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Small Planet Organics or Small Planet Organic Tofu is owned and operated by "Tofu Phil" Spiegel. We are now producing our planet-famous products on Vashon Island, WA in collaboration with Island Spring Organic, an organic tofu producer established in 1976. Formerly we were located 40 miles north of Spokane, Washington, but due to the economy and the new definition of sustainability, we have joined forces at Island Spring Organics(www.islandspring.com).
Tofu Phil had been intrigued by the idea of launching a tofu company ever since he read The Book of Tofu by William Shurtleff in the early 1980s. Working full-time as an engineer, "I felt I was at the mercy of others when I was somebody else's employee," he recalls. "From January to June 1992, I dove into the tofu business while I still had my full-time engineer job. I made tofu at night. I would work at the engineering job from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and then two or three nights a week I made tofu from 5 to midnight. I was often working 16 plus hours a day. In 1993, got laid off for good and then did tofu and PC consulting. In 1994, I began working on tofu full-time. Jim and Sherry Brewster, the owners of Penrith Farms, inspired me to not give up and to continue to build it and pursue it and grow it by giving me the opportunity to move my shop onto their farm land, a much better location. They were the catalysts in helping me grow to the next level."
Educating people about the benefits of tofu is a big part of Tofu Phil's mission. "I had to start out by explaining to people what tofu is, how to use it, why it’s a great food choice," he says. "Ten or 15 years ago, so many people didn’t even know what tofu was. By now, everybody’s heard about it, but they don’t know much about it. Over the past 5 or 6 years, I’ve done extensive demo tours, sometimes as many as 20 demos a month. I was promoting the product and increasing sales, but also educating people and giving them recipes so they know all the great ways you can prepare tofu. Education is 80 percent of this business, and has been since day 1."
"When people try our tofu at the demos, they usually say something like 'this is the best tofu I’ve ever tasted,'" Tofu Phil says. "More than 90 percent of people who sample our products like them. Even people who have never had tofu before are saying that this is pretty tasty.
"Our tofu makes it easy for you to make delicious dishes. When you start out with quality ingredients, your chance of creating something delicious increase tremendously."
Small Planet Organic Tofu brings to the table the finest, fresh, certified-organic tofu. Our five flavors of fresh and savory baked tofu: Garlic & Herb, Spicy, Curry, Sun-dried tomato, and Original Firm have been received with acclaim as the freshest, highest quality, and best tasting tofu available!
Tofu, regionally produced, hand-crafted, and delivered fresh makes the difference. Our tofu is made-to-order daily to insure a fresh product for you. Discover the difference in tofu. Try Small Planet Organic Tofu!
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