After making history 16 years ago as the first Black female U.S. Senator, Carol Moseley Braun is now looking to be a successful entrepreneur.
After making history 16 years ago as the first Black female U.S. Senator, Carol Moseley Braun is now looking to be a successful entrepreneur.
Her Chicago-based company, Good Food Organics, is the parent company of Ambassador Organics, a manufacturer of organic products, such as coffee, tea, food spices and olive oil.
In 2005, Braun founded Good Food Organics after seeing a need for her products.
“There are many different brands of coffee and teas but none like mine, which are made with pure products and no artificial ingredients,” she said.
As the company’s president, Braun, who served as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa under President Bill Clinton, started the company mostly with her own money.
“It’s fair to say I have invested about $1 million into the company. And I would not sink that amount of money into a company if I did not believe in its future growth,” she told the Defender. “I am excited about the endless possibilities our products will create once we expand distribution.”
All of her products, except the olive oil, are imported. The olive oil comes from California.
“The U.S. climate and environment will not allow for coffee and teas to be grown here so suppliers must go outside the country,” said Braun, 62.
By January, Braun said she expects her products to be sold in other major retail stores.
“Until the ink is dry on the contract I cannot say what retailers we have approached. But I can say they are well-known retailers that attract customers from all walks of life,” she said
Good for Da Soul, a Chicagobased, Black-owned promotional company, is working with Ambassador Organics.
“Fortunately for us, we believe in the products and services our clients offer and Ambassador Braun is one example,” said Denita Maclin, a spokeswoman for Good for Da Soul. “And when you believe in a product it makes it that much easier to promote.”
Healthy living is nothing new to Braun who said she has always been health conscious.
“I have been involved in nutritional eating all my life,” she said. “Eating right and smart is what I encourage everyone to do.”
The food industry is not an easy one to break into. Competition is tight and capital investment is even tougher.
“Trying to get startup capital is extremely difficult, especially when you are a small business,” she said. “And starting a food company is even harder because there is so much competition. If you look around most large companies are food companies or have some food component to it.”
Ryan Shiffman, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said food manufacturers not only compete with other manufacturers but also restaurants, grocery stores and food distributors.
“Every industry has competition but the food industry is among the toughest to break into because there is a demand for healthier products,” he said.
A future goal Braun said she has for the company is to make it the best producer of organic products.
“I want to expand our products to include dried foods, beans, rice, etc. Society is more selective about its eating habits and that’s good because it shows Americans are watchful of what they buy from stores,” Braun explained. “A lot of diseases come from our food supply so one goal I have is to improve the overall food supply.”
Switching from a public servant to an entrepreneur came easily, said Braun, because “as an entrepreneur I still see myself as a public servant because I work with the public.”
Indeed, her political career dates back over 30 years, when she was elected a state representative. Prior to being elected to office, she spent three years as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago. After leaving the Illinois General Assembly, she was elected Cook County Recorder of Deeds in 1988. Then she was elected U.S. Senator -the second Black one in the nation- in 1993.
Good Food Organics products are sold at Jewel and Treasurer Island grocery store, and online with retailer Amazon.com.
Products are also sold on the company’s Web site, www.ambassadororganics.com.
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