We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Hinton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

Family business is not for those looking to get rich quick. When it falls in your hands it you’re able to appreciate the hard work put in before you and it drives you to set up for the generations after you. I would love for my children to join my family business but only on their own terms. I use our business to teach them proper work ethic and patience/customer service. Our business is not for everyone and while I hope they would want to participate down the road, I don’t ever want them to feel like they have to.

We purchased Superior Pecans from another family when I was 16 years old. At 25, when I was getting married, the granddaughter of the company’s original owner asked to meet with me. She delightedly brought fourth pages of family trees. Turns out because of my marriage, Superior Pecans was in a round about way returning to the original family. It gives me great pride to say we’ve had a small part in driving this company to it’s 90th year in business – through blood, sweat and tears. In turn I support as many family businesses that I can because I know the hard work that goes into it and I understand how special it is to them. I hope that my customers can see that, too.

Emily, 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?

We are a specialty pecan shop located in Southeast Alabama. My family purchased Superior Pecans 14 years ago thanks to a newspaper ad. It was a struggling business that we are thankful to have saved through relocation and expanding our offerings to gifts, ice cream and our own brand of specialty pecan coffee. We offer every day gifts, sweet treats, corporate gifts, personalized gifts and of course local pecans which we candy ourselves. The coffee includes our pecans but is done through a private roaster.

We offer a classic southern delights and hospitality in our carefully renovated historic 1800’s era building. We love to “give the gift of the South,” which is what we consider pecans. They’re unique to our area and a delightful gift that locals will share with out-of-town friends and family. We are happy to be considered a must-see destination in our small town of Eufaula as well as a place that families can gather to enjoy shopping or desserts together.

Being personable is what we pride in. When you do good, you get good back. We’re thankful to have the opportunity to share our pecans, coffee and gifts with the world and love to hear the stories and meet the unique people that come through or doors or call up our store.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we originally purchased Superior Pecans it was in it’s original building. Off the beaten path in a now residential area of town and no one could find us. The building was beautiful and full of character and really helped us be unique. However, people that lived in town their whole life didn’t know we existed. After struggling for four years, we made the difficult decision to leave our precious building behind – where we had been located since 1934.

We purchased another recently renovated historic building downtown and it has been one of the most difficult but best decisions we have ever made.

Now a focal point in town, business is thriving.

Turns out taking away some of our business’ character was one of the best ways to add to it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Be original. Be you.

People want to know your story. Share your products with them accordingly. Show them the possibilities they can have with your products and also share any positive reviews from real customers. Don’t be afraid to ask for and then share Google or Facebook reviews. Put a face with the name. Don’t be afraid of feedback. Look at what your competitors are doing to get an idea on how to jumpstart and run a successful marketing campaign. Always remember that simple is better!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.superiorpecans.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/superiorpecans
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/superiorpecans

Image Credits

Emily Hinton