We were lucky to catch up with Alex Pappas and Robert Blakely recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alex & Robert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Robert and I saw a need for a product in an up and coming category, CBD. Both of us being avid snackers and believing in the benefits of hemp and cannabis products we sought out to make an all in one product that provided both substance and the powerful benefits of CBD. In doing so we Hemp Nuts was born. A lot of current hemp offerings are things you wouldn’t normally eat or you’d eat on a rare occasion like desert. So we wanted a snack that you could easily incorporate into your everyday life that allowed you to take advantage of the benefits of hemp without having to sacrifice your regular diet. Peanuts are a snack that are found in most peoples homes around the country. By adding CBD to peanuts we created an all in one snack that provides both substance and protein but also provides the recovery benefits of CBD. Hemp Nuts provide people a CBD offering that is familiar to them, peanuts. In addition to the familiarity of peanuts, cannabinoids being fat soluble actually need fat in the body to help them to maximize ingestion. This peanuts also act as the perfect courier in ensuring the CBD is absorbed as effectively as possible, ensuring people can maximize the benefits of the CBD they are ingesting. It means the world to us to give people a snack they can take on the go with them whether it’s hiking, biking, skiing or a long day on your feet at work. We feel hemp nuts can be a product you can rely on to get you through a long day and hearing people’s success stories is what makes this meaningful to us and what makes us continue to do what we can to not only make sure Hemp Nuts succeeds but the CBD and hemp grocery space as a whole.
Alex & Robert, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
A big part of the fun in this endeavor has been educating people to the benefits of hemp and CBD. We noticed there was a lot of taboo and false ideas about failing drug tests, getting buzzed, and general bad information out there in regards to hemp products. So one thing we are very proud of is being able to help educate people and right the wrongs of the past in showing there are some real health benefits that come from hemp products. While if you met us in person you would meet some fun outgoing individuals, one thing we want people to know is how serious we take being apart of a new segment in grocery. This means consistent third party testing, ensuring all of our products meet FDA standards, fresh/natural ingredients, and making sure you can consume Hemp Nuts just like you would any other snack product, worry free. It is also important that we give back, that is why for every sale of Hemp Nuts we make a donation to One Tree Planted. We are active individuals who enjoy the out doors and we believe it is important that we do all we can to give back so that future generations can enjoy the outdoors just as we do.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Robert and I met just as things were beginning to open back up from the Covid pandemic. We started out doing small farmers markets around Denver, producing everything ourselves roasting peanuts, coating them, packaging, marketing, every aspect of production we did ourselves. Working in commissary kitchens became a 2nd job after a long day at our day job. Once the week was over it was all about selling at farmers markets. Using a converted ice cream cart we were able to get Hemp Nuts into the hands of people all around the Denver area.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
The hardest part of the endeavor has been making sure our product meets the dosage of each bag as we scale up. In the commissary kitchen it was easy, we were just using large mixing bowls and making small batches which were easy to control and maintain consistency. As we started to expand and gained national distribution we quickly learned we were going to need to up our production capacity. So we bought a couple of popcorn mixers. Given the size we figured we could just up our recipe to a full box of peanuts, how wrong we were. As we quickly learned the peanuts were too heavy for the mixer so we had to dial our recipe back and figure out what the limit was we could get away with that allowed the mixer to still spin. All while doing this we had to adjust our ratios of seasonings and oils to ensure the product tasted right and tested right. Given the demand we were only able to use this method for so long, we found a temp hiring agency to help us with a few runs but quickly realized we were in over our heads. So the search for a co-packer began. Fortunately we found a co-packer who shared the same beliefs we do when it comes to quality and standards. After standing in with them and working on a larger order together we have been able to pass manufacturing off and handle any size of orders that may come in. We are proud to say we can manufacture for the country.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eathempnuts.com
- Instagram: @eathempnuts
- Facebook: Hemp Nuts
Image Credits
All photos taken by owners Alex Pappas & Robert Blakely