Buttering up the world
Pic’s Peanut Butter’s Pic Picot is opening his huge new Saxton Rd factory tomorrow.
Pic Picot has made a new home for his peanut butter business, and is inviting Nelson and the rest of the world to have a look.
Since October, Pic’s Peanut Butter has been moving its operation to a new 2500 square metre factory on Saxton Rd in Stoke.
The new premises are double the size of the old buildings, producing about 20,000 jars per day (although the plan is to lift that number to 50,000).
Tomorrow, the factory will be opened up to the public for tours, with a special unveiling to be made about midday.
Visitors can see the whole process, from roasting and grinding through to the jars being packaged and sent out the door.
Founder Pic Picot said the idea came after seeing the demand for guided tours at the old factory.
‘‘We could get three groups of 15 through a day, and we were turning away people constantly.
‘‘Because we make a very pure product – a lot of people didn’t think you could make peanut butter with just peanuts – we wanted them to see how it was made, see we don’t put any weird additives or anything.
‘‘It makes our guys feel good about their work, and gives our customers a close connection with their product.’’
Along with tours of the factory, there will be a cafe and a shop to keep visitors entertained.
Pretty much every peanut butter-related product is in there – in jars, slugs and 5kg buckets, crunchy or smooth, or in cashew or almond varieties.
If you don’t want to eat anything, there are also Pic’s tea towels, removable tattoos or peanut butter and jelly scented soaps.
The tour also gives an insight into the workings of the factory, and the story of how Picot started his business from humble beginnings 11 years ago – roasting his peanuts in a stainless-steel concrete mixer heated by a bunsen burner.
‘‘Oh it’s mad, although I think I’m starting to get used to it now,’’ Picot said.
‘‘People get terrified when they’re thinking of an idea, the things that could happen if it goes wrong. I think that holds a lot of people back – you’ve just got to start and do something.’’