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A guy from Melbourne who quit his job to pursue his simple idea had no idea he would put it in a huge supermarket, which would turn him into a millionaire.
An Australian dude had no idea that his obsession with peanut butter would end up turning him into a millionaire.
Nick Sheridan, 40, was living in London with his wife in 2013 when he had a blistering moment.
“I was training for a marathon and trying to eat as cleanly as possible, so I started making my own peanut butter and experimenting with other nut butters,†Nick told news.com .to.
“I just wanted simple and delicious food and because of my sweet tooth, I didn’t want to deprive myself of that and follow a strict diet.
“Nut butter has become a focal point for me – it’s natural, full of protein and an energy booster. “It was also around the same time that the world’s appetite for clean vegetable protein started to grow rapidly, so I knew there would be interest in my designs.”
After returning to Melbourne from the UK, he quit his media job and focused on getting his chocolate peanut butter recipe.
And so he did, with the product sold in independent grocery stores in Melbourne the following year.
But it wasn’t until his brand – 99th Monkey – caught Coles’ attention in 2018 that things really started to improve.
“Coles gave us a photo at a small format store in Surrey Hills (Melbourne) which was amazing for a small business to test their items and get such exposure,†Nick said.
“But it was also pretty intimidating because I was a reporter who took a punt and didn’t really know what I was doing to suddenly be stored at Coles – and it was like ‘where is this going- it from here. â€I really had to face this impostor syndrome head-on.
Luckily for Nick, his hard work and dedication paid off after Coles, to his amazement, decided to stock two of his products (Natural Almond and Almond Cocoa Butter) in 800 of its major stores nationwide.
In the past four months alone, Nick’s $ 7 items have generated sales of $ 540,000, while last year he made $ 900,000.
The humble owner of the business said he was “so grateful” to the big retailer for giving him an “incredible opportunity”.
However, while it has seen a huge increase in sales, especially during the lockdown, it has not come without challenges.
“Like everyone in the world, and especially people with small businesses, the onset of the Covid pandemic has been a really scary time,†Nick said.
“While people weren’t panicking as much by buying premium peanut butters as they did toilet paper, we still had a small increase in sales, but in April of last year it was crickets.
“Nothing happened to the point where we had to stop production for about two weeks.
“But luckily it started to pick up again and since then it hasn’t stopped.”
Nick said his success comes down to the taste of his products.
“I honestly believe we make the most delicious nut butters in the world and I’m not saying that without validation,†said the father of two.
“We take this from consumers and that’s also how we make it – we’re a small manufacturer and we still make it ourselves in small batches and have a very hands-on process.
“We make and return the product very quickly – by the end of the week it’s on the shelves with that full beautiful texture and freshness. ”
His best seller at Coles is his Australian alternative to Nutella – almond cocoa butter that has just four ingredients – toasted almonds, coconut sugar, cocoa and cocoa butter.
99th Monkey is now a full-time business that produces roughly $ 1 million worth of nut butters each year. Nick is preparing for the company’s next exciting challenge: announcing its plans for global expansion and new products.
“All of our products are plant-based, gluten-free, non-GMO and carbon neutral,” he added.
“In addition to being carbon neutral, we offset an additional kilogram of greenhouse gases for each kilogram of nut butter sold. This makes us one of the few climate positive food companies in Australia. “
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