Pic’s Peanut Butter has become a household name, finding its way into supermarkets and winning fans across the country. On a recent trip to sunny Nelson, I visited Pic’s HQ to learn more about this growing brand and its story.
Pic’s started from humble beginnings: a garage, a concrete mixer and a determination to make better peanut butter than what was on the market. Mr Pic roasted peanuts in his concrete mixer and sold the first jars at local farmers’ markets. With encouragement from the community, production moved into an empty abattoir in Wakatu and scaled quickly, rising from about 40 jars a week to 1,000.
Today Pic’s operates several sites across the Stoke area for offices, production and storage. A new facility, Pic’s World, is under construction and production is already ramping up. With expanded capacity Pic’s now produces around 100,000 jars of peanut butter each week, with the ability to make 20,000–30,000 jars per day. These jars are shipped across New Zealand and internationally — approximately 44% currently goes overseas, and export is expected to grow.
Small-group tours of the factory can be arranged, offering a close-up look at production and the chance to grind your own fresh peanut butter.
Pic’s processes up to eight tonnes of peanuts each day to create its signature blends. Their peanut butter is 99.5% Australian-sourced hi-oleic peanuts (sourced from Kingaroy) with 0.5% salt. The product range includes Crunchy and Smooth in various sizes, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Peanut Oil and the new Boysenberry Jelly, which will be available soon. As Pic’s expands its product line, it continues to grow its presence at breakfast tables nationwide.
Readers’ Questions
Has Pic’s considered making a choc/hazelnut butter or other chocolate-fusion spreads?
One long-time fan put it well: “Would you add sugar to Unicorn Dust? No, of course you wouldn’t!” That sums up Pic’s philosophy — keep the peanut butter pure and let people add what they like. Pic’s sees its peanut butter as the perfect base for sweet or savory additions. While there’s interest in a chocolate peanut butter, the company prefers to keep its core product simple. Many fans make their own chocolate peanut butter at home by melting dark chocolate with a teaspoon of coconut oil and stirring it into Pic’s peanut butter.
What large sizes are available in stores or for trade?
A 1 kg tub is available in most supermarkets (smooth can be harder to find). For trade, Pic’s offers 2.3 kg and 5 kg tubs. These larger sizes are available from the factory shop in Nelson or through trade suppliers like Trents and Gilmours.
At what temperature and for how long are the peanuts roasted to achieve the perfect flavor and color?
Peanuts are roasted at about 150–160°C for 18–24 minutes. The exact time varies with peanut size and seasonal differences in moisture and oil content. The chief roaster measures and tests each batch to ensure consistent roast and flavor.
How many peanuts go into a jar of crunchy and smooth peanut butter?
988 peanut halves (without nibs or skins) go into a jar.
What is Pic’s favorite way to use peanut butter in baking or snacks?
Pic loves crunchy peanut butter on toast, often topped with boysenberry jelly. He also enjoys peanut butter stuffed into dates as a simple, tasty snack.
Giveaway! – Closed
For peanut butter lovers, there were two prizes of 1 kg jars of Crunchy Peanut Butter to give away: one prize here on the website and another on Facebook, provided by Pic’s. Two winners were chosen at random and notified by the specified date. The giveaway was open to New Zealand residents.
Winners Announced
Thank you to everyone who entered and shared their favorite uses for peanut butter. We received many delicious and creative ideas.
Congratulations to the winners:
Roxana Davies (via Facebook)
Libby Sutherland (on the website)
The winners were asked to email their postal details to arrange shipment of their prizes.