Motor vehicles have played a big role in the development of award-winning Freda’s Peanut Butter.
Founders Lisa and Andrew Newsham first met on a school bus; a camper van gave the business its name; and the sale of a car helped fund the development of the brand.
Today, Freda’s Peanut Butter supplies a range of eight spreads that are sold across the country and have won accolades including a gold award in this year’s Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards.
The brand can trace its origins to 2016, when the couple decided to sell the Cornish café they had run for five years and embark on a tour of New Zealand in a camper van they named Freda.
“We found some peanut butter there that was made in an artisan way, and it got me thinking about what we had in the UK,” says Lisa. “I thought surely peanut butter could get better treatment.”
When the couple returned to the UK, she decided to make flavoured peanut butters to sell at local markets, as a way of supplementing the two chef jobs she was working. Her first experiments were conducted using a small domestic food processor that “instantly blew up”.
“It turns out that peanut butter is tough to make so I invested £600 in a commercial blender and started to get great results,” she says. “My ethos was to use the finest possible ingredients and we believe that is reflected in the great flavour that we achieve.”
Freda’s peanut butters are made with high-oleic nuts from the Córdoba region of Argentina. “Having tried peanuts from all over the world, we agree that these are the finest,” explains Lisa. “They are plump peanuts that roast beautifully, have an amazing aroma and taste delicious.”
Having developed a product she was happy with, Lisa turned to branding and labelling. Realising this would be an expensive process, she sold her car and invested the money in the brand.
At this time, she was working at Lobbs Farm Shop at Heligan, Cornwall. The shop agreed to hold a tasting day, which resulted in the sale of 100 jars and plenty of positive feedback.
Confident the brand had legs, she turned to the Growth Hub service that in turn directed her to Oxford Innovations, which supports startups. As well as guidance, Oxford Innovations paired her with a mentor who accompanied Lisa when she sought listings. The first day of knocking on doors got the business eight customers. The number grew to 30 over the next couple of weeks.
“I was making 100 jars a day in the little blender and labelling in the evenings. So, I quit both my jobs and committed full time,” she says.
Lisa was soon delivering across Cornwall twice a week, as well as attending food festivals. As distribution grew, the business took on a wholesaler that enabled it to target customers further afield.
As the business grew, Andrew joined Freda’s full time. He is now in charge of production, working with two part-time staff at a kitchen rented from Duchy College.
“We outgrew the kitchen at home and started to work at the college, renting a small kitchen on an ad hoc basis,” explains Lisa. “Now we rent their largest kitchen on a contract. It’s an incredible facility not being used for teaching any more so we feel lucky to have it.”
Freda’s now has a distribution hub and office near Bodmin, and employs a full-time admin assistant, who also handles social media.
The brand is sold in farm shops and delis nationwide, direct to consumers through the Freda’s website, and at food festivals across the UK.
“We love to get out there and meet our customers,” says Lisa. “Christmas is our busiest time, when we trade at Chatsworth, Bath and Winchester markets. We also do trade shows, which have always been very fruitful for us with new opportunities.”
At this year’s Farm Shop & Deli Show, the business promoted its success in the 2024 Farm Shop & Deli Awards, where its Chipotle Chilli Peanut Butter was awarded a gold.
“Chilli was a tricky one to develop,” Lisa says. “Obviously people’s tolerance to chilli varies dramatically, so you can’t suit everybody. Initially it was extremely mild, but I gave in to the pressure and amped up the levels. You get the smokiness first then a gentle heat that builds on the palate. It’s rounded out with a little sweetness.”
In two years’ time, Freda’s will reach its first decade of trading. But Lisa feels there are still many opportunities for the brand, including a huge untapped export market.
“We have a plan for what we would like to achieve in the next two years and then who knows? It may be time to let someone else take it to the next level. We are still enjoying it for now as every day is different.”
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