Our Fruitful History

Who is Fruitful Yield and where did we come from?? We want to take a walk down memory lane and share a little about our history. While we’ve been around for over 60 years, our roots go back nearly a century!

Where it all began

Our story began during World War I, when the U.S. Government commissioned Dr. Charles E. Fearn to develop soy products as an alternative protein source for our troops. Dr. Fearn’s postwar ventures included starting the manufacturing company Fearn Soya Foods. However, soy products did not fare well for long on the fledgling health food market. After Dr. Fearn’s passing in 1949, Paul Richard, a friend and trained pharmacist, purchased Dr. Fearn's struggling company at auction.

The "Health House"

In the 1950's, with the newly acquired Fearn Soya company, Paul developed one of the first powdered protein supplements to hit the market: chocolate soy protein flour. Protein supplementation was a revolutionary concept at the time, but new research showed promising results for muscle development.

Paul's business gradually grew until his passing in 1960, when his three sons inherited the business. As the eldest son, and new manager of Fearn Soya, Elwood Richard wanted to learn more about the retail side of the natural products industry. Elwood's interest led to the opening of his first “Health House” store in 1962 in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Within the first decade, business had grown enough to add four more stores to the retail chain. By 1971, the health food store chain had officially been renamed to Fruitful Yield Health Foods.

Elwood's next chapter: founding NOW Foods

El's retail experience at Fruitful Yield and a highly competitive market soon revealed a need for products that were both natural and affordable. Drawing upon his degree in physical chemistry and his manufacturing experience at Fearn Soya, Elwood founded the NOW® brand of foods and supplements. The first products offered included dry milk, whole wheat flour, and Vitamin E.

NOW® set an industry standard in the early stages of the natural products industry, and overall natural health movement, by providing products that were truly “Natural, Organic and Wholesome.”

Building a Fruitful Legacy

Though NOW® quickly outgrew its parent company, becoming a globally recognized brand, Fruitful Yield continued to grow on a more modest scale and established a reputation as Chicagoland’s friendly health food retailer. Today our chain includes 12 stand-alone stores and 3 pop-up stores within Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets across the Chicago suburbs, as well as a retail website that serves customers across the country

Fruitful Yield remains known for its five-star customer service, knowledgeable and friendly staff, and truly natural products at affordable prices – all of which reflect our founder’s original business values.

Throughout our story we have learned through both struggle and success to persevere without compromising our integrity or standards. Today, Fruitful Yield carries on a legacy of family values and service to our community, empowering others to lead healthier lifestyles naturally!