1Elk Rapids NewsJanuary 18, 2018

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SERVING THE ELK RAPIDS ALDEN KEWADIN RAPID CITY EASTPORT TORCH RIVER BRIDGE WILLIAMSBURG ACME AREAS

BY BARB MOSHER , CONTR IBUT ING WR ITER

Volume XII Issue No. 34

75¢

January 182018

COVER STORY continued on page 19

All Katie Kearney wanted was a truly healthy, fl avorful peanut butter for her family.

“The organic products on the market were oily and didn’t taste good,” the mother of four children explained. “Our kids wouldn’t touch it. But I would not buy anything with a long list of ingredients.”

So, she fi red up her Cuisinart food processor, fi lled it with raw peanuts, experimented with add-in fl avors, and recruited family and friends as taste-testers. The samples she shared were a hit, and within a few months, she and her husband, Tim, launched Naturally Nutty Foods, a line of natural and organic nut and seed butters fortifi ed with omega-rich fl ax, hemp, and chia seeds.

That was ten years ago. Today, their facility in Williamsburg churns out 20 varieties of peanut, almond, and pumpkin/sunfl ower seed butters distributed to more than 500 retail outlets in the United States and

Canada. Private label contracts and online direct sales round out the operation that last year sent 90,000 pounds of product out the door in 8-ounce and 15-ounce jars and fi ve-pound tubs. And beginning in February, they will market single serving, on-the-go squeeze packets to cafeterias, coffee shops, and running/sporting goods stores.

“There’s been a lot of joy in just starting from scratch and growing and overcoming challenges of varying degrees,” said Tim, who oversees the 4,000-square foot production and shipping facility off Bates Road. “The goal has always been to keep it fun.”

Katie debuted her nutty creations at a block party in the summer of 2007 where they were gobbled up by neighbors who were delighted with the unique combinations of taste, texture, and health benefi ts. Encouraged by the enthusiastic response, the Kearneys took a hundred

jars of different peanut butters—plain, honey roasted, butter toffee, ginger chi, chocolate peppermint—to a farmers’ market and sold out within hours.

“It was crazy,” Tim recalled. “But it was confi rmation that maybe this was a good idea to try.”

They brainstormed together, considering market potential and nationwide competition. Tim, who was working as a business broker at the time, determined there was indeed a promising niche for their product.

So, that fall they rented 150 square feet of licensed commercial kitchen space across the parking lot from their present facility. They purchased small-batch equipment, explored ingredient supply options, and continued to experiment with fl avors. They built a list of potential buyers and started fi lling jars. Soon Katie was knocking on doors with samples in hand.

Interlochen Arts Academy was Naturally Nutty’s fi rst account, purchasing tubs of peanut butter for their student cafeteria. Grocery chains and specialty food stores jumped onboard, happy to stock the healthy alternative. The business quickly outgrew the little corner of shared space and by the winter of 2008, the

A combination of sunfl ower and pepita seeds, fl ax, hemp and chia seeds, and various spices are ready to be hand mixed before being ground into Naturally Nutty’s award-winning seed butter.

Tim and Katie Kearney and their youngest daughter, Ava, stand among their FDA and MDA approved production, packaging and shipping equipment at their Williamsburg facility. Photos by Barb Mosher

Naturally Nutty ingredients are hand-mixed in small batches to ensure quality control of the organic nut and seed butter production.