2019 Evolution: Expanding our Purity TransparencyWhen we started, ZEGO focused on making nutritious food for people with multiple dietary restrictions—allergies, celiac disease, diabetes, etc. As I learned more about the industry, though, I saw that many agricultural chemicals and metals like lead travel from farms to our tables, even sometimes in organic food. In fact, in our first round of chemical tests, it was the organic cinnamon we purchased that had high levels of glyphosate, the main chemical in Round Up that has been linked to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and other diseases. With many cancers and autoimmune disorders on the rise, many people are looking to avoid potential and known toxicants like this.

MISSIONZEGO makes delicious, nourishing, clean food to meet most all dietary needs and provides purity verification glyphosate and over 400

visionConsumers will demand the same purity transparency ZEGO provides from other brands, and together, we will clean our food supply from soil to table, bringing about

The problem is companies typically don’t test, and certainly never report, this information, making avoiding chemicals and heavy metals very difficult. Now, some scientists will argue these chemicals are safe while others present evidence they are not. Regardless of which side you agree with, people have a right to know what is in their food. But, most brands don’t even know what is in their own products. Since no brands have been testing and publishing their results, they don’t know what to expect and they are scared they might find out something they don’t want to know.

So, we decided to lead the way by expanding our purity promise to include over 400 pesticides, herbicides (like glyphosate), and heavy metals (like lead and arsenic). As with allergens and gluten, ZEGO is the first company to publish these types of purity test results. We use our QR code system to link each product’s lab results to the QR code on its packaging. We call this “purity verification.”

We renamed our “Z-CODE” system as “T-CODE,” to indicate that the product has traceable testing, and redesigned the badge system to make it more flexible as you see below. In addition to measuring our own products, we want consumers to see what real transparency looks like and companies to see how easy it is to do and communicate.

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Pesticide and Metal Residue Harm in the NewsIn the last 12 months, the need for transparency and cleaner food has been front and center in the news more so than ever before. Many newly published reports raised consumer awareness about glyphosate and heavy metals in popular cereals and protein powders. Here are some to explore.

Food Democracy Now Environmental Working Group The Clean Label Project and Consumer Reports Secret Ingredients , documentary

In addition, three court cases in the San Francisco area, one in 2018 and two in 2019, found Round Up’s Monsanto parent company, Bayer, liable for contributing to the plaintiff’s cancer. Interestingly, though in the first case the plaintiff was a groundskeeper who was soaked in Round Up more than once due to equipment malfunction, the others were homeowners who used the product on their own lawns, so their exposure was much smaller. Worldwide, there are over 11,000 other court cases (the number grows each week) asserting negative health outcomes from Round Up exposure. Bayer financed its purchase of Monsanto two years ago with debt, so it did not have to seek shareholder approval. Due to these lawsuits, Bayer’s stock price has fallen below the price of what they paid for Monsanto. This will continue to be in the news through 2019 and beyond.

New Certifications a Source of Pride, Activism, and Business Building

ZEGO became certified as a Women Owned Business by WBENC in 2018. This is a government certification that will open doors for us with larger corporate buyers who have corporate directives to contract with women owned businesses. Leveraging that certification, we already have secured meetings with Kroger, Aramark, and American Airlines and more.

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New Products Expand into BreakfastWe launched four new breakfast and snack products this Spring – protein powder, oats, two flavors of muesli, a 3rd flavor of our Mix-Ins (chocolate chip), and developed a refreshed brand look. They are available on our website and Amazon. They are receiving rave reviews, so be sure to order yours and see what all the fuss is about!

For example, SHAPE magazine ranked our protein powder as one of the 11 best plant-based powders on the market.

ZEGO is also a certified B Corp, a stringent set of standards measuring if you are using your company as a force for good. Last year, B Corp honored ZEGO as “Best in the World for Community”, recognizing our disaster relief donations, work to improve nutrition for low-income kids, and percent of underrepresented minorities in managerial positions.

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We also have received kudos from some high level social media influencers about our Seed+Fruit Bars (so fun to see our old packaging and how far we’ve come) and our Oats.

New Partners Build GrowthThe purity of ZEGO’s products gives us unique channels for sales. One example is Get Healthy, a company that helps health care professionals set up online stores for their patients. Another example is Denver Children’s Hospital. Their Celiac unit gives newly diagnosed patients a gift bag with ZEGO products in it. Having trusted, 3rd party health professionals recommend our products is a point of pride for us.

Another strong selling channel for ZEGO food service companies that deliver snacks to offices. This Spring, two of our largest clients, The Fruit Guys and Snack Nation, reported that ZEGO’s fruit and chia bars are among the most highly requested of the snacks they carry.

Where We Could Use Your HelpThere are several ways we could use your help today. The first two have more impact on our success than you might imagine because they tip algorithms on their relevant platforms. When we tip the algorithm, the platform starts promoting us, giving our products and posts more visibility to the public. Building community engagement and recommendations is our best way to do that.

Review ZEGO on Amazon–Help us reach our goal of 50 reviews on at least three of our products. You need to purchase the item on Amazon for the review to count. Here are links to three of our most popular products, Just Fruit Raspberry Bar s , Seed+Fruit Fudgy Chocolate Bars, and Cranberry Mix-Ins.

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Engage with ZEGO on Social Media—Interact with us on the social media platform you use most, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Here is an example of how just a few people commenting changes the reach of our recent posts on Linked In

You can help us reach more people by liking our posts, commenting, and sharing. You’ll stay up-to-date on ZEGO and our and other’s work to promote food purity industry-wide.

Tell your friends—Help spread the word about ZEGO’s mission and vision and recommend your favorite ZEGO products to friends.

Request us Where You Shop—Customer requests are the best way for us to get a store to carry us. You would be surprised at the effectiveness of a request!

If you’ve made it this far in the newsletter, let us know and we’ll send you a $10 coupon credit for our website! Just email us at info@zegofoods.com.

ZEGOFOODS.COM COLLEEN@ZEGOFOODS.COM 415-622-8115

Post A, “Meet the Farmer” a Poor Proxy for Transparency : 5 Likes, 3 Comments, Total Reach = 300

Post B, How Will EPA Respond to Rising Glyphosate Concern 11 Likes, 7 Comments, Total Reach = 1000

Post C, Open Letter to KIND and CLIFF 22 Likes, 21 Comments, Total Reach = 2300

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