Our Bliss is Your Bliss

OUR BLOG HAS MOVED!

2010-07-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

We will leave this blog here (for the memories), but all other posts will be handled at our new website.

-Ciao,

Vince

Coconut Bliss New Website RELEASED - Come By!

2010-06-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

It's been about 2 years in the making, but we've released our new website! There are still elements coming online with it, but the blog will move there (this Blogger blog will be retired), and we'll release some more bells & whistles for the site as they come online.

We'd love to hear your thoughts about our new site. Comments welcome below. Thank you! :)

~Vince

Coconut Bliss in The Applewood Quarterly

2010-06-11T14:59:00.001-07:00

I've always love the little unexpected things in life, today one of those such things came via email. After sharing a few emails with Pamela she told me that her daughter Natalie McDonald had written an article about Coconut Bliss for a paper she publishes 3 times a year, The Applewood Quarterly. I asked Pamela if we could republish it for everyone else & she was delighted to share.
From the Applewood Quarterly;

If you have ever taken it upon yourself to walk down the ice cream aisle of Whole Foods, you may have noticed a shelf of colorful ice cream cartons proclaiming “Luna and Larry’s Organic Coconut Bliss.” When I first noticed these, I was rather confused, for the entire selection of different colored cartons said “Coconut Bliss.” Surely you can’t have eleven different versions of coconut ice cream? If I had looked more closely, I would have noticed that each carton did have a different flavor... then why did they all say “Coconut Bliss” on them? Well, because all of the flavors are made with coconut milk!

When Luna and Larry met, they discovered that they shared a passion for delicious and natural foods, one of their favorites being ice cream. They did not, however, like how they felt after eating it. One day, they came across a hand- cranked ice cream maker being sold for $1.50, and bought it. When they began making their first batch of ice cream, Luna suggested that they use coconut milk and agave syrup, instead of cow’s milk and sugar. They did, and when they tried their first bite, they knew they had discovered something. Soon they were hosting weekly tasting parties of new flavors at their house in Eugene, Oregon. Two of Luna and Larry’s friends who owned grocery stores in Eugene, asked if they could sell “Coconut Bliss” in their shops. Now, “Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss” is sold nationwide!

Coconut oil is a saturated fat; however, it is a medium chain fatty acid, which our bodies can easily break down and store as energy, whereas the unhealthy saturated fats are long chain fatty acids, which our bodies store as fat. Doctors believe that coconut oil is actually the healthiest oil for consumption. Agave syrup, is a low glycemic sweetener, unlike refined sugars. Sugars work very much the same way that saturated fats do; low glycemic sweeteners are easier for our bodies to process, and will be stored and used efficiently.

Of course, we had to try “Coconut Bliss,” and it is quite delicious! So far our favorite flavor is Pineapple Coconut. Yum! For more information, visit www.coconutbliss.com

Larry Shares His Story of Coconut Bliss (Smartups Video)

2010-06-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Rarely does one get a chance to really look at the insides of a successful business--the ups and downs, the stories, the lessons learned...

Larry Kaplowitz, the co-founder of Coconut Bliss, recently gave a speech at a local Willamette Valley-focused entrepreneurs group called Smartups, which is headed-up by local entrepreneur Caroline Cummins. Even though I work here at 'Bliss' and know a lot about the process of Luna & Larry finding their 'bliss', I thoroughly enjoyed this speech (from the back of the room) and learned a lot. For your enjoyment, here it is (and thanks goes to Smartups for handling the videography):

VIDEO (see bottom of page): http://coconutbliss.com/about/about-us

And here's an article about Smartups.org ...

Enjoy!

~Vince

Bliss Cart Is Showing UP--Pedal Powered Bike Cart Is In EUGENE!

2010-06-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

You've heard about our Coconut Bliss "Bliss Cart", right?

It's Coconut Bliss bars in a traditional 'ice cream cart'. And the Bliss Cart doesn't use gas to move--it's totally pedal powered. KVAL interviewed our "Bliss Cart Empress" Christina about it: fun video.

Here's our Bliss Cart pix on Flickr.

Today, Wed, June 2nd, the Bliss Cart will be at the Lanestock 2010 event at LCC (3,500 attendees!).

This Friday, he will be stationed at the Greater Goods during the First Friday Art Walk from 5-8.

We'd love to see you there! Also, check out:

The BLISS CART Facebook page

BLISS CART Twitter feed

...to find out where we'll be next. AND if you know of a place you'd like us to be at, we're all ears: email Christina@coconutbliss.com

~Vince

Blissfull in Canada: Sales Road Trip to CHFA 2010

2010-05-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

What can we say … the Bliss Crew gave their all to Canada, and she responded in kind. We traveled up there from Eugene, Oregon in our decked out Bio-diesel van. Crossing the border with minimal fuss--and after a bit of a headache trying to find suitable parking in the fair city of Vancouver--we settled in, ready to make an impact at our first Western Canadian Health Food Association show.

On Friday, we set up our booth in record time and headed out to Lynn Canyon Park for an afternoon hike along the river. After a quick dunk in the extremely cold ;-) river near the falls (and after getting to know the locals--some of them doing back-flips off the cliffs--yikes!), we went back to the hotel energized by nature, and ready for an awesome show.

The show was held in the beautiful new "eco friendly" Vancouver Convention Centre . In addition to it being run on green power, there was even a goose standing sentry on the corner of their "green roof"!

From the very beginning of the show we had more than a steady flow of people thrilled to have us participating. We heard such things as:

“ Wow!”,
"This is amazing!” ,
“How is this possible with just coconuts?”,
“Are you sure this is dairy free?”,
“We love Bliss!” ,
“Ah...THANK GOD you guys are in Canada now!”
...and so forth. We even had people mention that they had been ferrying our product over the border(!) for the last few years. We never get tired of hearing 'feedback' like this from our customers--and we feel gratitude and appreciation for it all.

To sum it up, CHFA was great! We felt so welcomed into the Canadian natural food's scene. We even won the "Most Creative Small Booth Award"! After making great connections with store buyers and Bliss fans, we feel real excitement about being in Canada. We are looking forward to going north again next year... and in case you live up that way, check out www.coconutbliss.com for the stores near you that carry Bliss.

~Much Love and Respect,
“Bliss” Sales Team – Marc, Chris & Toby

The The Importance of Certified Fair Trade Ingredients: Larry's Interview

2010-05-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick interview that Larry did at Expo West, explaining why we (at Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss) choose to include Certified Fair Trade ingredients in our coconut milk-based frozen-dessert.

Larry, take it away...

Spreading The Bliss: From Oregon to Minnesota to California...

2010-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

I recently went touring with reknown kirtan singer Dave Stringer across my gorgeous home state of Oregon and also in Wisconsin and Minnesota, including the cities of Madison and Minneapolis.

The tour was sponsored by Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss, so each event was blessed with generous servings of Bliss for all in a nice assortment of flavors. All events were well attended (averaging 150-200).

For those of you not familiar with 'kirtan', this is a form of bhakti yoga, which is basically singing mantras in Sanskrit (the oldest language on the earth) together with the crowd - it's a great way to get everyone singing! Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotional practice, established in ancient times in India. Dave Stringer is particularly good at getting everyone singing passionately, and his musical compositions rock!

Being a kirtan singer/songwriter and student of yoga myself, and an integral part of the marketing team here at Coconut Bliss, I've been involved a lot this year connecting up with the growing yoga and kirtan communities across the country. There's so much networking going on! So many great people doing great things that really are improving the quality of life for all beings.

This photo was taken in the cafe after the kirtan at Old Arizona in Minneapolis, which is a beautifully restored building complex in downtown Minneapolis. Dave on the left, me on the right, and in the middle is our Minneapolis 'rep' Nicole Brenny, who is also a blogger.

Old Arizona co-owner Darcy Knight told me a bit of their story: they were aware of this inner-city street corner with dilapidated historic buildings where young girls involved in prostitution frequented, and they decided they would take action and transform the whole thing. They came in and built a community center complete with its own theater, cafe, chocolate bar and wine room, etc. and started a non-profit arts program to benefit the teen girls in the area: The Arizona Bridge Project. All net proceeds of the cafe and theater go to the non-profit.

Read more about their story here: http://www.oldarizona.com/about.php

We have so many exciting events going on, but the next big one that I will be attending is the Harmony Fest in Santa Rosa, CA. We are a sponsor of this great alternative festival, and Christina and Michael will be running the Bliss Cart, selling Coconut Bliss bars all weekend:

June 11,12,13
www.harmonyfestival.com

I'll be there performing Saturday night and also Sunday at the Goddess Grove stage at 3:30pm.

Grab a bar and come on by for a listen!

Peace and Blessings,
~Jaya Lakshmi

Upcoming (FREE) Coconut Bliss Tastings in May

2010-05-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

Currently you will find Coconut Bliss on sale at all Whole Foods nationwide until May 11th, so be sure to stop into your nearest Whole Foods and stock up on the goodness! You’ll also notice that we are doing plenty of tastings this coming weekend before the sale is over. There will be more tasting posted later, so stay tuned and look for your city…

~ Christina, Bliss Cart Ambassador and Demo Coordinator

Thursday May 6th

Kris @ Whole Foods Venice, CA 11-2

Christine @ Whole Foods Union Square, NYC 11-2

Gail @ Martindale’s Natural Market in Springfield, PA 12-3

Aandi @ Whole Foods Sauganash, IL Ladies Night 5-8

Friday May 7th

Aandi @ Whole Foods Gold Coast Chicago, IL 11-2

Keenan @ Whole Foods Saint Francis, Santa Fe, NM 11-3

Ciera @ Whole Foods Fourth South, Salt Lake City, UT 11-6

Aandi @ Whole Foods Lincoln Park Chicago, IL 3-6

Sarah @ Whole Foods Cranbrook Ann Arbor, MI 3-6

Taryn @ Whole Foods Tempe, AZ 3-6

Layla @ Whole Foods Westlake, Seattle, WA 3-6

Saturday May 8th

Keenan @ Whole Foods Academy Albuquerque, NM 10-2

Megan @ Whole Foods Broadway Boulder, CO 11-2

Chris @ Whole Foods Green Hills, Nashville, TN 11-2

Larry @ Whole Foods Plano, TX 11-2

Ciera @ Whole Foods Sugar House, Salt Lake City, UT 11-2

Kris @ Whole Foods Torrance, CA 11-2

Steve @ Whole Foods Bridgeport Portland, OR 11-2

Aandi @ Whole Foods Halstead & Waveland, IL 11-2

Ernie @ Whole Foods Briarcliff Atlanta, GA 11-2:30

David @ Whole Foods Gateway Austin, TX 11-3

Nicole @ Grassroots Co-Op, Anoka, MN (Grand Opening!) 11-3

Rachel @ Whole Foods Roosevelt Seattle, WA 11-6

Shelly @ Whole Foods Novato, CA (New Store!) 11-6

Josh @ Whole Foods Omaha, NE 12-2

Gail @ Whole Foods North Wales, PA 12-3

Larry @ Whole Foods Park Lane Dallax, TX 2:30-6:30

Kris @ Whole Foods Redondo Beach, CA 3-6

Priya @ Whole Foods Santa Cruz, CA 3-6

Steve @ Whole Foods Fremont Portland, OR 3-6

Aandi @ Whole Foods Lakeview Chicago, IL 3-6

Ernie @ Whole Foods Johns Creek Atlanta, GA 3-6:30

Keenan @ Whole Foods Indian School Plaza Albuquerque, NM 3-7

Nicole @ Whole Foods Minneapolis, MN 4-7

Sunday May 9th

Sarah @ Whole Foods Ann Arbor 12-5

Tuesday May 11th

Marie @ Whole Foods Greenwich, CT 11-2

Friday May 14th

Marie @ Mrs. Greens in Mt. Kisco, NY 11-2

Saturday May 15th

Kris @ The Celiac Expo in Los Angles, CA

Christina @ The Life Source Food Fair in Salem, OR w/ the Bliss Cart 8-4

Gail @ Kimberton Whole Foods in Downington, PA 12-3

Sunday May 16th

Kris @ World Fest in Los Angeles, Woodley Park 10:30-7

Are your recipes 'Blissful'?

2010-05-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

If you've been seeing any of the smoothie recipes or videos by Diana Stobo, you may have noticed she often uses Coconut Bliss as an ingredient. It's a great choice for all kinds of delicious situations. The organic coconut milk in Coconut Bliss imparts a creamy texture to your food-- and it has no fillers, or artificial anything.

Our resident chef Chris Garrison uses our 'Naked Coconut' flavor as a base for his "Asian fusion" creations. Instead of coconut milk, he adds in a scoop to his veggie stir-fries, noodle dishes and more. It's easier than can openers and messy, metallic cans of coconut milk...

Saying all this, if you ever see cool recipes on the web that mention Coconut Bliss, feel free to let us know about them. Or make up your own and share them with us. You can send us the links to them via Kiley@coconutbliss.com

Bon apetit!

~Vince

FREE BLISS EVERYWHERE (almost)

2010-04-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Demos of Coconut Bliss in April. Here they are!

Thursday April 15th

Kris @ Whole Foods Venice Beach, CA 11-2

Lisa @ Whole Foods Santa Rosa, CA 3:30-6:30

Friday April 16th

Megan @ Whole Foods Colorado Blvd. In Glendale, CO. 11-2

Christina @ Whole Foods Bellaire, Houston, TX 11-2

Lisa @ Whole Foods Palo Alto, CA 11-2

Larry @ Central Market Ft. Worth, TX 3-6

David @ Central Market Austin Central, TX 3-6

Christina @ Whole Foods Kirby, Houston, TX 3-6

Lisa @ Whole Foods Los Gatos, CA 3-6

Saturday April 17th

Kathy @ Jimbo’s Escondido, CA 10:30-1:30

Nicole @ Fresh and Natural in Plymouth, MN 11-1

Christina @ A Moveable Feast Houston, TX 11-2

Chris @ Whole Foods Boca Raton, FL 11-2

Lisa @ Whole Foods SF SoMA, CA 11-2

Layla @ Madison Market Central Co-Op in Seattle WA 11-2

David @ Central Market Westgate Austin, TX 11-2

Steve @ Whole Foods Tanasbourne Portland, OR 11-2

Larry @ Central Market Dallas, TX 11-3

Shelly @ The Real Food Company in San Francisco, CA 12-4 Earth Day Event

Dena @ NRG Nature’s Finest in St. Petersburg, FL 2-5

Priya @ The Food Bin in Santa Cruz, CA 2-5

Kathy @ Jimbo’s 4S Ranch, CA 2:30-5:30

Layla @ West Seattle Thriftway 3-6

Lisa @ Rainbow Grocery Co-Op in San Francisco, CA 3-7

Sarah @ Arbor Farms Market in Ann Arbor, MI 3-6

Chris @ Whole Foods Palm Beach Gardens, FL 3-7

Christina @ Whole Foods Wilcrest in Houston, TX 3:30-6:30

Dena @ NRG Palm Harbor, FL 6-9

Sunday April 18th

Ernie @ Whole Foods Ponce De Leon 11-2:30

Lisa @ Whole Foods Cupertino, CA 12-4

Nicole @ Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, MN 3-6

Ernie @ Sevananda 3-6:30

Monday April 19th

Lisa @ Whole Foods Walnut Creek, CA 12-4

Thursday April 22nd

Kiley @ First Alternative Co-Op Corvallis, OR 4-7 Earth Day Celebration

Friday April 23rd

Christina @ Whole Foods Baton Rouge, LA 3-6

Saturday April 24th

Rachel @ Metropolitan Market Admiral Seattle, WA 11-2

Layla @ Metropolitan Market Sand Point Seattle, WA 11-2

Christina @ Whole Foods Woodway Houston, TX 11-2

Steve @ Zupan’s Macadam in Portland, OR 11-2

Barbara @ Whole Foods Woodmere OH 11-3

Jessica @ Whole Foods University Heights Cleveland, OH 11-3

Ernie @ Earth Fare in Athens, GA 11-3

Shelly @ Whole Foods in Oakland, CA 12-4 Earth Day Celebration Event

Christina @ Central Market in Houston, TX 2:30-5:30

Megan @ Whole Foods Capitol Hill Denver, CO 3-6

Ernie @ Daily Groceries Co-Op in Athens, GA 3:30-6:30

Nathan @ Whole Foods Palatine Chicago, IL 3-6

Sunday April 25th

Larry @ Central Market South Lake Dallas, TX 2-5

Tuesday, April 27th

Kris @ Whole Foods Fairfax, CA 4-7 Vegan Vendor Day!

Wednesday April 28th

Marie @ Whole Foods Jericho, NY 11-2

Thursday April 29th

Marie @ Whole Foods Manhasset, NY 11-2

Nathan @ Whole Foods Chicago Ave in Evanston, IL 11-2

Nathan @ Whole Foods Evanston, IL 3-6

Friday April 30th

Marie @ Whole Foods White Plains, NY 11-2

Nathan @ Whole Foods Wheaton, IL 11-2

Nicole @ Whole Foods St. Francis Santa Fe, NM 11-3

Nathan @ Whole Foods Willowbrook, IL 3-6

Ciera @ Whole Foods Highland Drive in Salt Lake City UT 3-6

Diana Stobo Makes A Mango Lassi

2010-04-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hey, Diana Stobo and Benjamin dropped by the office today--driving all the way from Northern California to our little office in Eugene, OR! Thanks for the visit, Diana. :)

And, saying that, here's her most recent smoothie, the Mango Lassi, featuring Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss.

Feel free to check out her health & nutrition book "Get Naked Fast" and her website. Her story is inspiring and her recipes rock.

~Vince

Let's Talk About Agave

2010-03-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

We have heard from a number of people who were alarmed by what they read in Dr. Mercola's recent article about agave syrup. We also were alarmed --not by the case Dr. Mercola makes, but by some blatant misinformation contained in his article.

We care very much about the healthfulness and integrity of our products, so we decided that it was very important for us to personally see, firsthand, where our agave syrup comes from and the process by which it is made. So in February, our general manager, Doug Furlong, took a trip to Jalisco, Mexico, to visit the agave fields and processing plants where our agave syrup is produced. (This trip is documented, with photos, on our blog at: http://coconutbliss.com/blog/doug/doug-visits-our-agave-farm-part-1).

What Doug saw was completely different from what Mercola describes. Mercola states,

"The process by which agave starch and inulin are converted into "nectar" is VERY similar to the process by which cornstarch is converted into HFCS1. The agave starch is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals."

Doug, who has an extensive background in food science and manufacturing, witnessed the entire process, from harvest to finished product, and what he saw was a very simple process in which the agave piñas (which, contrary to what Mercola states, contain no starch), were ground up and sprayed with water to remove the juice, which was then heated to break down the inulin into fructose, mechanically filtered through screens to remove impurities, and then evaporated with a process that used only heat and a vacuum to remove excess moisture. That’s it. None of the chemicals or enzymes that Mercola describes were used, and there is no resemblance to the process used to make HFCS1. If you have ever ground, heated and strained something in your kitchen (e.g., making applesauce or tomato sauce), that is a much closer comparison to the process used to make agave syrup.

Dr. Mercola goes on to make what we find to be an offensive generalization when he refers to "...poor quality control in Mexican processing plants..." What Doug saw in the three plants he visited was state-of-the art equipment and extensive sanitation and quality control procedures that matched the best food processing plants he's seen in the U.S. He also got to spend time with the farmers and the people who work in the plants (two of which are collectively owned by the farmers), and was impressed with the great sense of pride they had in the quality and integrity of their work. The plants and farms are also certified in compliance with USDA organic standards, and meet several other international standards for quality assurance. The certified organic agave farms use no inputs of any kind on the plants—no fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides—not even water. The agave plants are very well adapted to the environment in Jalisco and naturally thrive there.

While we cannot vouch for the whole agave industry, but only for the three facilities Doug visited (which supply not only us, but many other excellent organic food companies), some of the negative claims that Mercola makes about the agave industry (e.g., “there are very few quality controls in place to monitor the production of agave syrup…”; “…some distributors are cutting agave syrup with corn syrup..”), are not documented in his article. This raises the question of whether they are based on hearsay and conjecture rather than data.

The issue of fructose in the diet is very complex, and there is a dizzying array of conflicting information circulating around the Internet about this topic. We are continuing to do our own exploration and research on this, but I encourage everyone to take what you read on this subject with a hearty grain of salt, and to explore the research yourself. If you dig in to many of the articles that have recently been circulating around the Internet, you will see that there are very few actual research studies cited, but much extrapolation, conjecture, inference, questionable or faulty interpretation of research, and blatant misinformation.

What we have found, so far, in the studies we have seen, is that fructose is only problematic in excess, but causes no difficulties, for most people, in moderate amounts (up to 50-60 grams per day). Moderation is essential. Coconut Bliss is a dessert, not a staple food, and we have to trust people to consume it appropriately. We agree with many of the agave critics when they say that it is a problem that some people assume that the low glycemic index of agave syrup gives them carte blanche to consume it in large quantities. It is important to keep in mind that many foods or nutrients can cause health problems when eaten in excess.

We have asked a highly credentialed nutritionist, Buck Levin, Ph.D., R.D., for his assessment of the health properties of Coconut Bliss. Here is his conclusion:

“The amount of fructose provided by one serving of Coconut Bliss (between 10-12 grams) falls well under the risk threshold established in these dietary studies. It’s not only an amount of fructose that falls well under the health risk level, but it’s also an amount of fructose that is readily matched and exceeded in many whole, natural foods. A large apple, for example (3.25 inches in diameter), contains slightly more fructose (13 grams). So does 1 medium-sized banana plus 1 cup of blueberries. And if you compare the amount of fructose in one serving of Coconut Bliss with the amount of fructose in 200 calories worth of many other commonly-consumed foods, it is dramatically lower. 200 hundred calories worth of unsweetened applesauce, for example, contains 25-30 grams of fructose. So does 200 calories worth of unsweetened apple juice or grape juice. Even 200 calories worth of red grapes contain about twice as much fructose (23 grams) as a serving of Coconut Bliss with the same caloric value. Given these everyday food comparisons and the health research on fructose as a dietary risk factor, the use of agave syrup as an ice cream sweetener seems far from excessive and also removed from research-based health concerns in this area.”

(Buck’s full article, including extensive documentation, is available at: http://www.coconutbliss.com/Buck_Levin.pdf)

Another very clear and well documented paper about agave syrup, fructose, and other sugars, can be found here: http://www.coconutbliss.com/Agave_Syrup_9.4.09.pdf

I do not question Dr. Mercola’s motives, but sadly recognize that we live in a time and culture where everyone and everything seems to be suspect (often deservedly so), and negative charges seem to be given much more credibility than positive ones. Sensationalism sells. Our current politics are full of this (many people probably still believe that Barack Obama is not really a U.S. citizen!) I would welcome a public discussion about agave syrup that is based, not on sensationalism and bully pulpits, but rather on facts and documented research.

Blissfully yours,

Larry Kaplowitz

Co-founder, Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss

Doug Visits our Agave Farm (Part 2)

2010-03-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is part two of a travel journal from our General Manager, Doug Furlong; he visited the source of our agave nectar in Jalisco, Mexico. The blog post has been moved to our new blog and website here: http://coconutbliss.com/blog/doug/doug-visits-our-agave-farm-part-2

Diana Stobo Kale Colada Recipe with Pineapple Coconut Bliss

2010-03-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Diana loves our Coconut Bliss in her "Kale Colada" smoothie. She adds Pineapple Coconut Bliss in at about 1:30. ;) YUM!

Feel free to check out her health & nutrition book "Get Naked Fast" and her site; there's great stuff in there. She also recommends us as a healthier food choice in her book. Thanks, Diana!

~Vince

Expo West 2010 Recap: Bliss in Anaheim

2010-03-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

Chris G., Marc D., Kris W. , Toby G.

It was fun, it was loud, it was successful: Expo West (and East) is an event that any natural products company should make a space for on their calendar. Whether you go there to view new products or share your own, it's the place to download massive amounts of ideas regarding healthy food, beverages, beauty goods, and more.

Bliss Demo Queen Christina S.

Toby at the booth--note our new "Food Service "1.5 gallon tubs!

Our newest item? We're now offering 1.5 gallon 'food service' tubs; if you've got a restaurant/ice cream-coffee-smoothie shop, or commissary and you'd like some, you can reach us at foodservice@coconutbliss.com .

Airplanes are fun...

The 'conga line' in front of our booth (that was rumored to happen on Facebook) never materialized. However, we were very appreciative of our booth visitors, and their patience, as they waited in long lines to sample our many flavors of "Bliss".

###

I'm back in my office finally, enjoying a bar of Naked Coconut. And...it is good to be back home. :) If I missed you at Expo or if you have something to share about your experiences there, please leave me a comment. Blessings. :)

~Marc D. , National Sales Manager

Free Bliss: Demos For The Next 2 Weeks of March UPDATED

2010-03-05T18:54:00.001-08:00

Here's where you can find Bliss for the next 2 weeks of March. Check out these demos--it's a great chance to try a new flavor, or revisit an old one.

And enjoy your weekend... :

Saturday March 6th

Ernie @ Whole Foods Harry’s Farmer’s Market in Alpharetta, GA 11-6 (11-2 is Ice Cream Contest)
Kristina @ Co-Opportunity in Santa Monica, CA 11-2
Layla @ Olympia Co-Op East in Olympia, WA 11-2
Rachel @ Town & Country Ballard in Seattle, WA 11-2
Steve @ Zupan’s on Burnside in Portland, OR 11-2
Layla @ Olympia Co-Op West in Olympia, WA 3-6
Steve @ Food Front in Portland, OR 3-6
Taryn @ Whole Foods Paradise Valley in Phoenix, AZ 4:30-7:30

Thursday March 11th-Sunday March 14th

Coconut Bliss @ EXPO West in Anaheim, CA
Sunday March 7th

Kris @ Whole Foods Redondo Beach in CA 11-2
Wednesday, March 10th

Melanie @ Harvest Co-Op in Cambridge, MA 1-4

Friday March 12th

Anne @ Harvest Market in Ft. Bragg, CA 3-7
Saturday March 13th

Ciera @ Good Earth in Sandy, UT. 11-2
David @ Vitamin Cottage in Austin, TX 11-2
Megan @ Vitamin Cottage Northglenn in Denver, CO 11-2
Nicole @ Fresh & Natural in Plymouth, MN 11-2
Priya @ New Leaf Community Market in Felton, CA 11-2
Sarah @ Natural Food Patch in Ferndale, MI 11-2
Shelly @ Berkeley Bowl West in Berkeley, CA 11-2
Taryn @ Whole Foods in Chandler, AZ. 11-2
Melanie @ Good Health in Hanover, MD 1-4
Sarah @ Plum Market Bloomfield Hills Location in MI 3-6
Tuesday March 16th

Christine @ Whole Foods Bowery in New York 12-3
Friday March 19th

Marie @ Organica in North Vale, NJ 11-2
Megan @ Whole Foods Cherry Creek in Denver, CO. 3-6
Saturday March 20th

Marie @ Health Shoppe in Morristown, NJ 11-2
Aandi @ Whole Foods Hinsdale in Chicago, IL 11-2
Ciera @ Whole Foods Sugar House in Salt Lake City, UT 11-2
Lisa @ North Coast Co-Op in Arcata, CA 11-2
Rachel @ Metropolitan Market Queen Anne in Seattle, WA 11-2
Larry @ Whole Foods Park Lane (Brand New Store!) in Dallas, TX 3-7
Lisa @ Eureka Co-Op in Eureka, CA 3-6
Sunday March 21st

Kathy @ Whole Foods La Jolla in San Diego, CA 2-5
Tuesday March 23rd

Christine @ Whole Foods Union Square in New York 12-3

Saturday March 27th

Ernie @ Return to Eden in Atlanta, GA 11-2:30
Shelly @ Gluten Free Fair at Whole Foods Petaluma 11-2
Larry @ Market Street in Plano, TX from 11-2
Nicole @ Fresh and Natural Shore View in Minneapolis, MN 11-2
Shelagh @ Hy-Vee Market in Olathe, KS 11-2
Priya @ Spring Fling Tasting Fair Whole Foods Capitola in CA 11-2
David @ Whole Foods Lamar in Austin, TX 11-2
Steve @ Zupan’s on Belmont in Portland, OR 11-2
Nicole @ La Montanita Co-Op in Santa Fe, NM 12-3
Ernie @ Whole Foods West Paces Ferry in Atlanta, GA 3-6:30
Shelagh @ Whole Foods Overland Park in Overland Park, KS 3-6
Ciera @ Whole Foods Fourth South in Salt Lake City, UT 3-6

~Vince :)

Doug Visits our Agave Farm (Part 1)

2010-03-05T12:05:00.000-08:00

Recently at Coconut Bliss, we have been receiving a lot of inquiries from Bliss lovers about agave. There has been a flurry of information coming out on the Internet that challenges its status as a healthy alternative to other sugars.

At Coconut Bliss, we pride ourselves on integrity and honesty, sourcing only the purest and highest quality ingredients. Our own research into agave has culminated just this past week in having our General Manager, Doug Furlong, visit Jalisco, Mexico to personally inspect our agave producer's fields and facilities. This first article will talk about the general parts of how our agave is processed. Future articles in this series will go into detail about this unique plant and food source, and the history that surrounds it...

This is part one of a travel journal from our General Manager, Doug Furlong; he visited the source of our agave nectar in Jalisco, Mexico. The blog post has been moved to our new blog and website here: http://coconutbliss.com/blog/doug/doug-visits-our-agave-farm-part-1

Demo Update: Free Bliss in Cali and AZ

2010-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Besides our February list of demonstration tastings at stores near you (see article below), we just heard of some upcoming demos in California and Arizona. If you're around, come by and have some Bliss on us. :)

2/25 Whole Foods Market(WMF) Venice Beach, CA 3-6pm

2/26 WMF Hillcrest, CA 11am-2pm

2/28 WFM La Jolla, CA 10am-1pm

3/6 WFM Paradise Valley, AZ 4:30-7:30pm

3/6 Co-Opportunity, Santa Monica, CA 11am-2pm

3/7 WFM Redondo Beach, CA 11am-2pm

3/13 WFM Chandler, AZ 11am-2pm

~Vince

Bliss Demos! Taste It For Free...

2010-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick rundown of places where you can taste Coconut Bliss. If you haven't tried it before, welcome to experiencing 'Bliss' for the first time...

Thu Feb 18, 2010

12pm - 2pm Steve @ WF Portland, OR

11:30- 2:30 pm Dan @ Healthy Home & Market in Charlotte, NC

Fri Feb 19, 2010

3pm - 6pm Comet @ Market of Choice Ashland, OR

3pm - 6pm Rachel @ WF Interbay Seattle, WA

2pm- 5pm Shelly @ WF Mill Valley, CA

3:30pm - 6:30pm Anna @ WF Oakland , CA

Sat Feb 20, 2010

11am - 2pm Anna @ WF Soma San Francisco, CA

11am - 2pm David @ WF Gateway Austin, TX

11am- 2pm Chris D. @ WF Nashville, TN

11am - 2pm Larry @ WF Forest Dallas, TX

11am – 2pm Ciera @ WF Sugar House Salt Lake City, UT

11am - 2pm Megan @ Vitamin Cottage East Denver, CO

11am - 2pm Nicole @ WF Academy Albuquerque, NM

11am- 2pm Dan @ Earth Fare Ballantyne Charlotte, NC

11am - 2pm Rachel @ WF Interbay Seattle, WA

11am - 2pm Sarah @ WF Cranbrook Ann Arbor, MI

11am - 2pm Shelly @ WF San Rafael San Rafael, CA

11am - 2pm Steve @ WF Bridgeport Portland, OR

11am- 3pm Ernie @ WF Ponce De Leon Atlanta, GA

11am – 6pm Priya @ WF Santa Cruz, CA

12pm - 4pm Nicole B. @ Taylor Made 1 yr. Anniversary Minneapolis, MN

3pm - 6pm Anna @ WF Berkeley Berkeley, CA

3pm - 6pm Rachel @ WF Roosevelt Seattle, WA

3pm - 6pm Megan @ WF Tamarac Denver, CO

3pm - 6pm Nicole @ WF Indian School Plaza Albuquerque, NM

3pm - 6pm Sarah @ WF Ann Arbor , MI

3pm – 6pm Ciera @ WF Highland Drive Salt Lake City, UT.

3:30- 6:30 Ernie @ WF Briarcliff Atlanta, GA

4pm - 7pm Steve @ WF Laurelhurst Portland, OR

Sun Feb 21, 2010

11am - 2pm Megan @ WF Cherry Creek Denver, CO

1pm - 4pm Aandi @ WF Lakeview Chicago, IL.

Friday Feb 26th, 2010

12am – 3 pm Christina @ WF Tribeca New York, NY

Sat Feb 27, 2010

11am - 2pm Anna @ WF Potrero Hill San Francisco, CA.

11am- 2pm Layla @ WF Bellevue Seattle, WA

11am- 2pm Dan @ Earth Fare S. Park Charlotte, NC

11am – 2pm Aandi @ WF Lincoln Park Chicago, IL.

11am - 6pm Ernie @ WF Sandy Springs Atlanta, GA

11am - 2pm Larry @ WF Lakewood Dallas, TX

11am - 2pm Rachel @ WF Redmond Seattle, WA

11am - 2pm Shelagh @ WF Overland Park, KS

11am- 2pm Nicole B @ WF Minneapolis, MN

11am – 2pm David @ WF Lamar Austin, TX

3pm- 6pm Shelly @ WF Petaluma, CA

3pm - 6pm Ciera @ WF Park City, UT

3pm - 6pm Larry @ WF Highland Park Dallas, TX

3pm - 6pm Layla @ WF Westlake Seattle, WA

3pm - 6pm Aandi @ WF South Loop Chicago, IL.

3pm - 6pm Shelagh @ WF Metcalf Overland Park, KS

Sunday Feb. 28th, 2010

11am- 6 pm Ernie @ Sevananda in Atlanta, GA

Of Chocolate Elephants, PremRoses, and Valentines...

2010-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a special thank you to Linda at PremRose Edibles for making a delicious lunch for us on a recent Thursday, bringing in Chocolate samples, and basically talking about...well...what else? Chocolate. She makes great chocolate.

In addition to providing chocolate sauce for our "A Night Of Bliss" event in Fall 2009 (you can see her scooping here in this blog post collage), she also did a special pairing of her "rose-petal" sauce for our Coconut Bliss sampling efforts at the recent Eugene Truffle Festival event--where you may have seen our Demo superstar Christina speedily handing out tastes of 'Bliss'...

And what might you ask is Toby and Vince looking at--their mouths agape?

On that plate is an elephant made of solid chocolate, courtesy of Linda at Premrose Edibles. It felt heavy. She may also bring us another. I love working here.

Yes, it is February and-- for some of us--everyday is the 14th.

Happy Valentines day to all of you from us.

May all your chocolate elephant dreams (and your Coconut Bliss ones) come true... :)

Bliss is Free...if you come to these events...

2010-02-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

We are demoing (read: free tasting!) Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss a LOT in February...see if one is happening near you.

And see why it's better than ice cream...it's 'Bliss'. :)

Sun Feb 7, 2010
11am - 3pm Steve @ WF Fremont Store, Portland, OR

Wed Feb 10, 2010
3pm - 6pm Comet @ Ashland Co Op, OR

Thursday Feb. 11th – Saturday Feb. 13th Coconut Bliss will be sampled at
All 5 New Frontier Market Stores in CA & AZ during their Annual Festival of Chocolates Events

Fri Feb 12, 2010
3pm - 6pm Nicole @ Wedge Community Co-op, Minneapolis, MN

Sat Feb 13, 2010
11am - 2pm Nicole @ Eastside Co-Op Minneapolis, MN

11:30am - 2:30pm Megan @ Vitamin Cottage Co. Springs , CO

11:30am - 2:30pm Layla @ Madison Market Co-Op Seattle, WA

11:30am - 2:30pm Megan @ Vitamin Cottage Col. Springs , CO

12pm - 3pm Shelagh @ Community Mercantile Lawrence, KS

3pm - 6pm David @ Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX (New Flavors!)

3pm – 6pm Sarah @ Plum Market Ann Arbor, MI

3:30pm - 6:30pm Megan @ WF New Center Point Col. Springs , CO

11am- 6pm Ernie @ Sevananda Co-Op Atlanta, GA

Coconut Bliss Sampling and Bars at Eugene's Truffle Festival

2010-01-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

Sample some Coconut Bliss for free at the Truffle festival this weekend...

http://www.oregontrufflefestival.com/

It's happening Sunday, January 31st, 2010. Christina, our Demo Coordinator extraordinaire will be sampling many flavors of Bliss and selling BARS!!!

She'll also have a few of our hard-to-find Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss T-shirts. We don't sell them...yet.

Festival Location: Valley River Inn, 1000 Valley River Way, Eugene Oregon
Time: 11am -4pm

A blissful weekend to you all!
~Vince

Guest Blog from Aandi, Chicago Demo Team

2010-01-30T03:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a guest blog post and introduction from one of our Bliss operatives in Chicago, Illinois... :)

The Extended Bliss Family Keeps on Growing and Glowing!

Hi, I’m Aandi and I demo Coconut Bliss in Chicago; I am also a kombucha brewer with a budding new business and new baby daughter. Her name is Ariana Anahata (Anahata is the name of the heart chakra). My beautiful fiancée Angela and I welcomed her into the world on January 3rd, 2010. She is perfect and got a great start in life by us giving conscious consideration to our diet and health before her birth.

Recently, she got a little infection in one of her eyes. My first approach to fix her up - regular warm saline wash and application of coconut oil for its excellent natural germ fighting properties. It worked great, of course. Angela was worried about stretch marks during pregnancy so we started early - applying coconut oil to her belly religiously. Conclusion, no stretch marks! This stuff really works great for everything! After I shave, coconut oil. Toast in the morning, coconut oil! Stir-fry coconut oil! Nature's sports drink - fresh coconut water! I am probably preaching to the choir here. I could just go on and on about the benefits of coconut everything.

I’m also crazy about kombucha, also. Every day when I wake up, kombucha. Last thing before I go to sleep, kombucha. That is why I started a kombucha brewery here in Chicago; it’s called the Living Well Brewery. I also work with green restaurants, and have my own mobile (raw organic) juice bar with wheatgrass and various drink options that I occasionally set up for private events. I am in training to be a juice bar manager at a new green Greek restaurant. I am working with Midwest organic farms to promote local sales in Chicago. My goal is to change the way people feel about food. I am hoping that humanity will get to the point where our gifts of knowledge and wisdom from the generations of past will be shared freely with those of the generations to come and there will be abundance and bliss for all.

P.S. Coconut Bliss is the healthiest ice cream you can buy in my opinion. Vanilla is my favorite.

Thank you for reading!
Much bliss to all!

-Aandi, guest blogger

THE FINE PRINT: The opinions expressed by the "Our Bliss is Your Bliss" bloggers, guest bloggers, and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Bliss Unlimited LLC, related employers, partners, clients, vendors or any employee thereof. Bliss Unlimited LLC is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the authors of these posts.

Introductions: Toby G.

2010-01-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Toby Gamberoni, our latest addition, is part of our Bliss sales team.

A Brit who has extensively traveled the world--often in a bizarre fashion, having hitched over half the planet--has fortunately ended up in the North West, joining our Bliss family from January 2010.

His motivation? "This company is all about community, sharing, creativity, consciousness and fun!" Plus he loves the product: the Pineapple Coconut blew him away!

Toby and his family are all up for a better world, a better diet, healing, and the outdoors. They love to travel, hang with the dog, or get on the bike---you might well find Toby playing football (soccer) or mulling over his garden...regardless of the weather.

In the face of its many environmental challenges, Toby has, from an early age, had a concern for the fate of our planet. In addition to sales, he has taken on the role of Green Coordinator for Coconut Bliss. So, if you have any tips concerning the greener side of business, feel free to share them with us via Facebook, Twitter, or the comment thread on this blog post.

~ Toby and Vince

We just passed 2000 and 3000!

2010-01-21T08:23:00.001-08:00

Within the last couple of weeks, we just passed 2000 fans on Facebook and 3000 fans on Twitter. We're stoked. If you aren't following us, you're missing out on giveaways of free pints and free t-shirts (Bliss T-shirts are hard to find right now, as we don't sell them).

Here are a rundown of all our social media links, so free free to subscribe to one, or all:

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coconut-Bliss/35826736835

Twitter http://twitter.com/lunaandlarrys

Bliss Blog http://www.coconutbliss.blogspot.com

Flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/coconutbliss/pool/

Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/LunaandLarrys

Blissings!

~Vince

Demos Near YOU (and Free Coconut Bliss !)

2010-01-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Check out these upcoming in-store demos of Coconut Bliss!

Santa Cruz, CA @ Staff of Life Jan. 16th 11-2 p.m. www.staffoflifemarket.com
Dallas, TX @ Whole Foods Forest Jan. 16th 11:30-2:30 p.m. www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/preston/
Wesley Chapel, FL Nutrition S'mart Grand Opening Jan. 16th Noon-4 p.m. www.nutritionsmart.com
Clearwater, FL @ Nature's Food Patch Jan. 19th 11-2 p.m. www.naturesfoodpatch.com
Atlanta, GA @ Whole Foods West Paces Jan. 23rd 11-6 p.m. www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/buckhead/
Deerfield, IL @ Whole Foods Deerfield Jan. 23rd 11-2 p.m. www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/deerfield/
Northbrook, IL @ Whole Foods Northbrook Jan. 23rd 3-6 p.m. www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/northbrook/
Tampa, FL @ Rollin' Oats Jan. 29th 11-2 p.m. www.rollinoats.com
Palm Beach Gardens, FL @ Nutrition S'mart Jan. 30th 11-3 p.m. www.nutritionsmart.com
Seattle, WA @ Metro Market Uptown Jan. 30th 4-8 p.m. www.metropolitan-market.com

See you there!!!
-Christina

Introductions: Christina, Demonstration Coordinator

2010-01-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

We have a couple new faces here at the Coconut Bliss offices, and we’d like to take this week’s blog to introduce you to Christina, our new Demonstration Coordinator.

Christina started in October, and has been a huge fan of Coconut Bliss since the first time she tried a bliss shake at Red Barn with the Wild Lavender Blueberry during a hot summer day in 2005. “I’ve been watching Coconut Bliss grow ever since, and am so happy to join the wonderful people and friends who also work to spread the bliss.”

Christina’s passion for good food developed after moving to Oregon ten years ago. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Environmental Studies, with a heavy focus on sustainability in the food sector. "We live in such a unique place and time on this planet, and I'm so thankful to work in a community that supports so many sustainable natural foods businesses. For me, it's all about making choices and creating a new culture that is based on love, creativity, connection, and sharing an abundance of wonderful foods and ideas."

When she’s not hard at work planning demos for Coconut Bliss, you might also find her doing organizational work for a few local non-profits here in Eugene. She also likes to practice Nia, hula hooping, dancing, and often is found home brewing, wild fermenting, and making food with community and friends.

A Small Gift

2009-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

The Coconut Bliss family is extremely grateful for all the support that you, our wonderful fans, have provided us over the last year. We wouldn’t be where we are today without your love & support and this is one small way of saying thank you.

Amy Palatnick, a local potter, made us some small custom bowls for our Night of Bliss boxes and we loved them so much we had her make us a few more for gifts. They have the Coconut Bliss elephant on the underside & each bowl has a unique layering of glazes on them.

After some long and serious contemplation on how I was going to give these bowls away & having no clear thoughts I turned to my co-workers. Lakshmi had a great idea that really stuck with me so I’m going to use it! She wants to see pictures of your favorite way to enjoy Coconut Bliss. This could be something as simple as your pint of choice & favorite ice cream spoon, or as complex as a multi flavor sundae creation.

You can post the picture to our Flickr Group, on our Facebook page, in a Tweet (twitpic ect), or on your own website or blog! Wherever the picture is posted please leave me a link here to the picture & a way to contact you if the picture is not posted to a network I can contact you on.

Feel free to submit as many pictures as you like, but you can only win one of the five bowls I have to giveaway. Entries for the giveaway can be submitted until midnight January 3rd, 2010. I will contact the winners on January 4th, 2010 and hopefully will have been in touch with all of them by January 5th to be able to share all the winning entries with you!

Have a blissful holiday season!
Kiley

Our Coconut Bliss Staff, December 2009...

2009-12-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Big things have been happening over the last couple of months at our Bliss offices as we've been planning for 2010. It culminated this week in putting the finishing touches on our 2010 budget! We're excited, and we've got some really neat things planned for the coming year.

We're also looking back at 2009, and we're really thankful...for our customers and our families, and their support of our Coconut Bliss and the way we do business. We are feeling, well, quite blissful.

So, here's a picture of our team, taken earlier this week in Eugene, on one of the coldest, clearest winter days in (my) memory.

... and just as I typed this, it started raining. Well, back to our normal weather patterns, and time for some Naked Almond Fudge. :)

~Vince

Jaya Lakshmi And Coconut Bliss at SF Green Fest Parties 2009

2009-11-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

[An update from Jaya Lakshmi, Director of Events and Public Relations...]

Last weekend, we had a blast sponsoring the two Green Festival after parties in San Francisco. I flew down for the weekend from Eugene, OR with Jenya (very cheap flights on Alleigant Air!)

We attended Common Ground Magazine's 35th Anniversary party at 1015 Folsom St. We had a table there along with the other sponsors; we gave out samples and sold bars. Shanna, our Bay Area "Bliss Op" came in with the freezer and other supplies (amazing how she handles that freezer!).

It was a rockin' party, split into three rooms - my favorite of course was the cozy 'Kirtan' room downstairs, where I performed a kirtan set, and got to sing along with Mukti (thanks to Shanna & Jenya covering the table). Delhi 2 Dublin played on the main stage, and we also experienced some other great bands and fantastic entertainment by El Cirque. We didn't leave the venue until 4 am!

On Saturday night, November 14th, we sponsored the Hamsa Lila party at the Regency Ballroom, along with Earthdance, Lydia's Lovin' Foods, Nutiva, Alter Eco and other vendors. This was actually a benefit for Common Vision. Our spot was in the lobby, and wow, what a scene it was all night long!

It was quite a tribal family gathering - there must have been at least 800 people there. I recognized folks from all eras of the rainbow trail: super fun to serve out Coconut Bliss, constantly, for 8 hours, and at the end we gave the rest of our bars away. It was surreal to see everyone in the whole lobby licking their Coconut Bliss bars! (Hey, special thanks to those who helped us carry the freezer up & down all those stairs!) Hamsa Lila had an incredible re-union show, stronger than ever.

We'll definitely be back next year, possibly in the Festival as well, to participate in one of the most incredible celebrations of our green economy and neo-tribal culture that happens on the planet...right here on our expansive, frontier west coast where dreams come true!

If any of you out there have links to pictures from any of these events, feel free to leave them in the comments!

Thank You For Giving US a Night Of Bliss

2009-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

We were incredibly honored and excited as we greeted friends -- old and new -- at our 2009 A Night of Bliss Benefit, on Saturday, Nov. 7th, at the Eugene Waldorf School.

We opened our doors at 5pm, with people already waiting. We had hoped to give away 24 gallons of Coconut Bliss--we actually had to run back to our office freezers to get more. When all was said and done, we pulled out another 6+ cases! And on a cold, rainy night in Eugene, over 450 people came out to donate their money and time...and eat our endless Coconut Bliss sundaes.

And amazing sundaes they were, in large part due to the sweet, gooey (and organic) toppings! Local natural food companies generously donated their time and their product: organic nuts and goji berries, raw granola toppings from Hummingbird Wholesale, sweet berry sauces from Sweet Creek Foods, luscious hot fudge sauce from PremRose Edibles, granola toppings from Grizzly Brand Granola, carmel sauce from Missionary Chocolates, fruit sauces from Lost Valley Educational Center, and a wonderful hot chai from Mountain Rose Herbs. On the savory end of things, Cousin Jack's Pasty Company (541-686-3211‎) offered locally sourced and freshly prepared pasties.

For entertainment, Jaya Lashimi and friends performed 2 one hour-long sets of kirtan & celtic-inspired music, with female vocalist Wind Song jumping on stage for a final song. And the South Eugene High School Drama Department gave a performance as well.

In addition, we gave away ice cream bowls (exclusively made for this event by local potter Amy Palatnik) to anyone during the evening who offered to appear on camera talking about Coconut Bliss. Amy's work is well known locally, and we're appreciative of her generous artistic contribution to A Night of Bliss.

All proceeds will be donated to four groups who focus on education and sustainability in our community. The beneficiaries of our 2009 event are

Eugene Waldorf School (who generously allowed us to use their Great Hall),
Lost Valley Educational Center
Huerto De Familia
South Eugene High School Drama Department

Over $2500 was raised -- it will be divided evenly amongst these 4 groups. In addition to the monetary donation (and our donation of Coconut Bliss), we gave our beneficiaries table space to share and explain to others what their groups do.

But we also wanted this event to be more than just "local", and it was. As the night began, Larry reminded us that-- across North America-- many others' "Night of Bliss" parties were already well underway, happening in synchrony with our event. Earlier last month, we awarded 50 Coconut Bliss tasting-parties ("Bliss boxes") to people who sent us their very personal expressions of how Coconut Bliss makes them feel. The winners of our Night of Bliss are listed here:

So, if you participated and 'played' along, how was your "Night of Bliss" experience?

If you have pictures, videos or commentary, leave us a comment on this blog entry. And if you have a Flickr photo account, please join our Coconut Bliss Lover's photo pool to have your photos feed into our pool of Coconut Bliss-related pictures.

We're already looking forward to next year. Thanks for helping us make this vision become a sweet reality and grand success.

PS: Here's our first video from a national winner's "Night of Bliss" tasting party. And here's a blog post of another winner's event.

~Vince

Your Own Coconut Bliss Party, and our 2009 Invitees

2009-10-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

We have selected our 2009 "A Night of Bliss" invitees and have just shipped off 50 Coconut Bliss "parties-in-a-box" to locations across North America (one evne from Canadia!). Thanks again for all your amazing contributions! A list is at the end of this post, and you can view them by clicking here.

Even if you can't make it to our party, you can still have your own Night of Bliss party on November 7, or any other night. In fact, you can even throw a "Morning of Bliss" brunch if that excites you, complete with Mimosas and Bloody Marys or fresh waffles!

A Coconut Bliss party is a great opportunity to connect with those you love, break the ice with new friends, and soften the ice with someone you've had tension with. Coconut Bliss has a way of bringing people joyously together. Nothing like melting Bliss to melt barriers between people! This is your party, so create it in whatever way you and your guests will enjoy, be that kirtan and candelight, or celto-punjabi-dub-hop and strobe lights.

Suggestions on Who to Invite:

Friends and family who love Coconut Bliss
Friends and family who've never even heard of Coconut Bliss
People you would like to get to know better (e.g., your favorite checker at your local market)
Your next door neighbors
Your co-workers (one you like and one you avoid)
Children (they help awaken giggles, silliness and pure enjoyment)
A neighborhood stray kitty (cats love Coconut Bliss)

Serving Ideas:

We enjoy Coconut Bliss best in glass or ceramic bowls, especially handmade ones. It's fun to have lots of toppings, such as sliced mangoes or bananas, fresh berries, toasted nuts, goji berries, or cacao nibs. In Italy, they like to pour a freshly pulled shot of espresso over vanilla gelato (they call this "affogato"). Get creative!

Activities for Your Party:

Invite your guests to feed each other at some point during the party
Blindfolded "guess the flavor" contest
Create a performance and video it (send us the link!)
Extend your bliss by sharing foot or back rubs (or tummy rubs if some have over-indulged)
Have a sharing circle about what brings you bliss
Twister Bliss

After your party send us links to your photos, videos and stories! If you're on Flickr, you can join our 'photo pool' : http://www.flickr.com/groups/coconutbliss/pool/

Please share your ideas with us! Leave us your comments. Thanks! :)

AND here are the invitees:

Jessica Brown - Juneau, AK
Brittany Shelton - Fayetteville, AR
Koali Pontual-Thorne - Patagonia, AZ
Jennifer Stroup - Long Beach, CA
Wendy Yu - Los Angeles, CA
Christian Hellmers - Del Mar, CA
David Ray - Sebastopol, CA
Debbie Paul - Sacramento, CA
Lisa Franzetta - Oakland, CA
Vanessa Smith - Nevada City, CA
Kelly Brozyna - Longmont, CO
Marie Woodhull - South Glastonbury, CT
Ruthie Berman - West Palm Beach, FL
David Soleil - Decatur, GA
Colin Lusher - Honolulu, HI
Jamile Shirley - Ames, IA
Ashely Bagot - Chicago, IL
Maggie Schmit & Elli Plunkett - Bloomingto, IN
Terri Deletetsky - Brookline, MA
Maryann DellaRocco - Ellicott City, MD
Anne Jacobs - Newcastle, ME
Jennie Smith - Menominee, MI
Stacy Gangestad - Farmington, MN
Ariel Berube - Charlotte, NC
Grayson Hoberg - Harvey, ND
Justine Levine - Flemington, NJ
Robyn Howard - Somerset, NJ
Whitney Krueger - Santa Fe, NM
Jaimie Shaff - Brooklyn, NY
Nancy Guberti - Scarsdale, NY
Michelle Brose - Staten Island, NY
Elizabeth Stark - Beachwood, OH
Melissa Helsel - Mustang, OK
Sukita Crimmel - Portland, OR
Traci D'Elia - Hillsboro, OR
Jessica Dadds & Casey McDonald - Portland, OR
Paolo Vidali - Philadelphia, PA
Randa Clark - McKees Rocks, PA
Margaux C. Chang - Daniel Island, SC
Michelle Kane - Spearfish, SD
Kym Colella - Brentwood, TN
Becky Martin - Katy, TX
Cresta Schiefer - Park City, UT
Meaghan Sutherland - Arlington, VA
Adrienne Fortune - Milton, VT
Brandie Kajino - Vancouver, WA
Kimberly Halinen - Spanaway, WA
Spencer Beard - Seattle, WA
Scott Rudolph - Appleton, WI
Josh May - Vancouver, BC

Congratulations!!!

~Vince, Larry, Luna & Kiley

"A Night Of Bliss" Invitees To Be Announced Soon

2009-10-08T10:08:00.001-07:00

Luna & Larry are now beginning to excitedly sift through the many creative, comedic, wonderful and wacky things we received from fans, as we approach our Coconut Bliss event, "ANIGHTOFBLISS". Please stay tuned to our blog/twitter/facebook feeds for the announcement of the invitees, and other updates.

In Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, November 7th, we'll be giving away Coconut Bliss sundaes from 5pm-9pm, at the Eugene Waldorf School. All proceeds and donations will be going to four local education/sustainability focused groups.

Here's more info about the event
Here's a map and directions

We hope to see you there!

Deadline Extended 1 Week for A Night Of Bliss

2009-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, you asked, so we're extending the deadline for A NIGHT OF BLISS-- it now ends 10-7-09. Again, if you haven't heard, Luna & Larry are inviting 50 fans to participate in our Coconut Bliss 'Night Of Bliss' with tasting kits.

A box o' fun: it can be used for a rollicking kids and parents party. Or you can reserve it for a swanky adult one. Your call, your bliss.

Go to Anightofbliss.com for more details.

2 Days To the Deadline & A Video Entry

2009-09-28T17:17:00.001-07:00

You have 2 days before the Night Of Bliss deadline.

Here's a link to a fan's videos that came in over the weekend: video.

But just a poem will do. C'mon, send it in.

One week remains!

2009-09-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is just a gentle reminder that there is exactly one week left before we send out our invitiations to our Night of Bliss ! We are starting to get a steady stream of some really art/poetry/etc, but we still don't have one for every state....

We really love sharing the bliss,and want to be able to share that joy with you! Make sure you don't miss out on this great opportunity to have your own Coconut Bliss tasting party, (deadline October 1st, 2009).

In other news we've decided to host a local (Eugene, OR) Night of Bliss party, because well we really do love giving Coconut Bliss away! I leaked the details on our Facebook wall-Look for another blog post with more details after the Night of Bliss entries have closed.

Last but not least this is Kiley posting which means I have goodies for you! I've got 10 $1.00 off coupons for the first 10 comments left on this post. Please be sure to leave me away to get in touch with you so I can get an address to send the coupon too!

Days of the "Burn" and A NIGHT OF BLISS

2009-09-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Coconut Bliss was at Burning Man...did you get the pleasure to enjoy us?

We didn't have any signage or our logo up anywhere, just a sign reading "Coconut Milk Ice Cream". How did this happen you ask? A vegan advocate named Christian Hellmers came to us (with generous funding from Vegfund.org) with an idea to serve 40+ tubs of Coconut Bliss! We heard that there were shouts of joy and disbelief to see organic vegan ice cream existing in a place like the 'Playa'! We thank Christian for getting it rolling (and our Chris. G for assisting).

Did you experience Bliss at Burning Man? Why not leave us a comment on this post about your experience at the 'Burn' ; we would love to know about it! And we'll give t-shirts to some of the best comments/stories (keep in mind that we still only have large shirts available-sorry!)

Looking forward to our A Night of Bliss parties, the deadline is fast approaching. In case you haven't heard, we are giving away 50 ice cream tasting kits for you to host a rockin' Coconut Bliss party. The entry form is quick and easy, and so far we've received lyrics, poems, stories, and lots of love: hosting your very own Coconut Bliss party-- yumm! AnightOfBliss.com .

A NIGHT OF BLISS and, free t-shirts today!

2009-09-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

The entry form webpage at is now working: ANIGHTOFBLISS.com

But It wasn't working over the labor day weekend (oops) . If you submitted an entry, we didn't get it). We apologize for this; we want to see your entries!

For more details on how to win, see the blog post below or go to ANIGHTOFBLISS.com

(and we'll randomly give out t-shirts today to people here submit an entry today at ANIGHTOFBLISS.com)

An invitation from Luna and Larry...

2009-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Unless you live in Eugene, you probably missed the tasting parties we threw back in the early days when we were just getting Coconut Bliss off the ground. Fifty or more people would crowd into our tiny living room to taste our newest offerings of flavors and would wax poetic as they discussed their subtleties, debate their virtues, and proclaimed their favorites. One of our favorite things about being involved with Coconut Bliss has been watching people's faces as they take their first taste.

We also love giving away Coconut Bliss, so we are inviting you to join us in creating this special event that is all about sharing bliss with the people we love.

Here's the plan: 50 simultaneous parties in all 50 states. We'll provide the Coconut Bliss and you host the party. Together we will create a critical mass of ecstasy that will ripple across the country, awakening joy and delight from Petaluma to Poughkeepsie.

Do you want to play? If so, here's what you do:

Create something that expresses how you feel about Coconut Bliss.
Send it to us as soon as possible, the earlier the better (the deadline is October 1st, 2009)
HERE's THE LINK: www.anightofbliss.com

It could be a :

poem
limerick
haiku
rap
brief essay (under 250 words)
visual image
recipe featuring Coconut Bliss with directions and a link to a photo
Flickr photo/photo series/collage
YouTube Video
song
audio collage

50 winners will be chosen from amongst the entries (one representing each state). Each winner will receive a "Night of Bliss" kit that will include all the essentials that you need to make your party a rapturously creamy success.

Also, if we really like your submission, we may feature it on our 'sites' (blog/facebook/Twitter/flickr, etc. etc.) with links back to your site/blog/Twitter feed, etc. (if you happen to have such things).

So scoop yourself a big bowl of Coconut Bliss for inspiration and energy and let your creative juices flow! When you're done, wipe up any messy drips and go here to send your creation to us:

www.anightofbliss.com

Tell your friends about this, so they can play too! Again, the official deadline is October 1st!

STAY TUNED to our blog and our Twitter feed for more tantalizing details to come...

Blissfully yours,

Larry & Luna

Something big is brewing...

2009-09-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello again, Kiley checking in here! If you're looking for the “exciting announcement” that I mentioned in my last blog post, well, all good things are worth waiting for, so check back here on Friday when Luna and Larry will have the honors of filling you in on all the “juicy details”!

In the meantime, I have another giveaway for you!

I've been handed 20 shirts and 10 free pints to give away today, however there is one little detail that I should share with you. Our shirts have proven to be wildly popular and I only have large t-shirts left!

I know what you are thinking, I would be swimming in a large and never wear it... Well fear not ! In a few minutes you can mod your shirt to make it fit you and look totally awesome!

A quick search yielded several cool ways to mod/hack a tshirt-these are just two possibilities!

from Jyssa on instructables

from mistr3ssquickly on deviantart

The first 20 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a t-shirt, and the 10 pints will be given away to people randomly selected from the comments after that. The giveaway will run until 9am Friday morning (PST) when the winners will be picked!

-Kiley

P.S. I got a lot of requests asking for pictures of me in the last post. Here I am!

Good Morning America Features Coconut Bliss!

2009-08-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

The ABC News Program "Good Morning America" featured Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss in their interview with dietician Ashley Koff. Here's the link (posted Aug. 16th).

The segment had some really useful infomation about coconuts and their health benefits.

It was exhilarating to watch them slowly zoom in on our Naked Coconut! We are very excited and grateful to have a television program with such a huge viewership include our product in one of their segments.

After watching the video , feel free to share this. If you haven't become a Facebook fan of Coconut Bliss or a Twitter follower, here are the links:

Coconut Bliss Facebook Fans

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss Twitter Feed

~Vince

Thank you!

2009-08-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I want to start this post by saying thank you to all the amazing fans and customers of Coconut Bliss, we're having an amazing year that wouldn't be possible without you!
When Vince & I (Kiley) joined the Coconut Bliss family this spring we saw an opportunity with Twitter & Facebook to reach out and connect with all of you and we've been humbled by the response we have received.
A little information about who does what around here; Vince is the primary manager of the Facebook page & I am the primary manager of our Twitter feed. However we both do a little jumping back and forth. Right now I'm also stewarding our fledgling Flickr page. Larry, Vince, and Myself will all be posting content to the blog, but I get to put up the really fun posts-the giveaways!

As I'm at the helm today, there will be a giveaway! To celebrate reaching 2000 followers on Twitter I'm giving away a T-shirt and a free pint to one lucky commenter!

To enter please leave a comment on this post telling us anything that comes to mind; why you love Coconut Bliss, what you would do with a free pint, where you would be rocking your new shirt, or just what the weather is there today! The giveaway will close August 21st at noon PST. Please leave me away to get in touch with you so I can contact you if you'll win.

If you know me from our twitter fan you know I'm a big fan of randomly generated numbers-which is how I'll be picking a winner. I'll add up the number of comments and have a number generated. If you comment is that number you'll be our lucky winner!

A little info on our awesome new shirts-they are printed on 100% organic cotton, & were printed locally here in Eugene! Vince is the handsome man you see modeling our shirt, the other photo shows the back of the shirt.

I also get the privilege of dropping a little hint about why you should come back here in a few days for a very exciting announcement! Let's see, what am I allowed to say today... Well we are going to throw a party.....
So come back in a few days for some more juicy details!

Bliss News: Global Green, G.O.T. Vibes, Twitter/Facebook

2009-07-22T10:20:00.001-07:00

Here's a round-up of Bliss news:

Wow. We just got an email that said there's only a few days left for voting for us as "Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert of the Year" in the VegNews Veggie Awards. This is the link--please vote if you haven't. :)

One little vote makes a big difference. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oes_2f0tloz0fA1jHSyPxMyw_3d_3d

* * * * *

Global Green Gets Gobs of Bliss: We donated a year of Bliss (yep, we mean many, many pints of Coconut Bliss) for Global Green USA 's Millenium Awards. Global Green has been rebuilding New Orleans with green buidings and sustainable school designs (Brad Pitt works with them). They also act as advocates for initiatives supporting clean water, climate stabilization, and the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Gathering of the Vibes: Our national Sales Manager Marc D. is out at the Gathering of the Vibes festival in Bridgeport, CT this week, selling Bliss. If you go, you can get 'still warm from the oven' new Coconut Bliss t-shirts! Yes. You'll be the first to check them out. Get your P-Funk and your C-Bliss at the same time. (And if you do go and see us, feel free to Twitter or Facebook it)

Twitter, Facebook, (and all that social digital stuff): So if you hadn't noticed, we've charged up our Twittering and Facebook activity with a bit o' new voltage--that means up-to-the-minute updates of what's happening in our Bliss-o-verse. And if you use Facebook/Twitter, feel free to become our fan (Facebook) or 'follow us' (Twitter)...and you'll be privvy to our spontaneous giveaways of Coconut Bliss t-shirts and pints (thanks to Kiley for her constant updates!!!).

Link to Twitter: http://twitter.com/lunaandlarrys

Link to Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coconut-Bliss/35826736835

PS: If you didn't get a chance to get a Dark Chocolate or Naked Coconut Bliss Bar at the Oregon Country Fair, take heart. They are available at a store near you (and if you don't see them in your local store, tell that store you saw em' and you want em' -- and you can print out this petition form to really get the point across to the store).

~Vince

Vote, Oregon Country Fair & Strawberry Lemon Sayonara

2009-07-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

VegNews Awards Nomination! :Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss has been NOMINATED for the VegNews awards. We are very happy to have been considered and nominated for Favorite Vegan Ice Cream of the year. Please go to the link below, vote for us, share this link and help us win it. Thank you. :^)
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oes_2f0tloz0fA1jHSyPxMyw_3d_3d

Goin' to Fair' : Yep, it's that season again--the team is going out to Veneta, Oregon to repreZENt at the prestigious, crunchy, fun and entertaining Oregon Country Fair. It will be our 5th year at the fair--we'll be selling our new 'Bliss Bars' : "Dark Chocolate" and "Naked Coconut" flavors. We'd love to see you, so look for us on Strawberry Lane...

Strawberry Lemon Love Sayonara: Speaking of strawberries...we'll be discontinuing Strawberry Lemon Love over the rest of 2009. Alas, we had to make room for other new flavors (i.e. Naked Almond Fudge, Pineapple Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Bliss bars!). Strawberry Lemon Love will take it's place among the rest of our 60-70 retired flavors...in that place of eternal bliss, where all ice creams reach Nirvana eventually. Nontheless, for those of you who want their Strawberry Lemon Love, there still are pints out there-- scattered hither and thither-- waiting to be purchased ...so get em' while they're still available in your local market's freezer section.

Summer blissings to you and yours...

-Vince

We Use Coconuts...

2009-06-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

So, we have a new poster that you can download, and print up. It reads:

There are many ways to achieve bliss.

We use coconuts.

Feel free to download it (first link on the page) and other related files at our "Media/Press Kit" webpage. Recently, many people have been blogging about us and reviewing us, so this is a handy link to have if you wish to grab some graphics of Luna, Larry and our Coconut Bliss ice cream.

Thank you!

-Vince

WE HIT 1000 TWITTER "BLISSERS"! Thanking you with FREE ICE CREAM

2009-06-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

We just passed 1000 Twitter followers overnight, last night! WooT WooT! Not too bad for a month or so of being on Twitter.

Ok, we can't just give away the "Bliss" to 2 Twitter peoples...we're going to give a whole bunch away this weekend!

So, all you have to do...is follow us on Twitter, and retweet the post that we posted just now:

Free Coconut Bliss giveway-5 winners selected randomly- RT this post, www.coconutbliss.com #bliss1000

So, we posted it at 12:34 PM PST... be sure to use the #bliss1000 hash tag, and we'll randomly pull 5 "blissers"and give them free pints of Coconut Bliss next week. Or potentially more than 5 ... let's wait and see. ;^)

There we go. There you go.

You people rock--you truly our are bliss. Have a good weekend. And, of course, follow your bliss...

-Vince

(Photo courtesy of Angel Caido)

Luna and Larry—Rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated!

2009-06-12T12:17:00.001-07:00

Last week we got an email from a customer in Portland who said that an employee in her local natural food store told her that we sold our company to Haagen Dasz. While Luna and I are a bit naive (we've only been in business for 4 1/2 years), we are still absolutely dumbfounded that an event of this magnitude could have escaped our notice! We can only surmise that it must have happened last week when we were on vacation.

All kidding aside, I want to say clearly and definitively that we have not sold our company to Haagen Dasz or anyone else (although we would be very happy if they decided to buy our old delivery truck). Luna and I are still the majority owners and managers of Bliss Unlimited, LLC, the company we founded back in February 2005 to make Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss. And while Luna has seriously cut back her hours over the last year and a half to parent our new little boy, Bija, I still come into the office every day to join our wonderful staff in doing all the things it takes to keep the supply of Bliss flowing to everyone across the U.S. who wants it.

Blissfully yours,

Larry

Naked Almond Fudge Controversy...Not

2009-06-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well, when you get a bunch of head strong "Bliss"-ers in the same room, sooner or later (much sooner than expected actually), you'll hear their opinions.

Well, today the first rogue pints of:

"NAKED ALMOND FUDGE"

....got smuggled back by one of our operatives. And the pints are (at least as of 2:50pm PST) in the staff office freezer.

And we're tearing through them like wild dogs (thanks mdove64 at FLICKR).

And Lakshmi (who is the most elder of employees here) really loves this flavor. It's her favorite. But she's in love with almond flavors...and thinks it needs more almond extract ("like in the 'prototype' " she says).

But Marc and I (and, everybody else present in the office today) think it rocks just as it is. It can be a drag to be the one minority voice in a group so small as ours. However, we honor them for their unique perspective.

(just now, a wrestling match has broken out between and Lak and Marc next to my desk...get back to work, argh!)

So, anyway, look for it in your local stores and Coops over the coming weeks. And thanks for your "almondy" support. :)

-V

Get Better Soon, N

2009-06-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

We got a heart wrenching email yesterday from a mother who's daughter has thyroid cancer. They live in the heartland of America. This mom basically explained that her daughter, while waiting for her first Radiation Treatment, wanted some ice cream. Several families there at the hospital --whose sons and daughters had thyroid cancer--suggested our Coconut Bliss as a great alternative. Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss is organic coconut milk based ice cream, so it's easier on their stomachs (and when you're going through cancer treatments, you need life to be as easy as possible).

Anyway, there were no stores close by that sold our "Bliss". The mom asked us to find some...so we got on the phone/computer, contacted some stores, and three stores close to her hospital jumped up and ordered our Coconut Bliss ice cream! On behalf of the little girl and her mom, our team here wanted to say thanks to all you cool stores for responding so quickly. We all hope she gets better soon...and that this little bit of "Bliss" helps.

Here are the stores and the people who made the decisions to bring it in: if you live in Kansas, please patronize these guys/gals--they rock!

Becky at Prairie Harvest (Newton, Kansas 601 N Main St , 316-283-6623) , brought in some Dark Chocolate bars and Vanilla Island. Thank you!
Melinda at Food for Thought (2929 E Central, Wichita, KS, 316-683-6078), brought in a bunch of flavors (arriving this Thursday I believe). Thank you!
Matt at Green Acres (316-634-1088, 8141 E 21st St, Wichita, Kansas) also brought in a sample case of Naked Coconut flavor...Matt should have it in a week or so. Thank you!

-Vince

Little Update To Homepage :)

2009-06-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, we just updated our homepage. That's our new branding. We like the color green. Tell us what you think

-Vince

Intro To Bliss (Part 2)

2009-06-01T15:26:00.003-07:00

Here's a continuation of our intro post, revealing a little about ourselves, and our hopes for the customers we touch with our 'Bliss' (and click here to see the full portrait of the staff).

What I asked our staff:

who you are?
why you're here at bliss?
and a wish/tip/desire for our customers?

Marc, National Sales Manager

I am a snowboarding, high energy, mellow guy. The "nice" guy, flow seeker and Papa to two amazing kids.

Piggy-backing "Bliss" deliveries onto my route for an organic coffee company, I soon began to resonate with being the Bliss delivery guy. I just couldn't get enough so I asked for a job ....

Share your Bliss!!! (whatever it may be)

Vince, Regional Sales Guy, Tribal Marketing Dude:

I'm a permaculturist-funkster-TechReFugee, finding my inner (coconut) bliss.

I'm at Bliss cuz I admired it from afar, then fate and choice landed me here. And I've known Larry and Luna for years.

May all our customers find their...dark chocolate bliss bars in June! They really are great...

Sue, accountess of numbers and analysis magical-sis:

I’m a life traveler who loves cultures, ideas and challenges

I’m at Bliss because its a community of passionate people who are there to create something amazing

May all of you find your state of Bliss... mine just happens to be in Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge.

Chris G, demostrator, educator, magic event creator:

I'm a lover of high vibe music & lushious foods (making & eating it).

People call me MR. Bliss (Head of Live Demonstrations). I get the bliss in your mouth.

My wish is for people to be the love they wish to feel!!!

And last but not least...

Luna, co-founder, Goddess of Flavor and Design:

I am a lover of sweetness, beauty, kindness, being outdoors, and fresh organic fruits and vegetables. I am a singer, a mama, a visionary, a rebel, and I Iove to cook and serve beautiful meals.

While falling in love with Larry, we were bursting with creative energy, which led to the creation of Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss.

I wish that you can feel the love and playfulness that we have in creating Coconut Bliss. I suggest you savor each taste and feed one another often.

Bliss you all...

-Vince

Free Ice Cream Alert, University Of Oregon (and other demos)

2009-05-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

We'll be at the University of Oregon (upper amphitheater, near the EMU) Friday (5-29-09) giving away -- as in "free"-- Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss. We got 2 tubs ya'll.

We'll be Twittering it (yep, we're on Twitter, Flickr).

Also, here are just a few of the other demos, etc. ...

5/29 -- Coconut Bliss @ 2410 in Portland OR tonight, check out Eoto & Ozric Tentacles Pick up a Coconut Bliss sample while you enjoy the show. Free music for the people http://www.lightworkernonprofit.org/ Come meet Lakshmi and Chris
5/30 -- Tacoma & Federal Way Wa, Coconut Bliss coming your way, Demos @ Metropolitan Market Dash Point & Proctor http://ow.ly/9GN8
(5/30) Snellville Ga! Coconut Bliss on sample in two stores! Peachtree & Mother Nature'shttp://ow.ly/9GNU http://ow.ly/9GO8
5/31 -- St. Paul, MN We are sampling Coconut Bliss at Hamden Park Co-op, stop by and say hi to Becky! http://www.hampdenparkcoop.com/

How To Find Bliss...Near Your Home

2009-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

If you ever wonder how to get Coconut Bliss into your local grocery store, coop or market, wonder no more! For the last couple of months we've had a page on our website which allows you to very quickly search (by state or zip code) to see if Bliss is already carried in a neighborhood store near you. And if it isn't being carried close by, we provide a printable PETITION form that you can quickly print up to hand to the Frozen Foods Buyer or Store Manager of your particular favorite loacl market.

This has an amazing effect on store buyers--and they usually bring Coconut Bliss after being handed on of these. So, are you wanting to see our new dark chocolate bars at your local market? Here's the link to store locator.

Bliss Alert, Tuesday March 5 : Reviews & Free Bliss

2009-05-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here's what's coming up:

Coconut.gal is reviewing all our flavors! And she's giving away some pints:

(please, if you try this at home, significantly pause in between bites to avoid ice cream headaches)

Chris G is doing a demo tomorrow in Eugene, OR

29th & Willamette at the Market of Choice.

Meet Chris G and sample some Coconut Bliss for free, 3:30-6:30pm .

And compliment G on how he dresses...cuz he knows how (and he might

give you an extra big scoop).

Actually, , if you visit Chris G or Coconut.Gal (online), let them know if you read about this. Later skaters...

Introducing Our Staff: Part 1

2009-05-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

So, with Coconut Bliss comes... community and communication. Yeah!

And with communication comes the opportunity for authenticity, and the obligation to share in as transparent a fashion as possible. So, let's share a little with you about who we are. I posed 3 questions to our staff. I'll post half today on our blog, and the other half in a few days. Our Flickr link has our names linked to our faces:

What I asked:

Who you are?

Why are you here (at Bliss)?

Have a wish/tip/desire for our customers?

The answers:

Larry, our leader, follower, co-founder and fellow blisser:

I am an artist, teacher, tinkerer, father, and explorer of consciousness, and have always had a fascination with food and how it affects our consciousness and our planet.

Luna and I were drawn together while both doing a cleansing fast in the spring of 2003, and within a year we were making ice cream from coconuts. The rest is history.

May all who place Coconut Bliss between their lips experience stillness, joy, glowing health, and uncontrollable shivers of rapture.

Kiley, Digital Goddess and Twitter Empress:

I'm a soy allergic, bike riding, Etsy loving, bookbinder, crafty chic, & foodie.

I'm at bliss by a fortunate twist of fate. I am so happy here and enjoy working with such a wonderful group of people and getting to eat such delicious ice cream!

To all of our friends and followers we hope you have as much bliss in your life as we are blessed to have.

Doug, Production Master:

I'm the tribal elder/scientist/sorcerer in the Bliss tribe.

I'm here because there is no better place to be....after too many years of wandering the corporate desert, this place feels like home.

Always read the label and keep asking questions, like:

Are there really four servings in every pint?

How 'bout when there's only one?

Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune and Events, first hired employee :

I am a singer and musician, that is my greatest passion in life, and I'm also the mother of two amazing girls.

I'm at Bliss because the good lord blessed me to meet Luna & Larry 4 years ago and I ended up with a super awesome, yummy job that I love.

A wish for our customers: that you will be able to obtain and maintain perfect health.

(2nd part to follow in a few days...)

New Flavors and Bliss on a Stick

2009-04-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

This has been a very busy time here in Bliss HQ (this is my excuse for the very long gap since the last entry). It's true, though! In the last few months we have expanded our distribution to include the entire U.S., and Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss can now be purchased in nearly 1400 stores in 46 states. For some perplexing reason we have not yet penetrated into West Virginia, Delaware, North Dakota, or Mississippi (we will withhold judgment about these states—perhaps they are just a little slow).

We have also been developing some new products, which will be hitting the stores before summer. Luna and I have dreamed about Coconut Bliss Bars for a long time. There's something especially sensual and primitive about being able to lick the Bliss without interference of spoon or bowl that is extremely satisfying, and much more handy for eating in motion. Here's what these will look like. They should be in the stores before the end of May.

We spent last fall and winter feverishly concocting new flavors and have come up with three that we're very excited about and will be introducing in pints sometime in June. These are: Chocolate Peanut Butter—the classic combo, elevated to art; Pineapple Coconut—a creamy, luscious piña colada; and Naked Almond Fudge—coconut amaretto Bliss with toasted almonds and fudge. Here's what these will look like:

You may also notice that we've changed our package design. We have been working with a wonderful new designer, Greg Scot Hunt, who has taken our design to the next level.

We'll also be at a lot of events and festivals throughout the year, and we've added a page to our website with a complete list.

A parting thought: There are many ways to achieve bliss. We use coconuts.

Blissfully yours,

Larry & Luna

Inaugural Blog

2009-01-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

Greetings Blisslovers.

If you're reading this, you probably suspect that there's more to Coconut Bliss than just a fleeting experience of cool, sweet yumminess. Yes, it's only a dessert, and in the grand scheme of things, dessert just isn't all that important. But there's something different about Coconut Bliss--something special that's hard to put a finger on. And it's that intangible, unnameable something that has compelled you to read this page, and compelled me to write it.

When we first started making Coconut Bliss, here's a vision that Luna and I had of how people would eat it:

It is mid-afternoon. You have stepped away from the busy-ness of your day to refresh your mind and your spirit, to allow yourself to relax and feel nourished. You have recognized how important this is--not just important, but essential--and you have taken a bold action of self-love. You take a few deep breaths and feel the stillness. You feel your body beginning to relax, your tensions dissolving. Your mind quiets. You feel small ripples of gratitude rising to the surface of your consciousness. In this stillness, you notice excitement arising in you, like the feeling you get when, after a long hike, you get your first glimpse of an alpine lake, and you feel the pure, simple desire to immerse yourself in that cold, clear water.

But you're in your house and there is no lake. So with that same childlike anticipation you walk into your kitchen, open the freezer, and gently, reverentially, take out a pint of Coconut Bliss. You feel your lips spreading into a smile. Without urgency, savoring the moment, you set it down on the counter to temper to perfect, scoopable softness. You go to the cupboard and select your favorite handmade bowl and the perfect spoon. You take out your ice cream scoop from the drawer, enjoying it's heft in your hand. You have all the time in the world. You take a pee, turn off your cell phone, pet the cat, water the plants.

Now you return to the kitchen, gently remove the lid from the container, and scoop out two round, sensual blobs of Coconut Bliss, enjoying the feel of the soft Bliss giving way to the metal. You replace the lid, put the container back in the freezer, rinse off the scooper, and bring the bowl of Bliss to your favorite spot--perhaps under a cherry tree in your yard. Your feelings of gratitude swell, filling you. You lift your spoon, dip it into the Bliss, raise it to your mouth and feel filled with the rush of sensation--liking slipping into that cool lake...

You get the idea?

This is not the addictive act of a person using dessert in a futile attempt to soothe their pain or fill their emptiness. It is a celebration of life, a focusing of consciousness through an act of intentional sensual enjoyment. This is why we make Coconut Bliss.

-Larry