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www.groovekorea.com / July 2014 58 Story by Alejandro Callirgos / Photos courtesy of High Street Market R etired American businessman Bob Moore has a lofty goal: to become “the Colonel Sanders of Whole Grains.” At 85 years of age, Moore is the founder, CEO and president of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, the self- billed “leading name in health foods across (America).” The em- ployee-owned company makes over 400 natural, organic and gluten-free products, with Bob’s bespectacled, derby-capped, bolo-tied, white-bearded likeness becoming the familiar face that graces all the company’s packaging. In 1978, Moore bought an abandoned old mill in small-town Oregon and started stone-grinding flours and cereals for local customers. Since then, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods has gone global, distributing its products throughout North America, the Middle East and Asia. Now the Bob’s Red Mill brand has made its way to Korea. Kip Richardson, owner of High Street Market, a distributor of Bob’s Red Mill products, credits informed consumers with bringing the brand to Korea: “High Street is seeing a growing number of domestic customers who are very aware of the latest health food trends and products. Locals are much more aware of what’s out there and, likely due to the internet, they’re lead- ing the trends far more quickly than local suppliers and import- ers. The result is a demand for products that are not so easy to source locally.” The Korean market’s previous interest in “well-being” products and “slow food” have given way to a shift toward organic and gluten-free foods, and High Street is prepared to make them available. Of the Bob’s Red Mill brand, Richardson says, “High Street continues to see customers focus on brands and products they know and can trust. Brands like Bob’s (Red Mill) have built a strong bond with consumers built on a solid reputation and his- tory for providing verifiably organic products and offering glu- ten-free items even before it became trendy.” High Street stocks over 25 Bob’s Red Mill products, includ- ing flour (all-purpose baking, spelt, whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, white and dark rye), granola (cinnamon, apple blueber- ry, apple strawberry, cinnamon raisin, honey almond and honey oat), grains (quinoa and amaranth), muesli, potato flakes, baking soda/powder and mixes (biscuit and baking, brownie, pizza crust, scone and pancake and waffle). Some of High Street’s best-selling Bob’s Red Mill products are the Organic Whole Grain Quinoa, Organic Dark Rye Flour, 7 Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix and Gluten Free All-Purpose Bak- ing Flour. High Street’s array of Bob’s Red Mill products is sure to please Korea’s health-conscious consumers — including people with celiac disease and those with gluten sensitivities.