A Brief History into the company

Although Christopher's experience in organic food supply started as far back as 1977 with the opening of East West Natural Foods Store in Old Street, London, the actually Clearspring story doesn't really start until September 1993 when Christopher decided to take on Clearspring a small company which imported Mitoku products and actually occupied the original site of the East West Natural Foods Store.

By that time Christopher had a wealth of experience in the natural food world. He had travelled extensively, studying the customs and traditional food production methods in many countries, met and studied with Michio Kushi, a true champion of the macrobiotic, and developed a close relationship with Akiyoshi Kazama, owner of the Mitoku Food Company - Japan's largest exporter of traditional Japanese foods. This second meeting was pivotal to Christopher's career and outlook.

In July, 1979, he went to Japan for a two week tour of Mitoku's producers. Travelling around Japan with Kazama he marvelled at the efficiency of the ancient technology used by centuries old traditional food makers. He watched with great interest as the craftsmen in these small, family run shops created delicious healthy foodstuff using the simplest equipment. He also noticed that the men and women who made these foods had the energy and vitality of people half their age. This experience prompted Christopher to return to Japan soon afterwards when he learned that Mitoku's export manager had left the company to return to Europe. He simply hopped on a plane to Tokyo, presented himself to Kazama and was hired on the spot. Christopher then spent the next 18 years with Mitoku and eventually being appointed to the board of directors.

As much as Christopher enjoyed his responsibilities at Mitoku, he longed for the opportunity to build a company that would unite the best of East and West by bringing together the highest quality foods and culinary traditions of Japan, Europe and North America. Christopher's dream was to create an international brand with the highest standards possible, which health conscious consumers would grow to trust for quality at affordable prices and this is what Clearspring has become. In his own words: ‘By selecting and preparing the highest quality foods we can create balance and harmony, restore our health and heal our environment'.

Christopher's opportunity to realise his dream came suddenly in September of 1993. One of Mitoku's largest customers, located in Holland, changed hands, and the new owners decided not to carry the Mitoku line of traditional Japanese foods and refused to take possession of two truckloads of produce which were already sitting in the port of Amsterdam. Christopher seized the opportunity, telling Kazama that he would buy the two containers sitting in Amsterdam himself. He then opened a warehouse in Amsterdam to distribute Mitoku products to small wholesale companies throughout Europe. Next he bought Clearspring, which was struggling financially at the time. Within weeks he had a small staff in the London office taking orders for Mitoku products which were being shipped out of Amsterdam and West London to wholesalers on the continent and the UK.

For several years Christopher ran his business from Japan while still performing his duties for Mitoku, because they were closely related. At first he concentrated on the importation and distribution of traditional Japanese foods in the Mitoku Macrobiotic label and in his new Clearspring package. However, to realise his ultimate dream of bringing together the highest quality foods from the world, he had to leave Japan and run his company from its London headquarters. So in the spring of 1998, Christopher with his wife and four children left Tokyo to live and work in London.

Since September 1993, Clearspring has grown from annual sales of £640,000 to monthly sales of over £600,000 in 2009. With over 180 products from around the world, 15 wholesale customers in the UK, and wholesale customers in over 25 countries worldwide, Christopher's dream of an international, high quality, vegan brand is becoming a reality

From their London office Christopher and his staff travel around the world in search of high quality products that meet Clearspring's exacting standards. Each product is carefully evaluated for purity of ingredients and ecologically sound manufacturing practices. Christopher looks for products that are GMO free and made with whole organic ingredients. Refined organic ingredients such as organic sugar are not acceptable. Christopher believes that refining organic foods depletes them of their intrinsic value.

Moreover, to be considered for the Clearspring label, foods must be made by traditional methods using time-tested recipes. Indeed, some of the foods Clearspring labels are made using methods and recipes dating back 200 to 500 years or more.

In addition to the large selection of traditional Japanese foods, Christopher is also excited about his growing line of traditional European foods. These include an extensive range of organic cold pressed oils, sugar-free organic fruit spreads, organic grains, seeds and almonds and much, much more.

Link: http://www.clearspring.co.uk