Dawn Kelley

UK Alumna Dawn Kelley is making the world a better place a spoonful of almond butter at a time

By Ann Blackford

Lexington native Dawn Haden Kelley will tell you that she never considered attending college anywhere other than the University of Kentucky. Although she didn’t have a laser focus on what major or career path she wanted to take, she had dreams of one day creating something to make the world a better place. After graduating from UK in 1993 with a degree in political science, she took her entrepreneurial spirit and passion for making a difference in the world on the road.

It ultimately led her to running a small, struggling almond butter brand, and taking it to the top as the third largest and fastest growing almond butter brand in the U.S.

This pretty much sums up Dawn Kelley’s path to Barney Butter in a nutshell, or more specifically, an almond shell.

A self-described Kentucky girl, Kelley remains true blue to her home state where most of her family still reside. She’s an enthusiastic sports fan and although she currently resides in Maine half the year and Florida half the year, she comes home to Kentucky when she can for UK games and Keeneland.

Kelley has had several major influences in both her personal and professional life which play an integral role in her success in the business world and perhaps even more so when she took the reins at Barney Butter.

Raised by a single mom, an entrepreneur in her own right, in advertising and radio station media, Kelley grew up around the type of business sense and work ethic that it takes to be successful in the business world. An avid reader, Kelley says if there is a business book, she’s probably read it.

“I learn through reading and that has had a direct impact on me, namely from CEO’s of bigger companies.”

Kelley has also always had a personal interest in food and how it relates to health, a passion she says comes directly from her grandmother, whom she calls “the original alfalfa sprout eating, natural food guru.”

“I spent a lot of time with my Mamaw growing up. She instilled in me a super healthy respect for food and its relationship to health. I learned ‘Let food be thy medicine, and I still live that today.’” Kelley said.

THE ROAD TO MAKING HER DREAMS A REALITY AT BARNEY BUTTER

Dawn Kelley met Steve Kelley on a blind date while she was living in Santa Monica, and perhaps not coincidentally, at a crossroads in her career. Steve was a businessman and living in Maine. He and his best friend had recently invested in a tiny company called Barney Butter.

“Knowing that Dawn was a health nut (she loved almond butter and had been making it at home for years) and in the middle of a transaction to sell the technology company that she was the president of, I asked her what she wanted to do after she sold the business and she hadn’t really decided yet,” Steve said.

“That’s when I called my partner and best friend and said, I met someone who would be perfect to run Barney Butter, however I don’t know whether I should hire her or marry her. My partner responded quickly with ‘why don’t you do both!’ The rest as they say, is history.”

When Steve offered Dawn the role of running Barney Butter, she knew she could probably get a job somewhere else and probably make a better salary and be in a bigger company, but she made the wise decision to join and lead Barney Butter. The job was the perfect opportunity to “make the world a better place” by melding her business expertise with her passion for food and health. She wanted to make the highest quality almond butter brand to make it available to the masses.

Dawn and Steve became partners in business first when together, they fully acquired Barney Butter in 2010 and then went on to grow the brand to the No. 3 almond butter in the nation. It wasn’t until the following year that they became partners in life, making Steve “Kentucky by marriage,” according to Dawn.

So, what exactly is Barney Butter? Like peanut butter but made with almonds, almond butter is an alternative option to peanut butter for those who have peanut allergies, or for anyone looking for a healthier version of arguably, one of the most popular snack foods in America. Dawn Kelley says that peanut butter and almond butter are both good sources of protein and calcium, but Barney Butter has good carbohydrates, fats and micronutrients not found in peanut butter.

What sets Barney Butter and the company apart from other nut butters? Kelley said three things. First, they are self-manufacturers and all they make is almond butter so there is no cross contamination with other nuts, making them 100-percent safe for people with peanut allergies. This is important as 11 million households in this country are affected by peanut allergies; second, they blanch

(take the skin off) their almonds. Barney Butter is the only almond butter company in the country that takes the skin off which produces a silky-smooth and creamy texture; and third Barney Butter is no-stir so there is no standing oil on top that you sometimes get with other almond butters.

Barney Butter makes almond butter products using locally grown premium California almonds and is sold in over 15,000 stores nationwide, including Kroger, Walmart, Meijer, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, and online at https://barneybutter.com/ as well as Amazon. All products are vegan, Non-GMO, gluten-free, peanut-free and great for Paleo/Keto diets.

CHALLENGES AND REWARDS

“We are the third largest brand and largest mom and pop brand in the category,” Kelley said, citing the Nielsen/SPINS data collection rating. “The number 1 and 2 brands are owned by big public-company Consumer Brand companies that have huge marketing budgets and teams. We have to stay on our toes, be scrappy and creative in order to keep up, get ahead and continue to not only stay in the game, but be a category winner.

Kelley said going in (10 plus years ago), not many people knew what almond butter was, and she loves being invested with a brand from a full trajectory — communicating with people, educating people, and learning from the consumer.

“I wear many hats and am directly overseeing e-commerce, strategy, R&D, marketing, branding, and retailer relationships. To see it all come together, that has been what is most rewarding,” she said.

Dawn says what it takes to make it in the business world she learned at UK.

“UK has a lot of programs to explore, and I had a well-rounded background,” she said. “UK is a big school, and you have to find your niche and navigate that. It taught me independence and self-reliance. I had to figure out how to stand out and how to be a self-starter. I wouldn’t trade my experience at UK for anything.”

“I love my job because I get live my mantra of ‘make something every day.’”

You can follow Barney Butter @BarneyButter on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. ■