Authenticity carries clout. In today’s food industry, transparency is a guiding principle for building shopper engagement. People want to see corporate layers peeled back to reveal the foundational principles underneath. Consumers also want to see their food dollars do some good. Food companies and brands that give back through charitable donations resonate, building powerful, emotional connections. That’s the mission fueling Newman’s Own, a food empire that fuels much-needed funds to worthy causes through a broad portfolio of retail items, including frozen pizzas, cookies, popcorn, and other feel-good foods.

Food with feelings
When shoppers believe in your brand, you can build lifelong loyalty. These emotional, cause-driven principles guide conscious consumerism more than ever, especially appealing to fast-emerging Generation Z, which will be responsible for $13 trillion in retail spending by 2030 (see “SpendZ: A global report,” NielsenIQ, June 2024).

Paul Newman—an award-winning actor, championship race car driver, and successful philanthropic food entrepreneur—embodied authenticity. He gravitated toward free-thinking, straight-talking film roles. He often insisted on performing his own stunts. While working as the narrator of a 1971 television documentary on the history of auto racing, he enthusiastically learned to drive race cars—eventually well enough off-screen to win multiple championships.

Newman, who passed away in 2008, believed in doing good. He once said, “When you see the right thing to do, you’d better do it.” He also cared about equity; he offered to donate part of his contracted fee to his female co-star after discovering her pay disparity on the film, despite equal billing. What’s more, he broadly supported efforts toward advancing human rights.

In 1982, his belief in the power of doing the right thing led him, along with buddy A. E. “Hotch” Hotchner, to found Newman’s Own. The two devised the “radically good” concept of donating 100% of the newly formed food company’s after-tax proceeds to charity. In its first year, the company saw $300,000 in profit. And they gave it all away.

Foundational understanding
In 2005, Newman’s Own Foundation was created and Paul Newman gifted the food company, Newman’s Own Inc., to the Foundation upon his passing. This novel corporate structure was later supported by the 2017 Philanthropic Enterprise Act, which allows the food company to be wholly owned by a private foundation. To date, Paul Newman and the foundation have donated over $600 million to charitable causes. Today, the Foundation’s mission is to nourish and transform the lives of children who face adversity.

Alex Amouyel also understands the power of doing good. In 2022, after a decade and a half of social impact work (including more than six years as executive director of MIT Solve, which seeks solutions to some of the world’s most-pressing challenges), she poured her wealth of social impact experience into publishing “The Answer Is You: A Guidebook to Creating a Life Full of Impact.” A year later, she was named president and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation.

“One of the chapters is about how you can use your money to do good, how you can think about your giving, your impact investing, and also your purchasing decisions,” explains Amouyel. In the book, she critiqued retail industry inclinations toward “greenwashing,” but also shined a spotlight on select companies that offer a meaningful approach toward social impact. “I quoted Newman’s Own as one of the few companies doing it right,” she notes.

Meanwhile, Newman’s Own Foundation was seeking a new leader and reached out a few months later.

“When I got the call from the executive recruiter, I was really interested in the model, because I knew there were very few corporate models that are truly dedicated to giving all their profits away and really doing things differently,” she relates.

Every Newman’s Own product label features a “100% Profits Help Kids” icon, but people are still surprised to hear that all company profits go to charitable causes, notes Amouyel.

“I talk to many people, and they say, ‘You give all your profits away? I grew up with Newman’s Own products, and I had no idea,’” she reports, noting the message emphasizing total commitment to philanthropy is on every label.

“One of our challenges is constant education, because this model is so outside of what people expect,” says Amouyel. “It would almost be more believable if we said we give 1%.”

The deeper meaning behind a Newman’s Own product purchase helps build brand loyalty, she suggests. Demographic research has revealed a desire for more meaningful connections at work, as well as through our allotted food dollars.

“There are a number of studies around Gen Zs and millennials, both as employees and as consumers, showing they really do care about the values of the companies that they work for, or buy products from, and that they really do want to use their dollars, as I said in my book, and use their time, toward ‘things that matter.’ That’s extremely positive and gives me hope,” Amouyel says.

Passing it on
Amouyel is hopeful more companies will adopt this philanthropic-focused model, filling a core consumer need while supporting those who need it most. She notes some other companies do currently prioritize the greater good. “One of the more-famous recent examples is Patagonia, where Yvon Chouinard declared Earth as the primary Patagonia shareholder.” The move transferred Chouinard family ownership to the nonprofit Holdfast Collective (see “Earth is now our only shareholder,” Patagonia, Sept. 2022).

Other companies following an approach toward giving back include Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox internet browser, owned by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, says Amouyel. She also cites real estate company Cummings Properties, which donates 100% of proceeds from its rental properties to area Boston nonprofits. Humnanitix, an Australian event ticketing company now expanding into Europe and the U.S., donates all booking fees to charity.

“There are also a number of other food brands, which either fully give all their profits away, or a combination of employee-owned and partial donation of their profits,” says Amouyel. “There are some good models—but they’re still really the exception.” But these standout examples might encourage other companies to follow the model.

“We started what we’re calling the ‘100% for Purpose‘ club,” says Amouyel. She also delivered a TED Talk on this topic, published in January 2025, entitled, “Can salad dressing transform capitalism?” These initiatives seek to build awareness for startup businesses that a 100% philanthropic corporate model is possible.

“You can still build a great company with a great product or service,” she explains. “You can still pay your employees competitively, but you can change the way ownership works and give all the profits away.”

Adopting a charitable focus is also an option for private companies contemplating their succession plan, suggests Amouyel.

“We host quarterly chats for people who are interested in this model,” she reports. “We’re also starting to build helpful resources.” People often have questions related to governance, other legal matters, and how various principles have worked in practice. The group is coordinating pro-bono support to develop case studies offering more depth about the setup, along with questions to ask legal teams and advisors. “We’re exploring the tools that would make it easier for people to either start these types of companies or to convert to these models.”

Growing the good
The Newman’s Own vision began with a simple bottle of oil and vinegar salad dressing. Over the years, the company portfolio of pantry essentials has expanded to include more than two dozen salad dressing varieties, extra-virgin olive oil, dozens of pasta sauces and other sauces, salad kits, salsas, and beverages.

Snack and bakery products also factor strongly into the product mix at Newman’s Own:

• More than a dozen varieties of frozen pizza
• Cookies, including Newman-O’s and Fig Newmans
• Several types of dried fruit
• Half a dozen microwave popcorn flavors

Several Newman’s Own products in different categories feature organic options. Even dog treats make it into the mix.

“Like all food companies, we’re navigating a volatile environment where consumers are more cautious with their spending, costs continue to rise, and we face intense competition—particularly from lower-priced, private label alternatives,” says John Frascotti, executive chair, Newman’s Own Inc. “But we’re not just managing these challenges—we’re driving growth through compelling new product innovations and brand-building that deepens the emotional connection consumers have with our brand and our mission.”

Running a food company with a philanthropic focus takes a unique skill set.

“We’re constantly balancing two imperatives: maximizing the dollars we give to help kids in need today while investing enough back into the brand and business to ensure we can give even more in the future,” explains Frascotti. “It’s a challenge no other food company faces, but we love it, and it keeps us focused and disciplined.”

Newman’s Own has curated industry collaboration via contract manufacturing to grow its product assortment through the years. “We partner closely with best-in-class experts to help develop and produce our delicious food,” notes Frascotti. “But here’s what’s critical: We own every single formula we create. The success of our products directly fuels our greater purpose of helping children in need. While we don’t own manufacturing facilities, we maintain rigorous oversight of our production partners throughout the entire process.”

New product development has helped fuel category depth through the years, with Newman’s Own pizzas recently seeing some new options.

“Innovation is critical to our success, and we’re excited about the products we’ve launched recently,” says Frascotti. “Our Bourbon BBQ Thin & Crispy Pizza has resonated strongly with consumers, as have our authentic Stone-Fired Crust pizzas imported from Italy.”

The new Stone-Fired Crust line includes varieties like Italian Salami, Roasted Garlic & Mushroom, Margherita, Spinaci & Formaggi, and Quattro Formaggi.

“What we’re seeing is that when we stay true to our core tenets—great taste, great ingredients, and our greater purpose—consumers respond enthusiastically,” says Frascotti. “Our innovation pipeline remains strong, and we’ll continue bringing exciting new products to market that deliver on all three of these promises.”

One change currently in the works focuses on new packaging.

“We want to ensure that when someone stands in front of a shelf, our packaging immediately conveys both the quality of what’s inside and the impact of their purchase,” states Frascotti. “In an increasingly crowded marketplace, we need to make sure our great food and our mission shine through more clearly and connect with the next generation of Newman’s Own consumers.”

Expanding into additional product categories could happen in the future, Frascotti reveals.

“We have a few new product categories under development, but right now we’re seeing such strong momentum in categories where we already compete—pizza, cookies, dressings, and dog treats—that we’re focused there for the near term,” he concludes. “When we do expand, it will be strategic and purposeful.”

‘Give it all away’
“Our mission is to nourish and transform the lives of children who face adversity,” says Amouyel. Newman’s Own Foundation has three priority areas:

• Nutrition education and school food
• Indigenous food justice
• SeriousFun Children’s Network

Newman opened the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1988—in Ashford, CT. The mission: to support children facing serious health issues, along with their families. Today, the foundation provides a large, annual grant for SeriousFun, which supports its network of 30 camps and related programs.

The foundation’s other two priorities focus on food justice. “One in five children in the U.S. lives in a food-insecure household, which is a pretty unconscionable statistic for the richest country in the world,” laments Amouyel. “When you’re hungry as a child, it affects your attention for educational attainment and can cause behavioral problems,” she points out. “It can increase the incidence of chronic diseases in your future.” Helping educate children about healthy food habits and improving access to healthy food can pay dividends throughout life.

In 2024, the foundation established the “Food Justice for Kids Prize,” an open application opportunity for organizations, nonprofits, Native American tribes, and schools. For that first round of funding, 12 recipients received two years of grant funding. The foundation will open submissions for the grants again in 2026.

Along with Novo Nordisk and Native Americans in Philanthropy, Newman’s Own Foundation has also developed the “Indigenous Tomorrows Fund,” a youth-led grant-making fund. Indigenous youth under the age of 24 are the decision-makers, and indigenous youth also score the applications and allocate the funds.

Newman’s Own Foundation also works with a nonprofit in Grand Rapids, MI, called Mosaic Film Experience. “They launched a program called ‘Nourishing Narratives‘ where children ages 10 to 18 could submit films,” says Amouyel. “It’s part of the TikTok and YouTube generation of short films, three minutes long, about what food justice means to them in their community. The idea is to support the voices of children and young people in thinking about what food insecurity. What does good food mean to you? What are you seeing in your community?”

Harnessing the power of film to communicate stories of food justice through the creative minds of our youth is a perfect example of Paul Newman’s enduring legacy, empowering radically good change through the medium he loved, giving it all away, supporting each successive generation in new and creative ways. SF&WB