What is a lifetime supply of gourmet peanut butter worth?
Vermont Peanut Butter Company founder Chris Kaiser is gambling that some of his best customers will pay a thousand dollars. And if just 50 customers take that deal, Vermont Peanut Butter will have enough money to launch a new product line. Kaiser explains it’s a fundraiser they’re calling “Forever Nuts.”
"For $1,000, you get two mason jars that are etched with both of our logos, said Kaiser. "They’ll be limited edition; they’ll be numbered on the bottom ... Then folks can bring those jars in, every week, to have them filled."
Kaiser said jar owners can call ahead to see what flavor is being made, or just bring the jars in to the factory and take their chances. The "for life" promise is not transferrable to other peanut butter lovers. And if the company goes out of business? In that case, it appears investors are out of luck.
At the Vermont Peanut Butter Company's factory in Morristown, they produce jars of almond and peanut butters, many mixed with dried fruits, nuts, and even chocolate. But what if there were no jars? What if the peanut butter came in single-serve foil packets?
For one thing, the peanut butter would be much easier to take on the go. And it would also be easier for small shops to place the product right up front, at the checkout. But on the other hand, Vermont Peanut Butter Company would have to buy new packaging and equipment. That’s where the Forever Nuts fundraiser comes in.
"The concept of having 40-45 different varieties of almond butters and peanut butters, and different flavors, and different things in them and having this really neat rack, that could have all the different flavors ... I think it’s an amazing concept that, no one has done it," said Kaiser. "We’re going to get out of the gates really fast on this, as soon as we can come up with the rest of the money."
Vermont Peanut Butter Company does not make the kind of sugar-added, hydrogenated peanut butter that’s found on the bottom shelf of your average grocery store. These nut butters are high protein whole foods. They’re endorsed by professional athletes – skiers, riders, and cyclists.
So while you won’t find Vermont Peanut Butter on the bottom shelf of every supermarket, you are likely to find it at your local sports shop. It’s a pretty big seller at the Skiershop, in Stowe, according to store manager Michael Thomas. His customers are just the type of people for whom the on-the-go packs are intended.
"We sell a lot of this to people who are eating this in the morning as a performance product, for nutrition," said Thomas. "But then our other nutritional products for people who are in active sports, where they want a mid-ride boost of energy – Vermont Peanut Butter would be a great option for them if it was available in a portable package."
And that’s just what Vermont Peanut Butter Company, and it’s Forever Nuts benefactors, are banking on.
