THE IDEA

The first seed of the idea for Pip & Nut was planted in 2013 when I started making my own nut butters at home. At this stage it was mainly to fuel my own love for the product; I was training for a couple of marathons at the time and I would always treat myself to peanut butter on toast as a post-run snack. Natural peanut butter is packed full of protein and healthy fats, which makes it the perfect recovery food.

THE MARKET

Towards the end of the year I decided to see what other people thought of my nut butters, so I started selling them at London’s Maltby Street Market every weekend. Outdoor markets in the UK winter are very chilly places indeed! When I started getting positive feedback from the general public, I really started to think seriously about how I could make something more from this hobby of mine.

October - December 2013

CROWDFUNDING & SETTING UP

I lived in the Shed that summer, which gave me the time to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube. When I reached my target in less than 10 days I had to pinch myself; things were getting real! Having the investment in the bank meant I could spend the rest of the year finding a production partner (the hardest bit), working on the brand with B&B Studio and hiring my first employee, Tom.

LAUNCH!

The first Pip & Nut jars launched onto the shelves of Selfridges in London in January 2015 - which is still one of my favourite moments of this journey so far. We launched with three flavours in jars and squeeze packs: Smooth Peanut, Smooth Almond and Coconut Almond. I’m still very grateful to Selfridges for taking a punt on us and giving us that first opportunity.

GETTING BIGGER

During 2016 the team grew from two to seven full-time squirrels. This was the start of our Friday team lunch tradition and we had our first ‘proper’ Christmas Party! Our range also got bigger (literally) with the launch of 1kg tubs in November. We finished the year on a high and ready for an even more exciting 2017.

Having settled into our Nest we hit a new milestone in 2018 by reaching 100,000 followers on instagram. This year I was also incredibly proud to be featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, within Retail and Commerce, which celebrates those reinventing how we shop.

Becoming a certified B Corp in 2019 will always be one of my proudest Pip & Nut achievements as it cemented our long-term commitment to using business as a force for good. 2019 also marked the launch of our delicious Chocolate Nut Butter Cups range. This was an exciting milestone of growth for Pip & Nut as we started to expand beyond the spreads aisle!

Above all else the pandemic emphasised the importance of community, we wanted to make sure we were supporting our local area as much as possible. In 2020, we started a ‘You Give, We Give’ jar donation scheme with Hackney Foodbank on our webshop, and brought out a charitable limited edition Gingerbread Almond Butter in November. This flavour raised enough funds to allow Hackney Foodbank to purchase a new van to further their community outreach.

In July 2021 we completed our biggest packaging upgrade to date by switching to glass jars. From 2021 to 2022 alone, this transition saw us save over 147 metric tonnes of plastic from being produced, that's the equivalent of 20 elephants!

2022 saw us visit some of our farmers who grow our nuts, as we developed our sourcing principles. We also launched some really exciting products this year, including our very first Limited Edition collaboration product, Cinnamon Scroll Almond Butter with Crosstown Doughnuts, and our iconic Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter range.