G. E. Barbour Inc, is doing so well with their nut butters, they’ve had to hire around the clock staff. Demand in the United States has been growing to the point that they’ve hired people to keep production going 24/7 over the last 6 months.
Barbour’s, a company as old as Canada, may be better known in eastern Canada for ‘King Cole’, its legendary tea, but it’s the nut butters that are keeping the lights on these days. Many of us grew up on peanut butter sandwiches in Canada and North America, but discerning tastes have evolved to include other ‘nut butters’ without the nasty additives that are bad for our health.
One of only four nut butter manufacturers in Canada, and the only one east of Montreal, Barbour’s now ships almond, hazelnut and peanut butters to shops in Texas, Colorado and Alabama, to name a few.
“We’re constantly in hire mode, which is kind of fun.”
Sylvia McVey, president and chief executive officer of G. E. Barbour’s, says they import the nuts from Georgia, and yes some of them are former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s peanuts. The increased production is the result of a million dollar investment in more equipment including a second roaster, which has made the expansion into the American market possible.
“We’re constantly in hire mode, which is kind of fun.” McVey said. “A huge part of the process is our food safety record. We have an extraordinary quality assurance department.” There had been food safety issues in the butter industry in the United States McVey told CBC reporter Deborah Irvine Anderson on a recent visit to the plant.
The company makes 11 million pounds of nut butter each year, including specialties such as honey almond butter and crunchy peanut butter with flax seeds.
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