Manufacturers

There’s little room for the word “try” in Krystina Murawski’s vocabulary. Born and raised in Westchester County, NY, Murawski says she always gives 110 percent to everything that she does. “I've always been an all or nothing person. I'm either full throttle or no throttle.”

Combine this go-getter attitude with Murawski’s self-described obsession with peanut butter and you have “Noomi” (pronounced “new me”). She launched the brand in April 2018 after working fervently on her own, with friends and an executive chef mentor, Leslie Lampert, to find the right balance of ingredients for what would soon become Noomi organic peanut butter. She made—literally—over 100 different peanut butter recipes before deciding on a simple but revolutionary blend of organic dry roasted peanuts, organic Deglet Noor dates, grapeseed oil, peanut oil and Atlantic sea salt.

One-third of consumers worldwide prefer to buy food from sustainable brands.

That’s according to a recent surveyof 20,000 adults from five countries, including the U.S, which was conducted by Unilever – a transnational consumer goods company. 

After attending Menus of Change(MOC), an annual summit hosted by the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, I learned how the food service industry is making moves to listen to consumers’ concerns. The good news is that chefs and other food service leaders are working to improve environmental health – but there is still great need for change in one specific area: water sustainability.

Peanuts are a tasty and convenient snack, and new product introductions reflect our love of snacking. Snacks are consistently a top performer for new peanut product introductions and this category shows no signs of slowing down. In the past quarter, new product introductions in the snack category increased 46 percent compared to last year, according to Mintel. These newly launched and recently announced product introductions like peanut milk will also contribute to continued growth in snacks.

The natural foods space evolves and grows, and the peanut butter aisle is a perfect example. A generation ago, variety in this corridor was creamy, crunchy or the jar with alternating stripes of peanut butter and jelly. To find natural or flavored peanut butters back then, you would probably have to go to a small natural grocer or make it yourself at home. Now, there are dozens of varieties available from brands with simply peanuts and salt to exotic flavors like garam masala.

The natural foods space is still innovating and expanding and the newest and brightest players are on display at several trade shows during the year, including Natural Products Expo East, Fancy Food Show, the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. At these events thousands of brands are showcased and many further missions centered on health, wellness, community building and sustainability. These new products will end up on store shelves heading into the new year. 

With every passing year, millennials continue to gain purchasing power in the retail sector. As a result, grocery stores are expanding and adapting what they offer to stay relevant with millennials. For many, an array of different product offerings is key to grabbing the attention of today’s shoppers. Thankfully for the peanut product category, this provides a major opportunity for growth. 

The grocery list is changing. In fact, for millennials, it may not even exist at all.

I stroll into the market and my senses are overwhelmed in the best way possible – the newly harvested vegetables bursting with color, the three-man band playing joyful folk music, and the aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries combined with the delightful fragrance looming from the flower stand. I’m greeted with a warm smile from two farmers who have been awake at least four hours longer than me. 

With 13 years of experience in food and beverage, Sanjiv Patel has already had a lifetime’s worth of career experience that other entrepreneurs in the industry would kill for. Patel’s career adventures with The Tetley Group and Stacy’s Pita Chip Company laid the foundation for his latest success, Lord Nut seasoned peanuts.

Sustainability isn’t just essential to farmers and consumers, it’s also vital for businesses. MARS is one of the world's leading chocolate manufacturers, which means that it can have a big impact on making sustainable choices in business, the environment and communities. Many US peanut farmers grow the peanuts used in your favorite MARS products like Snickers and M&M'S Peanut.