Who is Ted?

During the 1970s, WholeSoy & Co. founder Ted Nordquist led a double life - professor of Asian philosophy by day and tofu-maker by night. In 1975, Ted met William Shurtleff and Akiko Ayogi, the authors of the Book of Tofu. From them, he learned traditional Chinese and Japanese methods of converting soybeans into dairy-like products. This meeting changed the course of Ted's life. What started as a hobby for Ted quickly turned into a passion. Leaving his academic life behind, Ted began his mission to make the best tasting, most natural and nutritious dairy alternatives on the planet. Over twenty years later, he remains hooked on soy and is still just as passionate about crafting the world's most delicious soy foods.

Ted's first venture was a small soy foods plant near Uppsala, Sweden. This little plant, pieced together from used equipment and with just five employees, churned out two tons of tofu and tofu-related products each week. Ted was so dedicated to his trade that he and his wife Anne-Marie, along with their three young children, lived in an apartment above the plant. Up until 1990, his was the only soy plant of its kind in Scandinavia.

In 1994, Ted moved back to the United States with his family and started WholeSoy a few years later. The first product to be introduced in 1999 was Creamy Cultured Soy. This product was so well received that it quickly became the best-selling non-dairy yogurt on the market! Though WholeSoy is now a little bigger - we make a full line of soy yogurts and the only soy frozen yogurt on the market - Ted can still be found in the kitchen "playing with soy." All of WholeSoy's products are developed by Ted in cooperation with a food scientist or two, as well as valuable feedback from customers, friends and family members. Ted's one of a kind approach is the reason WholeSoy & Co. is able to bring you and your family so many rich, creamy and irresistible soy foods that most people are surprised to find out are dairy-free.

In a world of food company giants, WholeSoy & Co. is proud to be the "little guy." We remain an independently owned and operated company committed to using only whole organic soybeans free from genetic modification (GM). Unfortunately, soybeans are one of the most genetically modified crops in the world, so this commitment is no easy task. We purchase our organic, non-GM soybeans from a single supplier to ensure that our beans are the highest quality on the market. In fact, we recently tested our products for any traces of genetically modified ingredients are were given a clean bill of health! By using certified organic ingredients, WholeSoy consumers are sure to get the maximum health benefits of soy and also keep unwanted pesticides and genetically modified crops out of the ecosystem.

Ted Nordquist has created in WholeSoy a company that is not solely focused on the bottom line - and his enthusiasm and drive are contagious. The staff of WholeSoy & Co. is a family (we actually eat lunch together around a table and not at our desks!) committed to the health and vitality of our customer, our community and our planet. When you call WholeSoy with a question or a comment you still get a real live person! Go ahead and try...we'd love to hear from you.