Lotus Foods

Lotus Foods is a Richmond, California, based company that focuses on importing handcrafted rice from small family farms to the United States. The company was founded in 1995 by Caryl Levine and Kenneth Lee. Their first and most popular product is Forbidden Rice.

History
The company was founded in 1995 by Caryl Levine and Kenneth Lee, two years after they took a marketing research trip to China were they were served a bowl of black rice, something they never heard about before.

Products
Since their formation in 1995 the company has added about 12 different kinds of heirloom rice from locations such as China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Madagascar to their product line. They also offer Forbidden Rice Flour as well as Kaipen a Laotian snack made of algae and sesame seeds.

Forbidden Rice
Forbidden Rice is Lotus Foods' trademarked name for a strain of Chinese black rice which is considered to be both food and medicine in China. Forbidden Rice has a dark purple color because it is rich in anthocyanins and antioxidants The rice contains more vitamin B, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc than white rice.

Awards and recognition
Lotus Foods has won multiple awards for their products as well as for their involvement in SRI rice. In 2008 they were invited as panelists to discuss Food Security and Poverty at the Clinton Global Initiative alongside Madeline Albright and representatives for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2009 they were awarded Nutrition Business Journal's Environment and Sustainability Award for their SRI related work done in conjunction with Cornell University's SRI Global Marketing Partnership. Lotus Foods' Forbidden Rice won the prestigious National Association for the Specialty Food Trade awards for "Outstanding Product Line" and "Outstanding Food Service Product".