Kecily: GoMacro products are macrobiotic. Could you tell us more about the meaning of macrobiotic? and your own approach. Is it different from vegan? different from whole plant-based organic product?

Amelia: There are many better experts on macrobiotics than myself so I will just talk a little about my personal experience with macrobiotics. Macrobiotics emphasizes whole grains and fresh vegetables and avoids dairy, meat and processed foods. No food is absolutely forbidden in macrobiotics but, in practice, many macrobiotic people are vegan. Macrobiotics does not tell you that you cannot eat meat or dairy. It does tell you to learn the effects different foods have on you, learn about the energy of food so that you can create balance in your life, You will have a stronger immune system and you will encourage your body to heal itself. Many people think of macrobiotics as a very strict and bland diet and for sick people on a healing diet that is true but at the advanced stage of macrobiotics you can eat whatever you want whenever you want. Of course, at that point, you will naturally gravitate towards plant based organic unprocessed foods. I am much healthier today than I was ten years ago. At GoMacro we focus on trying to make healthy desserts and much of my cooking is based on experimenting with new dessert recipes so I definitely like sweets but I try to make everything as healthy as I can while still making it appealing. We have found that everybody wants to be healthy but if something does not taste good they will not eat it even if it is filled with nutrients. Finally macrobiotics is not just about food, it is a lifestye. It is about exercise, reflection, compassion. I have developed immense compassion for all animals and we support many humane animal sanctuaries here in the United States and it is one of the major reasons that I am vegan.


GoMacro

K: There are no preservatives, no stabilizers, no additives whatsoever in GoMacro. Could you explain how the products achieve such a long shelf live? Does it come from the packaging?

A: The shelf life on our bars is eight months and on the cookies four months. Most companies have a longer shelf life. Most of our customers order every six to eight weeks in order to have a really fresh product on their shelves. We use packaging with a metallic backing that prevents air and moisture getting in and we use a gas flushing system that eliminates oxygen from the packaging and helps to increase shelf life.


K: Talking about the packaging, you said it's recyclable? What should I do with it to recycle it?

A: Our cookie packaging and our boxes are biodegradable and will compost in the ground or in a compost bin. Our bar packaging is not biodegradable at the present time. Here, in the United States we send our waste bar wrappers to Terracycle. Terracycle recycles them into useful items that are sold on their website.


K: What kind of public are you targeting (health conscious active people, Californian-happy-vegan, ultrarunners... ??) Do you actually know who are your customers ?

A: We sell to health food stores, fitness centers, yoga studios, alternative medical practitioners and health clinics. Our customers are health conscious consumers. They read labels and care about what they eat. Some are vegans and/or macrobiotic but primarily they are customers looking for products without chemical additives or preservatives. They want simple unrefined, nutritional ingredients.


GoMacro

K: How do you elaborate your recipes? Do you test them first in your own kitchen?

A: We experiment with recipes in our own kitchens here at GoMacro and I also like to experiment in my own kitchen. Whenever we feel that we have a good product we then send it to people that test it for us and provide us with feedback. We will often make a new product dozens of times before we finally have something that we are satisfied with.


K: On which scale are you producing? When you make a batch of macrotreats for example, how many would that be?

A: We make our products in very small batches. Usually about 250 - 500 individual bars or cookies in a batch. It is much easier to maintain quality control of a small batch.


K: Where are GoMacro products available? To you ship overseas?

A: At the moment GoMacro products are available in stores only in the United States and in Canada. We do ship all over the world to individual consumers but this is limited because of the high cost of shippinng to other countries.