Wilderness Family Naturals

I had heard good things about Wilderness Family Naturals through all my internet research of raw foods. One of the products that is recommended to buy from them is their dehydrated coconut. It is so highly recommended because they dehydrate it at a low temperature (98 degrees) so that it retains its nutrients. Also they don't add anything to it. It's JUST raw coconut!

So, I decided to try their coconut chips; they also offer fine and large flakes. I really wanted the 25 pound bag since it is so much cheaper per pound, but there were out of stock, so I ordered 2 of the 3 lb. bags to try it out first, with the plan of snatching up a 25 pound next time if I indeed liked the product.

I ordered on Tuesday, March 2nd and it was delivered this afternoon! I ripped into the box immediately. It was well packaged and came in two large, clear plastic bags with resealable zipper tops. I tore into one. The description on the bag says, "You will notice a delicate crispness when you crunch them between your teeth and a melting of the delicious coconut oil as they dissolve in your mouth." That describes the taste to a "T". AMAZINGLY, good!

As I was snacking, I noticed the bag I had ripped into had a "best by" date on it: May 2, 2011. My first thought was "Oh, no!" I hadn't checked the dates on both bags and it is a pet peeve of mine to not eat the oldest first. So, I checked the other bag and was shocked that it said "Best by date: January 22, 2010." I did a double-take. This one was already past it's best by date. Upon further inspection, the coconut was noticably more aged as well. The fresher bag I had just opened had coconut that was uniform in color and very white. The older bag had coconut that was just a shade darker and also had pieces that were starting to brown near the edges. With a glance, I would have never noticed, but with close inspection, I could tell the one bag definitely had older coconut. Now to be clear, it didn't look "old" or bad or gross, just didn't look as fresh as the newer bag.

So, I shot WFN a quick email using their online form:

I literally just received my 2 x 3lb bags of coconut chips I ordered a few days ago. I am thrilled with the fast shipping and I cracked into one of the bags right away. Delicious! As I got ready to put the other bag away however, I noticed the coconut in it was a darker shade with some brown edging as opposed to the bag I had just opened that was pure white. The tag on the back of the unopened bag says best by January 22, 2010.

In no time, I had a reply:

We do GREATLY apologize. We here at WFN are aware that a few of the old bags got sent out and we apologize again for this. I will be shipping a new bag to you immediately. The coconut that is turning is still fine to eat as that is just a best buy date. Please enjoy the new bag as well as the first bag.

Again…I am so sorry…we just had no way of tracking who got the old bags sent to them. Thank you for your email!

Thank you,
K----

I replied:

Hi K----,

Thank you for the prompt reply. You caught me while I am still munching on the coconut from the bag I opened! haha This stuff is delicious! Thank you for sending a new bag. I had read great things about your business prior to ordering from you and I now see they are true!

On a side note, I stumbled upon a youtube video posted by WFN for "Extraordinarily good seasoned popcorn" about a week ago, and my family is now addicted! This is seriously THE. BEST. POPCORN. EVER.

Thank you again for the very courteous service. I will definitely be a repeat customer!

And literally 3 minutes later, she had replied again:

Glad to hear…the popcorn actually is good. The smell fills up the office from time to time and makes everyone hungry!

Enjoy…and we are happy to hear your satisfaction. We try and please everyone as much as possible.

Take Care!

Thank you,

K----

So, I just want to say, that I am one seriously pleased Wilderness Family Naturals customer. And I will definitely be ordering one of those 25 pound bags of coconut whenever they're back in stock. In fact, I may have to load up on some more of the 3 pounders because I can't seem to keep my hand out of the bag!!

Another thing I just noticed while perusing their website is that when you order with them, you earn up to 5% of your subtotal in points that you can use on your next purchase. So, I have already earned $1.75 in their customer rewards program that will apply to my next order! Woo hoo!!

Oh, and by the way, if you want to know more about that Extraordinarily good seasoned popcorn, check out this post.