Spread the Love peanut butter made in Park LaBrea
Zach Fishbain loves peanut butter so much, he and his bride gave it as party favors at their wedding.
The couple filled their creamy, organic artisan recipe in “Spread the Love”-labeled glass jars. Subtley seasoned with cinnamon, agave gives it a touch of sweetness, and cayenne adds kick, says Zach.
The finished result tasted by 160 guests was a hit and kick-started a new career for the new couple.
The response took them by surprise. “We started fulfilling orders under the table,” Fishbain said.
The couple soon got a cottage food operator’s license and continued grinding and roasting batches of peanuts in their two-bedroom Park La Brea apartment.
To meet demand, 100-pound bags of peanuts were arriving at the newlyweds door every two weeks from a USDA-certified farm in New Mexico (Georgia and Texas are the other main organic peanut growing states).
The recipe’s secret is in its simplicity, says Zach, who adds zero salt and foregoes fillers such as palm oil as well as chemical-sounding ingredients found in many peanut butters, says his wife Valerie.
Zach learned about nutrition and the overuse of salt in the U.S. diet from one of his clients: the American Heart Association.
Fishbain runs a Hispanic digital marketing agency. Valerie is a county social worker who helps runaway foster teens.
There’s more than peanuts on the horizon for the busy couple who are expecting their first child, a daughter, any day. To make room for their growing family and their expanding peanut empire, they are searching for an off-site kitchen.
“It really is a labor of love,” says Fishbain. The couple celebrated their one-year anniversary in May.
Available in original and cacao flavors, starting at $6.75, Spread the Love can be purchased locally at Larchmont Juicery, Erewhon and Monsieur Marcel.
Visit spreadthelovepb.com.
Category: People