It quickly became evident that Pic’s Peanut Butter has grown to be a very popular household name, sought after in supermarkets and winning hearts across the country. So on a recent trip down south to sunny Nelson, I really wanted to take a visit to Pic’s HQ and learn a little more about this growing peanut butter star. Don’t forget to read right to the bottom to check out an awesome giveaway too.
From humble roots with not much more than a garage, a concrete mixer and the added frustration of current peanut butters on the market at the time, Mr Pic himself found his calling. Roasting his peanuts inside a concrete mixer saw the birth of Pic’s Peanut Butter, which was then sold and quickly snapped up at local Farmers Markets. A little later on, and after plenty of local encouragement, this budding business expanded in to an empty abattoir in Wakatu with production increasing from 40 jars a week to 1000.
Pic’s now have several locations and factories within the Stoke area, some used for offices, others for production and storage, along with their new Pic’s World currently under construction, but kicking off production shortly. With the increased work space, Pic’s can now produce 100,000 jars of peanut butter each week (with the capacity to producing up to 20,000-30,000 jars per day), to be shipped across New Zealand and roughly 44% of this is sent overseas, however this has been and will continue to grow.
Tours for small groups can also be arranged to take a better look through the Pic’s factory, learn a bit more about the business and even have the chance to grind your own fresh peanut butter.
Pic’s can go through 8 tonne of peanuts a day to create their delicious blends, made of 99.5% Australian sourced hi-oleic peanuts (from a town called Kingaroy) and 0.5% salt. The range include Crunchy and Smooth in an assortment of sizes, Almond Butter, Cashew Butter, Peanut Oil and their latest edition, Boysenberry Jelly (soon to hit shelves). The possibilities could be endless for Pic’s as they continue their breakfast domination.
Readers’ Questions
Has Pic’s considered making a choc/hazelnut butter or any other chocolate fusion spreads?
One of our big time Picsters once said to me “would you add sugar to Unicorn Dust? No, of course you wouldn’t! And that’s why you shouldn’t add anything to your PB”. It’s kind of along the same lines as to why Pic started making PB in the first place – to remove everything that people had spent years adding into it. We like to think that it’s the perfect base ingredient for adding whatever you like. Sweet or savoury.
I’m a massive fan of chocolate and as much as I would love a choc PB, I don’t think we will ever be able to convince our Chief PB maker to create one. So what we chocolate lovers do, is make it ourselves. I melt chocolate (dark ghana is my fave) with a tsp of coconut oil and then stir it into my PB – ta da, easy and so delicious!
What large sizes can I find in stores to curb my peanut butter craves, or can we order even bigger containers?
We have a kilo tub available in all supermarket stores – smooth is a bit trickier to find as not everyone stocks it. We also produce a 2.3 kilo and a 5 kilo for trade. You can pick these up from our factory shop here in Nelson or in stores such as Trents or Gilmours.
What temperature are the peanuts roasted at and for how long, to get there perfect flavour and colour?
150-160 degrees for 18-24 minutes. This varies based on the size of the peanut and the season – some are slightly drier or oilier than others. The Chief roaster measures and tests this to ensure we get the roast and flavour absolutely spot on everytime.
How many peanuts go into a jar of crunchy and smooth peanut butter?
988 halves (without nibs or skins).
What would be Pic’s favourite baking recipe using Peanut Butter? Pic is all about crunchy peanut butter on toast. But recently he’s been quite the fan of adding his boysenberry jelly as a topping. Another of his fave snacks is peanut butter on dates.
Giveaway! – Closed
If you’re a peanut butter lover, I have 2 x 1kg jars of Crunchy Peanut Butter to give away! One for a lucky reader here, as well as another on Facebook thanks to Pic’s. Don’t forget to make the most of both chances to win!
To enter:
Leave a comment below with your favourite use for Peanut Butter.For a second chance to win, jump on over to Baker Gatherer on Facebook for more details.
Two individual winners will be chosen at random and notified here and on Facebook by 6th of October. Open to New Zealand residents only.
Good luck!
Winners Announced
Thanks to all those who entered by sharing their favourite uses for peanut butter in the comments. There were plenty of delicious and ingenious ideas, thank you!
Congratulations to the winners below:
Roxana Davies via Facebook
Libby Sutherland here on the website
Could the winners please email me with their postal details and I’ll get their peanut butter sent out ASAP. Thanks again for entering.
dane@bakergatherer.com
Peanut butter chocolate Oreo cupcakes! 🥜🍫
I love peanut butter on toast & I also love it on celery 😁
Peanut butter on toast is a perfection!
Bang Bang peanut butter sauce is yum 😊
On celery or fresh bread mmmmm
Love it straight off the spoon but also use it for my peanut butter chocolate cups
There’s nothing as good as Peanut Butter on freshly made toast
Love Peanut Butter Muffins
Add to my favourite homemade milkshake for next level taste sensation!!
I love peanut butter and banana on toast!! 😋
On rye bread with cheese and marmite mmmm 😋
Pic’s peanut butter on carrot for morning tea.
Love peanut butter and honey on toast. Has to be hot toast.
Love your peanut butter on toasted Vogel’s 🤤
Best on thick toast bread:)
I love peanut butter on Paleo toast topped with sliced banana 🍌
I adore your page and pics peanut butter. I love to eat my crunchy pb on vogels thin toast in the morning and then smooth pb by the spoon from the jar at work as needed. Pb cupcakes are amazing too!
Just on toast with lots of butter 🙂
peanut Butter Brownie Truffle Bars
It’s a no bake recipe that will knock your socks off ! It’s truly amazing and so easy to make .
I love eating my Peanut Butter on Crumpets
Peanut butter spread onto a warm french stick is heaven to me. I love the idea mentioned in the q&a above regarding choc/peanut butter, I’m going to try melting chocolate and mixing it with Pic’s for my snack later!
I love it on toast and it’s tastes great any time of the day! You can’t beat it!
I go through so much peanut butter using it in my smoothies and also in peanut butter choc chunk cookies!
I love crunchy PB on crumpets yummm 😋 and on toast with sliced Avocados, Pb spreads better without butter!
Straight out of the jar! If I’m feeling fancy I’ll use celery instead of a spoon 😀
Love it on soft new bread or toast and in baking
I love peanut butter on top of porriage!
I love peanut butter on toast with banana.
Straight from the jar!
I make a mean peanut butter mousse!!
love it on hot toast
Mmm peanut butter and apple
Love peanut butter on toast. Otherwise, just straight out of the jar!
Love to use in cooking satays, kids just love As is on toast.
Crunchy peanut butter on toast <3
Love to have peanut butter on toast but also with a stick of celery!
In our house Pics is used in a very wide variety of ways bug the most popular is on celery and cucumber slices. Delicious!
On French Toast! I slather Pics Peanut Butter on two slices of bread, dunk the bread in a bowl of whisked eggs and let them soak for a couple minutes…. then slap them into a preheated frying pan until cooked. Best. creation. ever.
I like it on toast 🙂
Love it swirled through my dark chocolate brownie 😍
peanut butter cups with 72% dark Ghana! 😍😍😍
LOVE PIC’S straight from the container or SUPER THICK on super toast bread!! Hmmm can’t beat the taste of Pic’s!! it rocks for peanut butter world!!
I love making 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies!
I love a mashed banana on top of a thick layer of Pic’s Peanut Butter on toast – Perfect!
I like making Satay Sauce at home with a good quality crunchy Peanut Butter, such as Pics ! It is also rather nice in Bliss Balls, with shredded coconut, dried banana, and maple syrup x
Peanut butter cookies!
Omg so many ways but love peanut butter cups or just eating it straight from the jar
Peanut butter on hot toast, why mess with perfection
PB with banana and dates on wholegrain toast yummy
Ants on a log or really celery peantu butter with sultanas on top crunchy nnutty and yummy 🙂
I love it on toast and sometimes i use it as a dip for apple slices
I love Peanut Butter so so much!!! My favourite way is from the jar haha but I use it so many ways. In my healthy paleo treats with no refined sugar 😍😍😍
Triple choc chip cookies with peanut butter. YUM
I enjoy it on toast and i also add it to my savoury scone recipe
I like it straight from the jar, I’ve got no time for toasting bread. When a pics peanut butter craving hits… it HITS
With a spoon straight from jar and crunchy pics and I make it fancy by using long handled tea spoon . it also tastes pretty great from the jar but using the new Griffen’s gingernut fingers as the spoon drooling
I Love it with apple or crackers for that mid morning snack. A jar is always in my bottom drawer and I am pretty aware of “others” at work who enjoy that jar too in my absence (like the General Manager!) Love to share, it’s good for us and fills the nutty need of energy when the energy starts getting low.
Peanut butter is awesome with apple slices and make a great afternoon snack.Perfect to give me an energy.My son from EU missed it so much that I sent him some recently and he packs it in his bags when he visits
I love to make spicy satay sauce to eat with homemade roti breads or free range chicken skewers.
peanut butter on everything! I love it so much top 2 are on sour cream rice thins or in a smoothie with spinich, banana, protein powder and a pinch of salt drool
My Wifey and I Love it on Toast and also making Peanut sauces on some of our Chicken dishes
I use Pic’s to dip my chocolate into!
Incredible doing new Zealand well
I grab 2 squares of 90% lindy a put a big blob pics pb in the middle – so good! I also eat it with cornthins on the daily…. Or just spoon it straight from the jar…
PB Choc Chip Biscuits. So nutty crunchy with a pb chocolaty taste.
On toast with strawberry jam
Love it on hot buttered vogels toast every morning
Nice with a salad sandwich
On toast yum yum !
Just made a trifle and put the pics jelly between the sponge cakes, SO GOOD. I would love to see a kiwified version of trifle on here 😉 the recipes are awesome I’m making ambrosia and pavlova cheesecakes for my 2 Christmases!