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= Grower’s Secret Inc. =

[null Introduction]
Grower’s Secret, Inc. (GSI) is an American agricultural technology company with headquarters in Walnut Creek, CA, a warehouse/manufacturing facility in Pittsburg, CA, and a research laboratory in Honolulu, HI. Company accounting is managed by Pacific Business Specialists in Honolulu, HI. Grower’s Secret, Inc. is the sole proprietor of Grower’s Secret Professional (GSP), an organic plant growth enhancer manufactured from an edible mushroom fermentation culture. The company also provides a selection of OMRI listed and CDFA OIM approved fertilizers manufactured from soy, grain, or seaweed for organic food production. GSI’s flagship products are Grower’s Secret Professional, Grower’s Secret Nitrogen 14-0-0 and Soluble Seaweed 0-0-16.

Bryan Hiromoto, Albert Pleus, and Randy Havre founded Grower’s Secret Inc. as Advanced Biological Research, LLC (ABR) on May 29, 1998 to research and develop agricultural products based on several unique biological activities discovered in edible mushrooms. Bryan Hiromoto served as Manager/Director, and Mr. Pleus, Mr. Havre, and Mr. John Farias served on the Board of Directors of ABR. Prior to 1998, Mr. Hiromoto was the owner/operator of the Haiku Mushroom Company, a fresh market mushroom producer. In 1995, Mr. Hiromoto initiated a collaboration with Wesley Chun, to investigate an observation in one of Mr. Hiromoto’s mushroom production bags. This collaboration resulted in the discovery of several interesting biological activities in edible mushrooms. One of these activities was developed into a unique plant growth stimulant that was named LCF. Experimental production, and field-testing of LCF were completed by 2001. Formulation for large-scale production and processing was completed in 2002. In 2004, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) accepted LCF as “allowable for use in organic production.”  In December 2007, Wes Chun joined the company. Incubation and processing protocols were standardized in 2008 and application for listing with the Organic Materials Resource Institute (OMRI) was initiated in 2009. Chaz Berman was hired as the CEO in October of 2009.

In 2010 several changes. ABR was renamed Grower’s Secret, Inc. to establish brand recognition and LCF was renamed Grower’s Secret Professional (GSP). OMRI created a new product category (Fermentation Products) and accepted GSP for organic food production. ABR, LLC formally changed to Grower’s Secret, Inc. on April 1, 2011 and registered May 31, 2011 as a Delaware C Corp. With this change, the company has focused strongly on environmentally sustainable products to supply organic nutrients for crop production.

With this change, the company has focused strongly on environmentally sustainable products to supply organic nutrients for crop production. Additionally, GSI became a listed B corporation in 2012.

As a B corporation, Grower’s Secret, Inc. supports farmers by making products that are good for business and good for the Earth. In keeping with this mission, Grower’s Secret, Inc. embraces the healthy production of food. GSI’s line of products includes a proprietary concentrated plant growth enhancer (Grower’s Secret Professional), an organic nitrogen fertilizer (Grower’s Secret Nitrogen 14-0-0), a general-purpose liquid fertilizer (Earth Emulsion 2-3-3), a Norwegian Sea kelp fertilizer (Soluble Seaweed 0-0-16), and amino acid micronutrient chelated fertilizers (VitalVit series). All are OMRI listed and CDFA OIM approved for organic food production or should be shortly. Grower’s Secret Inc. is strategically positioned and will continue to meet the growing demand for organic and sustainable food production.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                                                                                                               1

History                                                                                                                                                                                                               2

The Founding of Grower’s Secret                                                                                                                                                     2

The Birth of Grower’s Secret                                                                                                                                                             3

Changing of the Guard                                                                                                                                                                               4

Incorporation of Grower’s Secret                                                                                                                                                  4

Corporate Information                                                                                                                                                                 4

Corporate Culture – Mission                                                                                                                                                                4

Product Relationship to Our Culture                                                                                                                                         4

Corporate Logo                                                                                                                                                                                               5

Organization                                                                                                                                                                                                     5

Personnel                                                                                                                                                                                                               5

Board of Directors                                                                                                                                                                                         5

Locations                                                                                                                                                                                                              5

What is a B Corporation? 5

Citations                                                                                                                                                                                                               6

= [null History] =

[null The Founding of Grower’s Secret]
The Grower’s Secret Story began in the late 1970’s when Bryan Hiromoto and Wesley Chun were both Master’s Degree Candidates in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Hawaii. The two night owls became fast friends, over late-night coffee, food at Zippy’s, and long discussions about science and work. Mr. Hiromoto’s Master’s Degree project was to find a use for sugarcane bagasse. Bagasse is the plant residue that remains after sugar is extracted and can account for up to 25% of the total weight of sugarcane. It is usually discarded as agricultural waste or burned to produce energy for the sugarcane mill. Both are regarded as pollutants. Knowing that bagasse contained between 60% to 80% carbohydrates, one obvious choice is to convert bagasse into ethanol for fuel. However, Mr. Hiromoto was not one to jump on a bandwagon and wanted another alternative. “Why not mushrooms?” they asked and the rest was history. Mr. Hiromoto’s degree work resulted in multiple patents for mushroom culture on a bagasse substrate for the wood or jelly ear fungus (Auricularia sp.).

After graduation, Mr. Hiromoto returned to the family farm on Maui and parlayed his Master’s Degree work into starting the Haiku Mushroom Company. The first product was the wood ear fungus. Known locally as pepeiao, the wood year (or jelly ear) was a prized delicacy in the local community. It wasn’t long before Bryan adapted his medium to successfully grow Pleurotus sp. (oyster mushrooms). Bryan’s drive for improvement led to an improved mushroom production medium using sorghum as a substrate instead of bagasse. Within a few years, this small but successful company actively produced hundreds of pounds of Auricularia (jelly ear), Pleurotus (oyster), and Lentinula (shiitake) mushrooms. As the years accumulated, so did Mr. Hiromoto’s knowledge and mastery over mushroom cultivation. Meanwhile, Mr. Chun went on to earn a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology specializing in phytobacteriology and molecular biology from the University of California, Riverside. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Missouri in bacterial genetics and host-parasite physiology. In 1991, he accepted a faculty position at the University of Idaho.

In 1995, Mr. Hiromoto called Dr. Chun to discuss a problem he had with one of his oyster mushroom production bags. Dr. Chun quickly recognized it as a contamination by the saprophytic nematode Rhabditis sp. Surprisingly, two days later, all the nematodes were dead. Prior reports only indicated a temporary paralysis of nematodes by oyster mushrooms (3). This new observation was worth pursuing. Mr. Hiromoto found that water extracts from the growth medium also had the nematocidal activity. Excited by this discovery, Mr. Hiromoto collected and tested over 300 isolates of several genera and species of mushrooms, and identified three genera of mushroom fungi that had nematocidal activity.

From the initial observation through 1997, Mr. Hiromoto and Dr. Chun each investigated the new discovery in their spare time. By 1997, Mr. Hiromoto developed a liquid fermentation growth medium made from pineapple juice obtained from the canning industry, and molasses from the sugarcane industry. In 1998, he adapted the recipe to use “retentate,” a centrifuged fraction of pineapple juice that had higher fiber content. Dr. Chun took a more traditional approach and identified bactericidal, fungicidal, and helminthocidal activities in the mushroom fungi. By 1998, Mr. Hiromoto and Dr. Chun discovered a heat labile nematocidal activity, and a heat stable plant growth stimulating activity from one particular mushroom fungus. Dr. Chun and his graduate student, Loreto Robles was also able to isolate, purify, and chemically characterize a novel bactericidal compound (1, 2).

[null The Birth of Grower’s Secret]
In May 1998, after several meetings with Albert Pleus and Randy Havre, Advanced Biological Research, LLC (ABR) – Hawaii was formed to research and develop the nematocidal and plant growth promoting activities into agricultural products. Mr. Hiromoto served as Managing Director of ABR, and Mr. Pleus, Mr. Havre, and John Farias (former Head of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture) served on the Board of Directors. In the next two years, the fermentation culture medium composition was improved to enhance production of the nematocidal and plant growth promoting activities. In 2001, ABR was a recipient of a technology support grant. Procedures for fermentation and processing of large-scale cultures were developed and third-party field tests were conducted to quantify the plant growth promoting ability of LCF. Protocols were developed to grow and process large fermentation cultures. By 2003, large bioreactor incubation conditions and processing were established and commercial production of LCF was in full swing. The growth enhancer was sold commercially in Hawai’i as Liquid Compost Factor to distributors such as BEI, Crop Production Services, and Pacific Agricultural Sales and Service (PacAg). PacAg marketed LCF under their Island Supreme Brand as Plant Growth Enhancer (PGE) in retail stores such as Ace Hardware, KMart, and Long's Drugs, and to commercial farms.

[null Changing of the Guard]
In December 2007 Dr. Chun joined the company as Chief Science Officer. Production procedures were standardized. Application for OMRI listing was initiated in 2009 and was approved by the Organic Materials Resource Institute in 2010. In 2009, Mr. Hiromoto retired from ABR due to failing health. In 2009, Chaz Berman was hired as CEO of ABR.

[null Rebranding and Incorporation of Grower’s Secret]
In 2010, ABR was renamed Grower’s Secret, Inc (GSI). The plant growth enhancer was rebranded as Grower’s Secret Professional (GSP), marketing efforts were expanded, and the company explored expanding the product line. Grower’s Secret, Inc. became official April 1, 2011 and was registered May 31, 2011 as a Delaware C Corporation. In 2011, Corporate Headquarters and a warehouse/bottling facility were established in San Francisco, CA and Oakland, CA respectively. In 2015, Corporate Headquarters moved to its present location in Walnut Creek, CA. In 2017, the warehouse/processing facility was moved to Pittsburg, CA and the Research Lab moved from Puunene on Maui to Honolulu on Oahu.

= Corporate Image =

[null Corporate Culture – Mission]
The official GSI tag line has been “Innovative Organic Solutions.”  We are driven by our desire to do good for business and good for the Earth. Our mission is to champion for environmentally responsible food production. Our approach is to use organic, renewable ingredients for the production of organic fertilizers and plant growth enhancers. Our ultimate goal is to help our primary food producers in their quest to become the best stewards of our farmlands and preserve our productive lands for future generations.

[null Product Relationship to Our Culture]
Our products embody our company culture. Raw feedstocks for our products were once destined for the waste stream. Through clever thought and design, these have been repurposed into plant fertilizers and a proprietary plant growth enhancer that can significantly increase food production quantity and quality on our farms.

[null Corporate Logo]
GSI underwent a rebranding process when Mr. Berman was hired as the CEO in 2009. Our name changed from Advanced Biological Research, LLC to Grower’s Secret Inc. The humming bird logo is reminiscent of a popular ornamental plant in Hawaii, the bird of paradise. The droplet serving as an apostrophe represents our proprietary plant growth stimulant, Grower’s Secret Professional that is used by mixing one drop of the concentrate in a quart of water. Our new company name and our basic mission also appear in the logo.

[null Personnel]
Mr. Chaz Berman, CEO

Dr. Chuck Schiller, Vice-President of Product Management

Dr. Wesley Chun, Chief Science Officer

Mr. Kim Miller, Director of Sales

Mr. Creig Murtha, Warehouse Operations

Ms. Stacey Leonis, Administrative Assistant

[null Board of Directors]
Mr. Albert Pleus, Chairperson

Mr. Chaz Berman, Member

[null Locations]
California

Hawaii

= [null What is a B Corporation?] = A “B” Corporation is a for-profit company that is certified by an independent nonprofit organization call the B Lab. As a “B” Corporation, we must meet rigorous standard of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. We are one of more than 1,600 other companies in 42 countries that use business for good. In our case, we are focused on environmentally safe agricultural productivity. As a “B” Corporation, we strive to adhere to the “B” Corporation Declaration of Interdependence:
 * That we    must be the change we seek in the world.
 * That    all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
 * That,    through their products, practices, and profit, businesses should aspire to     do no harm and benefit all.
 * To do    so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent     upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.

[null Citations]
1.         Robles Hernandez, L. 2004. Novel Antimicrobial Activities of Ganoderma lucidium and Laetiporus sulphureus for Agriculture. University of Idaho, Moscow. W. Chun Major Professor.

2.         Robles-Hernández, L., González-Franco, A. C., López-Vega, J. R., Hernández-Huertta, J., and Nevárez-Portillo, G. 2011. Ganoderma lucidum and Streptomyces lydicus as biological control agents of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. American Phytopathological Society, Poster.

3.         Thorn, R. G., and Barron, G. L. 1984. Carnivorous mushrooms. Science 224:76-78.