Avatar Natural Foods: Elevating Industry Standards and Consumer Health

“Avatar Natural Foods supports clients throughout the process, ensuring that the final product aligns with the client’s vision while maintaining the quality standards that Avatar Foods is known for.”

Avatar Natural Foods isn’t just a food distributor—it’s a visionary leader in the food industry, committed to enhancing consumer health and setting higher standards. Under the leadership of Chef and CEO Diego Silva and his founding partner Michael Oghigian, who have spearheaded the company for the past 18 years, Avatar has become a symbol of health and quality. This commitment is evident across its broad distribution network, where the company strives to make high-quality, all-natural products widely accessible.

How Avatar Natural Foods Makes a Difference

Quality and Safety Standards: We take pride in our FDA-registered, USDA organic, HACCP, and GMP-certified facility, ensuring that every product adheres to the utmost safety and quality standards.

Affordable Gourmet Products: As a vertically integrated operation, we manage every step of production under one roof. With over $10 million invested in state-of-the-art equipment, we cook proteins, process vegetables, make our dressings, and produce our bread and chips. This control over the production process enables us to offer high-quality products at competitive prices, making healthy options more accessible.

Innovative Solutions: We innovate by reviving ancestral cooking techniques, preparing food as our grandparents did—freshly cooked in small batches, then flash frozen to naturally extend shelf life while preserving nutrients. Our main innovation is to provide meals that feel both traditional and nourishing.

Private Labeling and Co-Packing Services: We pride ourselves on our ability to turn around failing concepts and programs in major U.S. supermarket chains, boosting department sales by over 1000% within nine months—a feat Chef Silva has repeated time and again. His philosophy is simple: food should taste good, look good, have great value, and be affordable. With his extensive experience, Chef Silva can enhance programs ranging from bakery items to fresh meals and from in-house baked goods to frozen meals.

Agility and Personal Relationships: Chef Silva and the entire C-team at Avatar are hands-on with every new project, ensuring agility and maintaining strong personal relationships with clients. This approach allows us to quickly adapt to market changes and provide personalized service.

Leadership and Vision

Under the leadership of Diego Silva and Michael Oghigian, Avatar Natural Foods has been transforming the U.S. food landscape for nearly two decades. Silva’s vision for a cleaner, healthier American food system has earned him the SFA’s 2024 Leadership Award for Vision. His philosophy emphasizes that high-quality food can be healthy, taste good, and, most importantly, be affordable.

Innovating for Tomorrow

Looking ahead, Avatar Natural Foods is set to redefine the retail experience with the launch of Rio Foods Market in Henderson, NV. This groundbreaking retail space will not only showcase our diverse range of products but also serve as a research and development hub to craft new offerings. Customers can provide instant feedback, allowing us to continuously refine and perfect our products in real time. Large, expansive windows throughout the facility will allow visitors to watch our products

being made, enhancing transparency and deepening trust. This open factory setup is more than a market; it’s a live showcase of our commitment to quality and innovation.

Conclusion: Pioneering a Healthier Future

Avatar Natural Foods is more than just a distributor—it is a pivotal force actively advancing the standards of the food industry and enhancing consumer well-being. Guided by the visionary leadership of Diego Silva and Michael Oghigian, and backed by nearly two decades of innovation, our mission is clear: to deliver nutritious, clean, and affordable food across the nation. As we continue to innovate and expand, every step we take is aimed at making the journey towards healthier food an enriching experience for everyone involved.

The Silicon Review contacted Mr. Silva for an interview, and here’s what he had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. How does Avatar Foods differentiate itself in the gourmet foodservice industry, particularly in terms of its offerings and services?

Avatar Natural Foods sets itself apart in the gourmet food service industry by offering a wide array of all-natural, gourmet products that cater to health-conscious consumers. The company’s offerings include traditional pita bread, pita chips, cookie pies, jelly cookies, vegan cookies, ready-to-eat meals, hummus, salads, and so on. Avatar Natural Foods ensures products are made with high-quality, natural ingredients, free from harmful preservatives and chemicals. Additionally, the company provides essential services like private labeling, e-commerce fulfillment, co-packing, and more. This allows other brands to benefit from its quality products and distribution network.

Q. Could you elaborate on the process of private labeling offered by Avatar Foods, including the range of customization options available to clients?

Avatar Natural Foods’ private labeling process allows clients to market the company’s high-quality products under their brand name. This service includes a range of customization options, from product selection to dozens of packaging designs, enabling clients to tailor the products to their brand’s identity and customer base. Avatar Natural Foods supports clients throughout the process, ensuring that the final product aligns with the client’s vision while maintaining the quality standards that Avatar Foods is known for.

Q. In what ways does Avatar Foods streamline the co-packing process for its clients, and how does it ensure quality control throughout production?

The co-packing process at Avatar Natural Foods is designed to be efficient and client-friendly. The company takes care of the entire production process, from sourcing ingredients to packaging the final product. Quality control is a top priority, with rigorous standards in place to ensure that every item produced meets the company’s high-quality benchmarks. This streamlined approach allows clients to focus on their core business activities while Avatar handles the complexities of product manufacturing.

Q. Could you provide insights into Avatar Foods’ wholesale offerings, particularly emphasizing its commitment to supporting and nurturing client businesses?

Avatar Natural Foods’ wholesale offerings are extensive, providing clients with a variety of healthy, all-natural products. The company is committed to supporting and nurturing client businesses by offering competitive pricing, marketing support, and flexible order quantities. Avatar’s goal is to help clients grow their businesses by providing them with high-quality products that will appeal to their customers. In an industry where big corporations often overlook the finer details and smaller companies struggle to keep up, Avatar Natural Food stands out as the ideal partner. Our size allows us to provide the attention and care that every order deserves, regardless of its scale.

Q. How does Avatar Foods leverage its E-commerce Fulfillment Center to enhance efficiency and expedite order processing for online businesses?

The E-commerce Fulfillment Center at Avatar Natural Foods plays a crucial role in enhancing efficiency and expediting order processing for online businesses. The center utilizes advanced technology and logistics to manage inventory, process orders quickly, keep the perfect temperature, and ensure accurate and timely delivery. This allows online businesses to provide a better shopping experience for their customers, with faster shipping times and reliable service.

Q. What strategies does Avatar Foods employ to uphold its mission of producing innovative, all-natural products while ensuring affordability and accessibility?

Avatar Natural Foods employs several strategies to uphold its mission of producing innovative, all-natural products while ensuring affordability and accessibility. These include investing in a new Cookie factory in northern California, research and development to create new products, optimizing production processes to reduce costs, and expanding its distribution network to reach a wider audience. The company also focuses on participating in food shows and awards, articles, TV segments, etc. to educate consumers about the benefits of natural foods, helping drive demand for its products.

Q. How does Avatar Foods optimize cost savings for its customers, both through its partnerships and its vertically integrated approach to food production?

Avatar Natural Foods optimizes cost savings for its customers through strategic partnerships with suppliers and a vertically integrated approach to food production. By controlling the entire supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to final distribution, Avatar Foods can reduce costs and pass those savings on to its customers. This approach also allows the company to maintain strict quality control and ensure that its products remain affordable without compromising on quality.

Diego Silva | Founder & CEO

Diego Silva, an award-winning master chef and entrepreneur, along with his founding partner Michael Oghigian, has dramatically transformed Avatar Natural Foods into one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Beginning his career in Brazil and rising through the ranks in New York City—from a dishwasher to a renowned pastry chef—Silva’s resilience and innovative spirit have been pivotal. Over the past 17 years, under their leadership, the company has achieved an impressive growth of 40,000%, with annual increases ranging from 80% to 140%. Silva and Oghigian have also developed and launched over 400 items, expanding their reach from local markets in Las Vegas to nationwide in the USA. Their efforts have significantly changed the U.S. food system towards healthier alternatives, earning Silva the 2024 Leadership Award for Vision from the Specialty Food Association. His philosophy emphasizes the power of natural foods to improve lives, ensuring high-quality, healthy food options are accessible to everyone. 

Top Achievements

• Rapid Growth Recognition: Named one of The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies in 2024 by the Financial Times and Statista.
• Industry Excellence: Awarded the title of 2023’s Top Food Distributor by the Food Business Review.
• Consistent Excellence: Featured consecutively in INC’s 5000 list of the Fastest Growing Companies in America, achieving a notable hat-trick.
• Visionary Leadership: Winner of the 2024 Leadership Award for Vision by the Specialty Food Association (SFA), recognizing outstanding innovation and strategic vision in the food industry.