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| Papa Lena's has four stories to tell. |
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Not just a chip for
snacking.
All about our healthy
vegetable chips and
the variety of tasty
products and recipes
derived from their use.
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Danny & Grandpa
The story of how
10-year-old Danny
learned to make
the peppers into
chips from his
Grandpa on the farm. |
The Lenas background
and how they decided
to change an idea into
reality and go into the
food business. |
The individual stories of
the people who are now
using their knowledge,
energy and experience
to move this company
forward to a national
rollout of our unique
brand of healthy foods. |
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Looking for healthy, crunchy, tasty snacks with no starch fillers, chemical additives or trans fats? Well, Papa Lena's line of 100% vegetable chips fit the bill.
Original
Papa Lena's all
natural gourmet snack chips currently come in three unique
varieties: The
original flagship product is Papa Lena's Roasted
Red Pepper Chips® renowned for
their big crunch, versatility, and high "gourmet
factor". Originally introduced to only family and
friends, the market demand has grown and Papa Lena's has
responded with increased production, new packaging and
a focus on distribution.
To compliment their Roasted Red Pepper Chips® , Papa Lena's offers a second, totally unique product, Bodacious Beet Chips®. As exciting and full of flavor as the pepper chips, the market demand is swelling even faster for these salty sweet, crunchy snacks.
The third product is the Spicy
Hot Roasted Poblano Chips® that are
the hit of Latin food lovers--perfect to scoop guacomole
or toss into stews, burritos, or quesedillas.
100% Authentic
With
a patented cooking process originating from an old
Lena family recipe, these
handmade specialty chips are unlike anything you've ever
tasted! Made only by roasting fresh vegetables high in
natural flavor, then kissed with Italian olive oil, Mediterranean
sea salt and the finest spices, you are assured of a
burst of flavor in every bite!
Dare to Compare
Papa
Lena's invites you to compare their chips to any on the
market today. Other chips may claim to be beet chips or
pepper chips, when in fact they are either a fried sliced
potato, starchy root,
or
a processed and extruded starchy carb infused
with beet juice for color, or dusted with powdered
red bell or hot pepper for flavor.
Health benefits
It is well known that eating vegetables regularly can have many health benefits. They are one of the most natural foods and contain different vitamins, minerals and thousands of other plant chemicals known to provide health benefits.
Versatile
At
Papa Lena's Healthy Foods Inc. we have found so many versatile
uses for the 100% all natural crispy vegetable chips that
we have added a variety of tasty products derivedproducts
using the chips, including hot pepper giardinera, giardinera
cheese spread salad dressings, pasta sauce, tapenades,
caponetta, and dipsand the
from their use as a recipe ingredient.
Our kitchen and gourmet shop is located at:
1438 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
Phone
(312-455-8100)
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| Papa Lena's Team Members |
Marie Lena
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Marie Lena Owner & CEO
Marie
is an AKA certified Karate black belt, former NPC national champion bodybuilder, author, motivational speaker, and served as the President of PEP Programs, an organization dedicated to personal achievement and empowerment through the mind/body connection.
Marie began her fitness and wellness quest at the age of nineteen when she was hired as an exercise instructor for Chicago Health Club's (now Bally's) Europa Spa in downtown Chicago, then at CHC's Marina City location.
With her enthusiasm and people skills, Marie quickly advanced to one of the top sales producers, which means she spent more time in the sales office than on the exercise floor.
Her latest book "Being Better Than My Best" is a handbook for personal and professional achievement.
Marie currenty is involved in all aspects of the business and is Papa Lena's top sales person.
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Danny Lena
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Danny aka Papa Lena Owner & CEO
He has done many things on his way to becoming Papa-Lena He has written books on the subjects of personal and inter-personal empowerment, personal safety and motivation. He is an acomplished Karate Black Belt and is known as Sensei to thousands of students.
Danny is an example example of a person practicing what they preach. As a teacher, author and lecturer, he dedicated his life to helping others positivley re-create themselves.
Danny currenty is involved in all aspects of the business.
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Robert Sieger
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Robert Sieger President & COO
Robert Sieger has known the Lena’s for over 18 years.
With over twenty years of sales, marketing and IT experience, including three successful start-up companies, three Board of Directors seats and Fortune 500 and 1000 experience along with a growing 18 year friendship with Danny & Marie, Robert is helping to add focus and direction to the organization.
Robert's exceptional accomplishments include:
- The ability identify core issues impacting technical development, marketing and sales.
- Creating comprehensive business, development, marketing & financial plans.
- Organizing operations that improve productivity, sales and employee moral.
- Defined, implemented and managed major $25 million dollar CRM/CTI/SFA & CM initiative, including the creation of a PMO and implementation of improved, streamline procedures.
- Gartner's 2001 CRM Excellence Award Winner; one of Information Week's Top 100 Innovators (2001)
- Profiled in Information Age as one of the top 100 Technology Innovators.
- Assisted in creating, bringing to market and the sale of the critically acclaimed Maestro Commerce Suite (eCommerce Software)
- Directed/Created award winning Maestro Commerce collateral (Chicago Software Association 1998 Members Festival: Best Product Collateral) with outside design consultant
- Orchestrated key strategic alliances with Microsoft, Compaq, Xerox, Xceed and others.
- Created a total business plan encompassing a comprehensive sales forecast that determined yearlong inventory, budget and operations. The plan established the standard for four other companies within the holding corporation.
- Created a network of Representatives and Distributors that increased the size of the sales force from five to twenty-five. increased sales from 1.2 million to 2.5 million over the course of two years.
- Solution Selling Trainer
- Orchestrated acquisition of Maestro Commerce to Front Range Technologies
A serial entrepreneur, Robert is driven by the need to grow, create and enjoy the challenges that life has to offer. An ardent student of Danny & Marie's teachings he has come to embrace the positive flow of life and use that energy to create an atmosphere of growth and continuous change.
Bob currenty is involved in developement of the business. |
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William G. Phillips
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William G. Phillips Legal Counsel
Bill is an attorney having practised for more than 30 years.
He has engaged in many areas of the law, including business and corporate matters.
He served his country in the armed forces from 1962 thru 1965.
He and his family have known Danny and Marie for over 25 years. Danny trained Bill's children in martial arts when they were 5 & 6 years old, and for many years thereafter.
What started out as a casual meeting, flourished into an extended loving family relationship.
Bill's children now 28,31 and 32 years of age still respectfully call Danny Sensei
Bill serves Papa Lena's Healthy Foods Inc. as legal consel for all aspects of the business. |
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Michele Hedden
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Michele Hedden Marketing Director
After receiving her degree from Columbia University in Marketing and Advertising Michele took a job working for Spiegel Catalog as an assistant. Ten years later and several promotions under her belt Michele was fortunate enough to learn valuable marketing lessons by working for Target Corporation. Earning recognition from Disney for successfully launching the Baby Einstein Apparel brand into the market place in 2005 earned her the title of Brand Manager overseeing all infant apparel accounts for Disney.
Her most notable experience came from helping her Papa Lena (her uncle Danny's father) string Melrose peppers into a garland to be hung up in his attic. She helped him prepare his tasty treats each year to be enjoyed by the whole family at Christmas.
Michele is elated to see the process perfected and to be able to be instrumental in the family business.
Michele is director of marketing and advertisng for Papa Lena's. |
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Sean Hedden
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Sean Hedden Treasurer & Production Manager
Sean earned his degree from DeVry University in Engineering. Sean has over ten years of experience in Manufacturing and Production. Currently working for Ford where his responsibilities span from managing the productions lines to troubleshooting the programs and equipment. His positive can do attitude makes Sean a true team player and natural born leader. Sean is currently working towards his MBA in finance.
He currently is working on securing the purchase and production of vegetables for Papa Lena's from select locations around the world.
Sean is the company tresurer and director of production for Papa Lena's. |
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Frank Petrone
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Frank Petrone VP of Operations 1438 W. Chicago Ave.
Frank and Danny have been friends since their teens and still maintain this close connection. He joined the Danny and Marie on the Papa Lena's Healthy Foods Inc. project from the begining and has beed with them since. Serving in any way needed Frank has been their "Go-toGuy" in many areas of the business.
Frank has been a probation officer with the Cook County Adult Probation Department for over 20 years. He has served as an adult probation officer, gang specialist, firearms instructor, control tactics instructor and street gang identification instructor. He has numerous awards of recognition for developing and implementing training programs in firearms, control tactics and gang identification for the Cook County Adult Probation Department in Chicago, Illinois.
Frank serves as the VP of operations for the 1438 W. Chicago Ave. location.
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| Papa's gift to me and my Family |
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Danny Lena recalls:
As
a child, I can remember helping GrandPa (Papa) work in his huge garden, there was so much work picking all the vegetables and all those little green Melrose peppers in late September.
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We would string the
peppers together in a garland and hang them to dry for several
months in Papa's -shedini- (little shed). Much like the shed pictured to the left. Months later in December, our whole family would remove the peppers from
the strings and prepare them for the Christmas holiday.
My Grandpa came to America from Ulta Mundo Calabria, Italy with only some change in his pocket and his fathers secret recipe for making crispy peppers or . For this reason, only Grandpa was allowed
to cook the peppers, as this was a once-a-year treat and the supply
was limited. |
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| As the incredible aroma filled the
air we would rush down the stairs to devour all the crispy
delights! As Grandpa grew older he taught me the secrets of
cooking the peppers. |
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Now, the tradition
continues, only my garden consists of the finest pepper
growers around the country. And with the help of modern technology,
my wife Marie and I have reduced Grandpa's lengthy three month process
down to days, so now we can all enjoy these tasty treats
year round!
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I am proud to now be called Papa Lena and thrilled that his recipe lives on in ways he could never imagine. Milli grazie, Grandpa.
Papa Lena’s Roasted Red Pepper Chips® are all natural, intensely crunchy, and bursting with the rich flavors of sweet red bell peppers, extra virgin olive oil, Mediterranean Sea salt, and a special combination of the finest spices. |
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You can
enjoy our Papa Lena’s Roasted Red Pepper Chips®, right out of the bag or with dip, layer
them on a sausage or beef “sang-wich”,
crush them on a salad (VideoClip)
or pizza, or toss them in your favorite spaghetti sauce or saute.
We found so many versatile uses for the chip,
that we have added a line of products including giardinera, salad
dressings, pasta
sauce, tapenades, caponetta, and dips. Our latest addition
is our Bodacious
Beet Chips®.
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About Danny & Marie Lena Owner and CEO |
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Danny and Marie Lena served as the President and Director of Personal Empowerment Programs, this dynamic husband and wife team dedicated their lives to helping others. |
| The Lenas were the host of an Internet radio show (long before the term "Pod Cast" became a reality), |
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Danny and Marie would interview authors, educators, administrators, luminaries and business leaders worldwide to discover new ways to be our best and raise the bar to create a happier, safer, more productive world. Besides their corporate seminars and keynote addresses, |
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| Danny and Marie are proud to be nationally recognized as educational consultants in the fields of leadership, safety, and social change for the Department’s of Education in over a dozen states. Danny & Marie Lena are living examples of the entrepreneurial spirit. |
With backgrounds in karate, bodybuilding and fitness training, Danny & Marie Lena have always been health concious and have looked for foods that gave nutrients and energy in addition to satisfying hunger.
Married for 22 years and working together for 26 years, this energetic couple spent twenty years empowering young people and adults through their national organization PEP, Personal Empowerment Programs. They continued to spread their message through their books, six in all and printed in four languages. Their latest, “Being Better Than My Best” (at Amazon.com) personifies all they believe in about setting and achieving goals, living with integrity, and persisting until you succeed.
Always a two person operation, the Lena’s became masters of marketing, with several features in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, twice in the USA Today, US News & World Report, Detroit Free Press, New York Daily News & Tribune, Brill’s Content, US Magazine, Washington Post, and many more. Television appearances include every news station in Chicago, the NBC Today Show, Oprah, and almost every major news market in the U.S.
However, these former national champion athletes and karate black belts are both of Italian descent, therefore their lives center around food. For the past ten years, Danny and Marie have been perfecting what they thought was quite possibly the most unique, flavorful, healthy food item they ever tasted. This new version of Papa Lena’s old Calabrese family recipe was born.
Papa Lena’s Healthy Gourmet Vegetable Chips are a culmination of years experimentation, trial and error, hard work, and passion for keeping Lena and Demarco family traditions alive.
The Lena’s are what their company logo personifies…energy, vitality, youthfulness, tradition, and fun! Their energy and enthusiasm is contagious. Now, the Lena’s have combined with a powerful sales and leadership team. Their goal is to eventually take this regional effort, expand it nationwide, then worldwide with dozens of product offerings for the world to share and experience. Papa Lena would be proud…
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