Gardenburger

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Gardenburger is the brand name of a veggie burger. The company was originally incorporated as Wholesome & Hearty Foods, Inc. in March 1985. Initial funding was given to founders Paul Wenner and Allyn Smaaland, as part of a venture capital investment program of Louisiana-Pacific Corp., whereby L-P took immediate controlling interest. A second round of venture capital financing was provided about a year later.

In approximately 1990, Wholesome & Hearty Foods bought the company back from L-P, with IPO funds from about a dozen private investors. The initial public offering was very successful. Later, the company changed its name to "Gardenburger, Inc." to reinforce the association with its primary product.

The original formula (recipe) for the Gardenburger is no longer produced, as a key seasoning stopped being manufactured in the late 1990s.

The company makes a variety of vegetarian and vegan products and meat substitutes. According to the company's website, the original Gardenburger is made from mushrooms, onions, brown rice, rolled oats, cheese, eggs, garlic and spices. Gardenburger is a registered trademark of the Wholesome and Hearty Foods Company a subsidiary of Kellogg Company.

Although all Gardenburger products are vegetarian, some of them are not vegan and include animal-derived ingredients such as eggs or dairy products, such as milk and cheese. Their vegan burgers are the Black Bean Chipotle, Flame Grilled, GardenVegan (which is no longer soy free [1]), California Burger, and Veggie Medley; the vegan specialties include BBQ Riblets, Chik’n Grill, Herb Crusted Cutlet, and Veggie Breakfast Sausage. Although the Gardenburger website once listed wheat free, gluten free, and soy free products, as of Dec. 2008 all products listed on the Gardenburger website contain gluten and soy.[2]

In 2005, Gardenburger filed for bankruptcy, though they continued operation by becoming privately held.[3]

In 2006, Gardenburger announced that it had taken eggs out of all of its products except for one private-sourced item which now contains organic, cage-free eggs.[4]

In 2007, Kellogg Company purchased the Wholesome and Hearty Foods Company, makers of the Gardenburger.

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