Norcross couple spices up fast, packaged food

By Shane Blatt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Move over, Uncle Ben’s.

A husband-and-wife team from Norcross is hoping to revolutionize the convenience-food industry with whole-grain pilafs the couple say are healthy, quick alternatives to typical fare.

Dean and Amy D’Angelo launched Garlic Clove Foods in January. They operate out of a commercial kitchen in Suwanee and do all the packaging by hand.

Already, their products — which come in three varieties and combine bulgur and quinoa with vegetables and legumes — can be found in natural food stores in metro Atlanta, Florida, Tennessee and California.

“It sells really well. People seem to really like it,” said Mandee Gushue, an assistant manager at Sevananda Natural Foods Market in Little Five Points. “I’ve tried it myself, and it’s really amazing.”

The D’Angelos are in talks with Publix, Kroger and Whole Foods Market about popping the pilafs on their shelves, company founder Amy D’Angelo said. Although discussions are still preliminary, she hopes her product will hit those stores by December.

The concept originated “from my search in finding healthy alternatives to feed my family,” said the 33-year-old mother of two.

Although she grew up in the restaurant business, Amy D’Angelo’s professional experience is in fund-raising, and her husband, Dean, 39, has a background in construction and real estate development.

“We were not in the food business,” she said. “This really came about through my own quest ... something that evolved as I started a family.”

Amy D’Angelo said consumers — particularly working moms, the company’s target audience — want healthy foods they can cook quickly, but that a number of packaged items currently on the market are loaded with sodium, sugars and preservatives. Her products are preservative-free, high in protein and fiber, and low in sodium.

“There was a void in the marketplace,” she said. “I’m making it easy for people to eat healthy.”

To boost brand awareness and let consumers sample the products, the D’Angelos have been making the rounds weekly at four to six farmers markets across metro Atlanta, selling more than 1,250 packages at those venues since May.

Each package sells for $5 at the farmers markets. Stores sell the pilafs, which the couple say have enough protein to be a meal on their own, from $4.99 to $6.49. Sales thus far total $17,065.

The goal is not only to have the product become a household name, but to increase awareness about healthy eating, Amy D’Angelo said.

“[My family eats] it three or four nights a week,” she said. “If we don’t, my children ask, ‘Where’s the pilaf?’ ”