne turned 4 years old in May and employs a team of about a dozen people. It has grown its product distribution from its base in the Midwest to across the U.S. in the last year and is now expanding internationally. "We just got our first order from the Caribbean for our full line. We are really excited about that," Vier says.
Vier adds that her company plans to focus on making a deeper penetration into the granola market in 2013. It is currently sharing space with
McClure's Pickles in a production facility on the Detroit-Hamtramck border near the
Russell Industrial Center. The company hasn't hired anyone over the last year, but that could change as the current team continues to expand its responsibilities.
"We have promoted several folks from within and given them added responsibility," Vier says. "We have become a finely tuned machine."
Source: Suzanne Vier, owner of Simply Suzanne Natural Foods
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.