Nerdy Nuts, Netflix, and Chill

Story and Photos by Andy Greenman

In January, a month when fitness clubs are filled to capacity and treats are left stranded at the grocery aisle, Nerdy Nuts recorded their largest month ever. The threeyear-old specialty peanut butter company that began in a Rapid City garage continues its rise.

The journey started when partners Erika Peterson and Craig Mount returned to South Dakota. They had been living in the Front Range of Colorado and chose to return to Rapid City to raise their two children.

Without access to a Trader Joe’s, Sprouts or Whole Foods, Peterson chose to try her hand at making the peanut butter she was craving. They purchased a refurbished peanut grinder and began to grind peanuts from their garage. After a year of trial-and-error, perfecting and enjoying their very own peanut butter, Peterson offered her online friends and family a taste.

Nerdy Nuts Co-Founder Erika Peterson

Photo by Andy Greenman

“Why not try to do something more with this, versus just having this really expensive machine in our garage,” Peterson suggested. The response was overwhelming. She purchased 50 pounds of peanuts for $130, and Nerdy Nuts was born.

She quickly realized peanut butter is “an obsession… not just something they put on a piece of toast in the morning.” This realization led her to brainstorm new flavors such as white chocolate, pumpkin spice and mochas to begin selling at craft shows and farmers markets. Their audience continued to grow until they got the opportunity to sell wholesale to local markets including Breadroot Natural Foods, Timmon’s Market and Scheels.

PRESIDENTIAL PEANUT BUTTER

In the summer of 2019, as the Democratic Party had more presidential characters than in The Brady Bunch, Nerdy Nuts looked to capitalize.

The company went nuts and packaged four different candidate flavors for the 2020 election, matching their taste buds. Warren’s Winner, a nod to Elizabeth Warren, featured strawberry frosting and sprinkles in the peanut butter. At the time, current President Trump included vanilla cookies & cream. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders had cinnamon raisins in his Fuel the Bern! peanut butter. And Joe’s Dream was a chocolate chip peanut butter honoring the 46th President.

Photo by Andy Greenman

Following the release of the presidential peanut butter in August, the company would break through following a public relations push. The presidential line was featured across the country on Fox Business. Nerdy Nuts got its first taste of going viral as it sold $25,000 in just over 48 hours.

The success created a lot of stress as they tried to fulfill the record setting sales. The large orders helped Nerdy Nuts hone in on their process, from ordering thousands of pounds of peanuts to packaging and shipping the product. Peterson said the presidential line also helped them realize customers “wanted something with a little more pizazz to it.” It was time to expand upon the basic flavors.

Photo by Andy Greenman

COVID-19 CHALLENGES

Nerdy Nuts continued to fulfill orders and experiment with flavors when COVID-19 rocked the retail world. Trade shows that boosted sales such as Kountry Junkin’ and the Fall and Winter Markets were canceled. While many businesses struggled and even shuttered their doors during this time, Peterson chose to ask “How do we adapt to what is changing in the world or are we going to go under?”

They brainstormed ways to improve and survive throughout the pandemic. First, a new website was built through Shopify that gave users a better experience. Then, Peterson further experimented with new flavors to please their growing fanbase. Circus cookies peanut butter, chocolate cookies and cream peanut butter and monster cookie peanut butter were added to the line-up. Indulgence lovers went wild to find sprinkles, cookie chunks and marshmallow fluff in different varieties. The add-ins as Peterson calls it “put us in a completely new category.”

Photo by Andy Greenman

TIK TOK TO THE TOP

“I did what any millennial did during Covid and I downloaded TikTok,” Peterson said with a laugh. But no one is laughing at the success brought by that decision.

TikTok, a social media platform that allows users to post videos up to 60 seconds, features a wide range of celebrities from Kylie Jenner to Snoop Dogg. ‘TikTokers’ with thousands and even millions of followers can help endorse a product for the right price, what is better known as an influencer.

Peterson reached out to three influencers ‘that sparked joy in her life,’ and asked if she could send them some peanut butter. All three received the package and enlightened their massive followings to Nerdy Nuts. Ali Grace Morsell (705,000 followers), Christine Snaps (4.5 million followers), and White Lake’s Hailey Peters (945,000 followers) introduced Nerdy Nuts to millions. “That’s when Nerdy Nuts went from crazy to absolutely insane,” said Peterson.

They had sold so much peanut butter they had to shut their website down. Customers were upset they couldn’t produce as much as name brand manufacturers like Jif. At this time, Peterson and Mount were determined to be a direct to consumer (DTC) company, as they shifted to a global market.

They began hiring people to answer the hundreds of emails and social media inquiries that arrived each day. After shipping thousands of a packages for weeks, Nerdy Nuts realized if they wanted to continue their success, they needed help with logistics. They hired a third-party that ships products to the purchasers. While this may take from their bottom dollar, they knew it had to be done in order to grow and keep their sanity.

As for social media, Peterson is satisfied with Tik Tok “because there are so few creators versus how many viewers on Tik Tok.” They are up to a dozen influencers that have been picked by Erika herself. “We don’t want to just give our product to anybody. We don’t want to blanket the market. We’d rather be picky and have great results from our influencers.”

Photo by Andy Greenman

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE

Challenges continued to arise as Nerdy Nuts sales climbed. While Rapid City has been very supportive, the location provided challenges. Almost 400 miles away from a major hub, Peterson and Mount looked for partnerships to continue their expansion. They found help on the West Coast, and now create products in a second kitchen. For customers to receive the freshest products, Oregon was chosen as the location.

“Our kitchen in Oregon can have peanuts [shipped] to them next day, where it takes us five-to-seven days. Consumers are getting the freshest product in a timely manner,” states Peterson.

The Oregon kitchen focuses on the basic spreads while Rapid City primarily focuses on ‘more intricate processes.’ This is where you find workers chopping up ingredients by hand and layering product to give the consumer a visual experience. “My kitchen, can really focus to bringing more life to the Nerdy Nuts side of it,” Peterson adds of the Rapid City location.

MY LITTLE BUTTER CUP

Not only have the flavors expanded, but the products. Nerdy Nuts latest product for sale online is their peanut butter cups.

She says everyone is familiar with the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but “it’s not a true peanut butter cup. What they put inside their peanut butter cups is more of like a paste and they’re not doing anything crazy. It’s just chocolate and peanut butter flavoring.”

Peterson believes the cups are “going to absolutely change the game.” The first flavor released was toffee and 11 flavors more are expected throughout 2021. They are also working with large retail companies to bring specialized products for holidays.

MARCH MUNCHNESS

One thing Peterson attributes to the Nerdy Nuts success is their willingness to listen. They have taken advice from consultants to get them to this point, and they are also listening to the consumers.

In addition to taking notice to feedback provided on social media comments, Nerdy Nuts has created private Facebook pages that people can join to give feedback on flavors.

The flavors are not just being created in Peterson’s kitchen, she said “consumers can come up with some crazy ideas that you never envisioned or that you can take to a next level.”

Would you try bacon peanut butter? Banana wafer delight peanut butter? How about Alaskan blizzard peanut butter? These are some of the flavors submitted to Nerdy Nuts in the first part of 2021 as part of their National Peanut Butter Day contest. Entertaining videos are made by fans hoping Nerdy Nuts will take it a step further and produce their creation. View the entries on the Nerdy Nut Facebook page (/nerdynuts.sd). The tiramisu peanut butter by Donna Fimiani has our attention.