No industry has been untouched by the Covid-19 pandemic – not even food.
Although rice, beans and other non-perishables have been flying off shelves, small food producers have had to find creative new ways to get in front of customers.
Humble Nut Butter is a Minneapolis-based company that makes a line of savory nut butters in flavors like sundried basil cashew, truffle herb walnut and spiced maple pecan. The company was founded in 2018 and has gained popularity at local farmers markets.
Recently, Humble Nut Butter cemented a deal with Whole Foods to sell its product at its seven Minnesota locations. The company is also experimenting with new channels like virtual farmers markets to expand its reach.
Minne Inno chatted with Humble Nut Butter Co-Founder and CEO John Waller to learn how the company is navigating food, funding and running a business during a global pandemic.
Minne Inno: What's it like running a food startup during the pandemic?
John Waller: Where to begin? [My wife] Jess still works for the University of Minnesota full time. Both of our young children have been out of school for two months, so we've turned into homeschool teachers. We're definitely juggling a lot, but this is temporary. School and summer camps can't come soon enough.
MI: How is the business doing overall?
JW: Our business is up year over year, believe it or not. We're also in the midst of raising our seed round and we have a verbal commitment from an angel group. That likely would have closed by the end of Q1. While we do expect it to happen, both sides are evaluating the landscape, which seems to be changing by the day.
MI: How has Covid-19 changed Humble Nut Butter's plans?
JW: It's certainly had an impact. We had lots of great momentum heading into March. We won a scholarship from Faegre Baker Daniels to attend Expo West, the largest food tradeshow in North America. But the show was canceled two days before it was scheduled to start. From a production standpoint, we've practiced social distancing since the mandate. Also, in-store sampling is a big part of our strategy at grocery stores, so not being able to do that has required us to become more creative with digital strategies for introducing our product to people.
MI: Tell me about the virtual farmers market. How will that work?
JW: It's an online marketplace run by Frank and Ernest Markets, which also runs the Linden Hills Farmers Market and others around town. They've enabled contact-less pickups at the market, doorstep delivery, pickups from our commercial kitchen, as well as nationwide shipping. It'll run from May until the end of the year.
MI: How are your sales doing?
JW: The addition of the seven Whole Foods stores certainly helps. Grocery sales have been more inconsistent than what we experienced earlier in the year and last year. We also have some restaurant and bakery accounts and they're doing what they can to adjust to the challenges. Online sales are up significantly – we had record months on Amazon in March and April.
MI: In the long run, what do you think entrepreneurs can take away from this crisis?
JW: Ultimately, we think we'll look back on this insanely difficult time as a pivotal moment for us. If we can grow during a global pandemic, amidst all the disruption to our daily lives and everything else, anything is possible.
Editor's note: This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
