BROOMFIELD, COLO.—Vail Resorts Inc. announced it will be providing Good Food on a Grand Scale by serving natural, hormone-free meats and poultry and organic dairy products in casual on-mountain restaurants at its five resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California and Nevada beginning the 2007-2008 ski season.
The company believes Vail Resorts will serve more meals made with natural meats and certified organic dairy products each year than any other restaurant operator in North America and that the effort will be the largest undertaking to offer these products in the travel industry. To accomplish this unprecedented effort, Vail Resorts has created the Good Food Partnership with two other Colorado companies: Coleman Natural Foods LLC and WhiteWave Foods Company, maker of Horizon Organic dairy products and Silk soymilk products.
“At Vail Resorts, our mission is Extraordinary Resorts, Exceptional Experiences,” says Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts. “A key piece of the experience we provide our guests is the food we serve. Our decision to launch Good Food on a Grand Scale is about the investment we are making in our guests, particularly kids, to ensure that we are doing our part to make our dining experience as healthy, clean and natural as the activities that happen every day on our mountains. I am also very excited to be able to create the Good Food Partnership with two neighboring companies in Colorado. We admire the brand promises of both Coleman Natural and WhiteWave Foods and are proud to now make those same promises to our guests.”
Guests’ Healthy Appetite
Vail Resorts serves more than 2.5 million lunches each ski season at approximately 40 on-mountain venues across its five ski resorts, primarily to families and active, health-conscious guests of all ages. The organic dairy products and natural meats procured through the Good Food Partnership will be used to prepare meals in Vail Resorts’ on-mountain kitchens by resort chefs.
Nationally, sales of organic food and beverages grew by 20.9 percent during 2006 to reach $16.7 billion, up from $13.8 billion in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Assn. (OTA), based in Greenfield, Mass.
“This groundbreaking initiative by Vail Resorts will make organic dairy choices available to more and more consumers when they are away from home,” says Caren Wilcox, executive director of the Organic Trade Assn. “This is exciting news, both for consumers who are looking for organic food when they travel and for organic farmers, as it provides another market for products grown and processed organically.”
While approximately 90 percent of its fresh meats will be purchased from Coleman Natural and 87 percent of its fresh dairy needs will be organic for the 2007-2008 season, the sheer size and unprecedented nature of this effort prevented the company from sourcing certain items in sufficient quantities, such as eggs and ice cream. The company indicated that it will work closely with all of its vendors to increase the amount of natural and organic foods offered for the 2008-2009 season and beyond.
Vail Resorts’ commitment to offering its guests high-quality, sustainable foods includes all-natural beef, poultry, lamb, pork and deli meats supplied by Coleman Natural Foods, headquartered in Golden, Colo. Coleman Natural meats are free from antibiotics, added hormones, artificial ingredients and preservatives and Coleman Natural ranchers pledge humane and sustainable raising practices. Vail Resorts will prepare and serve over 447,000 pounds of Coleman Natural meat.
An Ideal Partnership
“Coleman is very excited about its new relationship with Vail Resorts,” says Dan O’Neill, CEO of Coleman. “What Coleman Natural stands for matches closely the type of people that live an outdoor lifestyle and who vacation with Vail Resorts. The new relationship will be great for both partners.”
Coleman Natural will also supply meats and poultry to Vail Resorts’ Grand Teton Lodge Company which operates Jackson Lake Lodge, Jenny Lake Lodge and Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.
Based in Broomfield, Colo., WhiteWave Foods, a subsidiary of Dean Foods Co., will supply Vail Resorts Horizon Organic dairy products. Horizon Organic is the nation’s leading brand of U.S.D.A certified organic milk with more than 80 products produced without the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones or pesticides. Through its partnership with WhiteWave, Vail Resorts will prepare meals at on-mountain dining locations during the ski season using organic dairy products such as butter, cheese, milk and yogurt.
“We know how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy, organic diet when eating away from home, which is why we’re especially excited to partner with Vail Resorts to provide mountain diners with our healthy, organic dairy products,” says Blaine McPeak, president of Horizon Organic. “Working with Vail Resorts to provide products that are produced using sustainable and holistic farming methods helps family farmers, our land, animals and the planet.”
Additionally, WhiteWave Foods will supply Vail Resorts with Silk soymilk single serve products to make available in the resort food courts. Silk soymilk is the best-selling soymilk brand in the country.
Guests of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly will see the Good Food Partnership promise expressed as Appetite For Life through informative signage and special events. For more information, visit www.vailresorts.com/appetiteforlife.
