Ambo Foods’ “Healthy Cookie” Creators say Working with the State’s GrowFL Economic Gardening Program was Like Having “Fairy Godmothers”

VENICE, Fla. – Physicians Anne-Marie Chalmers and Bo Martinsen – the owners of Ambo Foods, a Venice-based, healthy cookie company – say their experience working with the talented people involved with the Florida Economic Gardening Institute’s GrowFL program was nothing short of a godsend.

The husband and wife medical team liken the time their company spent with the experts provided through GrowFL to having “five fairy godmothers.”

“To be involved with GrowFL was an amazing experience,” Chalmers said. “As a business owner there are always situations where you wonder if you are making the right decision. You ask yourself “who do I talk with, where do I get answers about this question?” To have a team of top people, with expertise in their respective field, was god-sent.”

Created in 2009 by the Florida Legislature, the GrowFL program is based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. When selecting businesses to participate, members of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute sought companies with growth potential, according to Dr. Tom O’Neal, executive director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute.

“Ambo foods was a good candidate for the program as it has the potential for continued growth,” said O’Neal, who also is associate vice president for the University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization.

O’Neal said GrowFL supported Ambo Foods through a number of services, including access to market research and technology, strategy analysis, CEO roundtables and forums, database research and website optimization.

Ambo Foods – the company behind the Omega Cookie meal-substitute with a full dose of omega-3 plus fiber and calcium – was founded in 2003 by Martinsen and Chalmers, omega-3 specialists who both received medical training at the University of Oslo in Norway. Born and raised in Norway, Martinsen also trained at the University of Bordeaux in France. Chalmers, a native of the United States, is a graduate of Brown University.

The company has 10 employees and, according to Chalmers, “a desire to expand and move ahead with new ideas.”

“Already several employees have taken up some social media tasks that came as part of GrowFL’s recommendations,” she said. “The increased knowledge about our customers that GrowFL has provided has helped our employees focus their energy and we now have a better understanding as to how we need to market our products.”

Chalmers said the company is planning to launch a new product this fall and the help Ambo received in revamping their website will be a key in making the launch a success. “The encouragement and advice we received from GrowFl has been invaluable.”

About Ambo Foods:
Founded in 2003 by Omega-3 specialists Doctors Bo Martinsen and Anne-Marie Chalmers, Ambo Foods offers several varieties of healthy cookies. Each Omega cookie contains seven capsules worth of omega-3 fish oil, five grams of fiber, 200% of the daily value of Vitamin D and 35% of the daily value of calcium. Ambo Foods was named a winner in the category of innovation at the 2010 annual Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County’s Hall of Fame awards. The honor came as the result of being the first company to create a bakery product that contains an effective dose of omega-3 fish oil. For more information about the Omega Cookie or Ambo Foods, visit www.omegacookie.com.

About The Florida Economic Gardening Institute / GrowFL:
The Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida was established in 2009. Initially funded by the Florida Legislature, the Institute has provided services via the State of Florida’s Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program, known as GrowFL. With various partnerships throughout the state, including Orange County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, the Institute collaborates with statewide partners to support the growth of second-stage businesses through localized entrepreneurial ecosystems. Additional information is available at www.GrowFL.com.