HealthyGoodiesGifts.com
Company: HealthyGoodiesGifts.com Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
Company Description: HealthyGoodiesGifts.com was started in February, 2003 to meet the growing demand of gifts for those with special diet needs. We offer healthy food gift baskets, but with goodies so good you think you're being bad! Special diet gifts... without the special diet taste! Always healthy, always delicious.
Nomination Category: Stevie Awards for Women Entrepreneur Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Most Innovative Company of the Year
Nomination Title: HealthyGoodiesGifts.com...Special Diet Gifts for a Changing World
Tell the story about what the nominated company achieved during the eligibility period (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Healthy Goodies was an idea thought up by Paula King, and her friend, Susan Lawens, because they saw a need for special diet gifts.
Having been diagnosed with cancer, Paula, received countless baskets throughout her illness. She has an intolerance to corn, and since corn and its derivatives are often not listed in the ingredients, but are commonly used, she was afraid to eat
anything in any of the baskets she received.Well-wishers had only the best intentions, but that didn't change the fact that she could have had a reaction to the food, on top of the difficulty of recovery from several surgeries and chemotherapy. And that would have made a bad situation worse.
And, what to do with the food? She couldn't give it to Susan either, because Susan has an allergy to wheat (someone else who knows what it's like to graciously accept food gifts that she knows she can't eat.)
Their business was the first to offer many of the products that they offer, and for those with more than one special diet consideration, they are still the only game in town. Healthy Goodies makes things easy, everything is labeled as to what diet it is appropriate for, and all ingredients are listed on the website. There is also a term/definition section, for those unfamiliar with the words and phrases associated with certain diets. So, no matter what a customer is looking for (vegetarian, vegan, wheat free, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, fat free, organic..) they can still easily find what they need, or even make their own custom basket in the Create a Basket section.
The company is proud to be Earth-friendly and socially conscious. All of the baskets double as a planter when emptied (they come with a durable plastic liner), and gift boxes are also offered at a reduced price (less material to make, less waste.) Also, Healthy Goodies donates food to the Macomb Food Program, which helps feed people in need, throughout its network of 48 distribution sites in Macomb County, Michigan.
They are a 5-star Yahoo store (the highest rating a Yahoo store can have) which they earned through excellent customer service. And they also provide free recipes on their website, which is updated often, and is often their most visited page.
The web address is: www.HealthyGoodiesGifts.com
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]. NOTE: You may submit supporting materials for your nomination offline, but only judges who request them will see them:
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography of the leader of the nominated company:
Paula King, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, moved to Michigan in 1999. Having spent 15 years in the food industry, and in hotel management, she learned how to provide excellent customer service.
In working with her, first you are warmed by her friendliness, secondly you experience her work ethics. If something needs to be done, she'll do it, and she'll do it better than you thought possible.
In February of 2003 she was diagnosed with cancer. She made it through and is doing well. With that behind her she thought she would get to work on another challenge, entrepreneuring.