Speciality-Food-July/August 2025

While at its core nut butters are supremely simple, there’s a raft of new brands making the nut butter sector an exciting place to be. “New brands are trying to come onto the market in a very fun, foodie way, by talking about sourcing and origin – we rate Argentinian peanuts, and American peanuts often taste sweeter than their counterparts – and the flavour-added options are often very clever as it’s far from easy to add anything to peanut butter, especially chocolate, as peanuts don’t like moisture.” Ultimately it all comes down to price, and while the commodity price of peanuts is going down, the price of other nuts is increasing – which explains the higher price point alternative nut butters command, including the reasonably ubiquitous almond butter, and the built-in luxury of pistachio butters and spreads. 33 Peanut butter is still the biggest seller when it comes to nut butters in the UKmarket, says Simon Greenwood-Haigh of Proper Nutty. “We’re in a recessionary market, and peanut butter as opposed to other nut butter options is seen as an affordable snack or meal – even a high quality peanut butter spread on some artisanal bread will only cost a few pennies, but it still provides health benefits such as high levels of protein.” In a world where ultra-processed products are demanding increasing numbers of headlines, nut butters are a product which could – and should – come with an impressively short ingredients list. “We roast peanuts, grind them then put them in a jar or tin,” he says. “It’s a really simple process and people can overcomplicate it, but ultimately it’s a very natural ingredient and product.” RAWACACIA HONEY A 100% organic acacia flower honey with a light and fragrant bouquet. rawvibrantliving.co.uk LONDON HONEY COMPANY WILTSHIRE WILDFLOWER HONEY F rom tumbling Wiltshire downlands, beautifully fragrant with delicate undertones. thelondonhoneycompany.com RADNOR PRESERVES DARK SKIES PRESERVE This stellar Great Taste Award- w inning preserve is jam-packed with c huckleberries – a cross between a blackcurrant and gooseberry – for a stunning tart preserve that is out of this world, radnorpreserves.com BUTTER BIKE CHO COLATE PEANUT BUT TER A bl end of almost smooth pean ut butte r and dark cacao. Handmad e in small batches, suitable for vegans and palm oil-free. butterbike.co.uk RHYTHM 108 CREAMY PISTACHIO SPREAD A luxuriously smooth blend of rich, roasted pistachios, slowly crafted to perfection. rhythm108.com THE BAY TREE SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE Thi s classic marmalade will rem ind customers what marmalade should taste like. thebaytree.co.uk specialityfoodmagazine.com shoppers, and indies have a rich opportunity to stand out and support small-scale makers producing exciting spreads. From extra indulgent nut butters bringing together an array of nuts with innovative flavouring to fruit and chocolate spreads, in 2025 the range of spreads on offer for adventurous foodies is impressive. At Biona, the focus is on natural deliciousness. “Our Biona brand offers a wide variety of organic spreads, including fruit ones which are naturally sweetened with organic apple juice and puree, such as orange, strawberry and forest fruit, our ever- popular nut butter ones, including peanut, almond and cashew, as well as cocoa and hazelnut spreads too,” says Carmen. Health is a consideration, too: “a couple of years ago we launched Europe’s first organic high-oleic peanut butters.” Peanut butter is seen as an affordable snack or meal – even a high quality peanut butter on artisanal bread will cost pennies STOCK CHECK