Tanka Bar company wins innovation award
Pine Ridge Business Wins Innovation Award, Faces Challenges from Fast ExpansionSocial Venture Network (SVN), a national peer-to-peer network of socially responsible entrepreneurs and investors, has selected a business located on the the isolated Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Kyle, South Dakota for one of its six 2011 Innovation Awards.
Native American Natural Food—known for producing the Tanka Bar, among other organic, buffalo-jerky energy bars and meat products—will partner with SVN leaders, who will serve as mentors to the company.
SVN chose Karlene Hunter and Mark Tilsen, owners of Native American Natural Food, for the award because they are “on a mission to heal people and Mother Earth by innovating new food products based on traditional Native American values.”Comment: For more on the
Tanka Bar, see
Rez Companies Can't Get Loans and
Tanka Bar Company's Goals.
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Native American Tanka Bars becoming mainstream
A South Dakota company created to provide a healthy snack for American Indians expects its sales to grow by a third this year after seeing its product picked up by national grocery chain Whole Foods Markets.
The development also could lead to more hiring at Native American Natural Foods in Kyle, adding valuable jobs on the Pine Ridge Reservation, which encompasses some of the poorest counties in the United States.
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Tanka Bars on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation creates success, jobs
Kyle is home to just under 900 people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and home to the headquarters of Native American Natural Foods. That's the parent company to this: Tanka Bar.
"We wanted to create a natural, no preservative, healthy snack bar to help fight the health problems that the nation is facing," Native American Natural Foods CEO Karlene Hunter said.
Based on traditional recipes from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, in just six years, they've made quite a name for themselves.
"We're in all 50 states. 5,000 outlets. Interact with over 40,000 people weekly through social media sites. Whole Foods, REI, Sunflower. In Sanford Medical facilities. We've been embraced very well by the public," Hunter said.