“The most important thing is just to start. You will never end up anywhere if you don’t start somewhere. If I hadn’t started making jars, it wouldn’t have given me the opportunity to get to where I am today.”
I started making nut butter in my kitchen with a food processor, the best ingredients I could get my hands on, and a hope that I’d make something just right for fueling my fast-moving, adventure-filled days.
Now, I have the pleasure of crafting naturally delicious nut butters, plant-based snacks, and organic confections. This is the story of how it all got started.
As a vegetarian living an active lifestyle, I was on a mission to create something butter…er, better. Given that nut butter was a staple in my diet, plain old peanut butter just wasn’t cutting it. I dreamt up my own flavors, and soon an assortment of experimental nut butters began to fill my cabinets. After weeks of hungry roommates stealing my tasty creations, I decided to write my name on the jar – and that’s where the real story begins.
My family and friends encouraged me to start selling my nut butter at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. With the support of Boulder’s entrepreneurial community, mentors, and resources at the University of Colorado, I was able to develop my first business plan. The jars of nut butter, filled with passion, were an instant hit at the farmers’ market. I used this success as leverage to convince local retailers to allow me to stock their shelves and demo the nut butters in store. As a one-man operation, I tirelessly overcame one challenge after another and slowly the business grew.
I was able to take the business to the next level in 2007, when I was awarded Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan and given the opportunity to grow the business out and start building a team.
Even today, every day is an adventure for me and for JUSTIN’S®. But more importantly, I can still maintain work-life balance by enjoying the Boulder lifestyle as an avid backpacker, mountain biker and skier, while striving to develop products that use the best tasting ingredients as possible.
We’ve come a long way since the days in Justin’s home kitchen. Follow along to see how Justin grew from making nut butter in his home kitchen to where we’re at today.
The story began when Justin Gold, a vegetarian living an active lifestyle, moved to Boulder, Colorado in his 20’s. In order to fuel his adventures, Justin embarked on a mission to create new varieties of nut butter that not only packed protein, but also tasted great. He began crafting the very first batches of his now-famous nut butters in his home kitchen.
Justin dreamt up his own unique flavors and an assortment of his creations began to fill his kitchen cabinets. After weeks of hungry roommates devouring his nut butter, he did what he had to do – write his name on the jars. That’s where the real story began…
Justin’s family, friends, and hungry roommates encouraged him to start selling his nut butter at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. In order to get started, he took advantage of resources in his incredibly entrepreneurial community. After calling on mentors and discovering resources at the University Of Colorado Leeds School of Business, Justin developed his first business plan.
As a one-man operation, Justin worked nights and weekends at a salsa company’s kitchen in Denver, CO making large quantities of his nut butter in an FDA compliant facility. At this point, he continued to maintain a full-time job while juggling his nut butter business on the side.
Come spring, Justin was ready for the Boulder Farmers’ Market with his four original flavors: Heavenly Honey Peanut Butter, Sinfully Cinnamon Peanut Butter, Honey Almond Butter and Pumpkin Pie Peanut Butter.
With innovative flavor profiles and distinct texture, Justin’s nut butters were an instant hit among the Boulder community. Justin used this success as leverage to convince local retailers to allow him to stock their shelves and demo the nut butters in store.
Justin welcomed his newest creation to the nut butter family: Maple Almond Butter. This flavor, which happens to be Justin’s favorite, changed the way people saw almond butter and quickly became a top seller.
As a health conscious athlete, Justin still felt there was something missing. He realized that gel packs and energy shots filled with sugar were not the most nutritious snack. Why, he thought, had no one ever packaged a clean protein such as nut butter in an on-the-go squeeze pack? With this, came the next game-changing idea: the squeeze pack. The squeeze pack provided a portion-controlled and convenient source of protein to take cycling, put in a lunchbox, and use for sampling Justin’s different flavors.
JUSTIN’S® received the first Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan in the grocer’s Rocky Mountain Region to expand production and take the company to the next level.
Justin learned that out of the ten lowest income areas in the US, eight are Native American communities. Justin’s experience at a nearby reservation was so inspiring that he now encourages all employees to volunteer at the reservation. By partnering with the local non-profit, Conscious Alliance, JUSTIN’S® continues to support hunger-relief efforts.
Growth continued when JUSTIN’S® packaging got a fresh new look! New packaging made JUSTIN’S® products stand out on the shelves and helped transform the brand.
Justin released his irresistible, chocolaty line of nut butter: Chocolate Hazelnut Almond Butter. With over 50% less sugar than the leading brand, JUSTIN’S® was the first to offer a guilt-free alternative that was both nutritious and delicious.
As a natural entrepreneur, Justin is constantly innovating. Growing up, peanut butter cups were his favorite snack to satisfy his sweet tooth. By blending his artisanal peanut butter with high-quality chocolate, Justin created a better-for-you alternative to the conventional peanut butter cup. JUSTIN’S® nut butter cups are 100% organic, Rainforest Alliance certified and gluten free.
As the first recipient of Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan and in the spirit of entrepreneurship and paying it forward, Justin’s co-created and became the founding member of Whole Planet Foundation’s Microloan-a-Month Fund. JUSTIN’S® continues to support the microloan a month program through the Whole Planet Foundation.
JUSTIN’S® celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary!
Even now, each day is an adventure for Justin. He has been recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.
I took everything I love about my original Peanut Butter Cups and miniaturized them! What I consider to be my biggest, little innovation yet! My Mini Peanut Butter Cups are USDA certified organic, Rainforest Alliance certified and gluten-free. They’re every bit as tasty as my original peanut butter cups with the added benefit of being smaller, more sharable, and let’s face it, adorable.
If you love food as much as I do, then you should love bees as much as I do. Bees are responsible for 1 in 3 bites of food we eat, including almonds, honey and cacao – three of my favorite foods. But with honey bees dying off at a rate of 44% per year, we can’t afford to sit by and do nothing. That’s why our team bee-lieves pollinators need us as much as we need them, and we’re all nuts for bees! Determined to help stop the decline we stepped up our support for our friendly pollinators by joining forces with organizations on a national, state, and local level to help restore, protect and conserve bees and other important pollinators. Our pollinator partners include: Xerces Society, People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN), Growing Gardens and The National Honey Board.
As the guy who brought the first organic peanut cups, it’s no secret that nut butter and chocolate are the my favorite combination. We took it to the next level with our Dark Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups and Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups! These nutty creations are made with high-quality, USDA certified organic dark chocolate that’s perfectly paired with just the right amount of Justin’s Cashew Butter and Almond Butter.
At Justin’s, we are committed to sourcing the highest-quality ingredients and believe that people should be able to make informed choices about the foods they eat. That is why we only source GMO-free ingredients in our products, and we verified our entire product line through the Non-GMO Project in 2019.
As a nut butter cup connoisseur, I took everything I loved about my original Peanut Butter cups but made with an added pop of puffed quinoa. The quinoa takes the peanut butter cups to a whole new level and creates a crispy-creamy-crunchy experience you’ll love!
I must say I really raised the bar on protein with Refrigerated Almond Butter Protein Bars. My newest creation is made with 10g of plant-based protein, my one-of-a-kind almond butter, and only 5-7 grams of sugar. These bars are perfect for fueling any adventure, whether it’s at home or on-the-go!
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The story began when Justin Gold, a vegetarian living an active lifestyle, moved to Boulder, Colorado in his 20’s. In order to fuel his adventures, Justin embarked on a mission to create new varieties of nut butter that not only packed protein, but also tasted great. He began crafting the very first batches of his now-famous nut butters in his home kitchen.
Justin dreamt up his own unique flavors and an assortment of his creations began to fill his kitchen cabinets. After weeks of hungry roommates devouring his nut butter, he did what he had to do – write his name on the jars. That’s where the real story began…
Justin’s family, friends, and hungry roommates encouraged him to start selling his nut butter at the Boulder Farmers’ Market. In order to get started, he took advantage of resources in his incredibly entrepreneurial community. After calling on mentors and discovering resources at the University Of Colorado Leeds School of Business, Justin developed his first business plan.
As a one-man operation, Justin worked nights and weekends at a salsa company’s kitchen in Denver, CO making large quantities of his nut butter in an FDA compliant facility. At this point, he continued to maintain a full-time job while juggling his nut butter business on the side.
Come spring, Justin was ready for the Boulder Farmers’ Market with his four original flavors: Heavenly Honey Peanut Butter, Sinfully Cinnamon Peanut Butter, Honey Almond Butter and Pumpkin Pie Peanut Butter.
With innovative flavor profiles and distinct texture, Justin’s nut butters were an instant hit among the Boulder community. Justin used this success as leverage to convince local retailers to allow him to stock their shelves and demo the nut butters in store.
Justin welcomed his newest creation to the nut butter family: Maple Almond Butter. This flavor, which happens to be Justin’s favorite, changed the way people saw almond butter and quickly became a top seller.
As a health conscious athlete, Justin still felt there was something missing. He realized that gel packs and energy shots filled with sugar were not the most nutritious snack. Why, he thought, had no one ever packaged a clean protein such as nut butter in an on-the-go squeeze pack? With this, came the next game-changing idea: the squeeze pack. The squeeze pack provided a portion-controlled and convenient source of protein to take cycling, put in a lunchbox, and use for sampling Justin’s different flavors.
JUSTIN’S® received the first Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan in the grocer’s Rocky Mountain Region to expand production and take the company to the next level.
Justin learned that out of the ten lowest income areas in the US, eight are Native American communities. Justin’s experience at a nearby reservation was so inspiring that he now encourages all employees to volunteer at the reservation. By partnering with the local non-profit, Conscious Alliance, JUSTIN’S® continues to support hunger-relief efforts.
Growth continued when JUSTIN’S® packaging got a fresh new look! New packaging made JUSTIN’S® products stand out on the shelves and helped transform the brand.
Justin released his irresistible, chocolaty line of nut butter: Chocolate Hazelnut Almond Butter. With over 50% less sugar than the leading brand, JUSTIN’S® was the first to offer a guilt-free alternative that was both nutritious and delicious.
As a natural entrepreneur, Justin is constantly innovating. Growing up, peanut butter cups were his favorite snack to satisfy his sweet tooth. By blending his artisanal peanut butter with high-quality chocolate, Justin created a better-for-you alternative to the conventional peanut butter cup. JUSTIN’S® nut butter cups are 100% organic, Rainforest Alliance certified and gluten free.
As the first recipient of Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan and in the spirit of entrepreneurship and paying it forward, Justin’s co-created and became the founding member of Whole Planet Foundation’s Microloan-a-Month Fund. JUSTIN’S® continues to support the microloan a month program through the Whole Planet Foundation.
JUSTIN’S® celebrates its 10 Year Anniversary!
Even now, each day is an adventure for Justin. He has been recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young.
I took everything I love about my original Peanut Butter Cups and miniaturized them! What I consider to be my biggest, little innovation yet! My Mini Peanut Butter Cups are USDA certified organic, Rainforest Alliance certified and gluten-free. They’re every bit as tasty as my original peanut butter cups with the added benefit of being smaller, more sharable, and let’s face it, adorable.
If you love food as much as I do, then you should love bees as much as I do. Bees are responsible for 1 in 3 bites of food we eat, including almonds, honey and cacao – three of my favorite foods. But with honey bees dying off at a rate of 44% per year, we can’t afford to sit by and do nothing. That’s why our team bee-lieves pollinators need us as much as we need them, and we’re all nuts for bees! Determined to help stop the decline we stepped up our support for our friendly pollinators by joining forces with organizations on a national, state, and local level to help restore, protect and conserve bees and other important pollinators. Our pollinator partners include: Xerces Society, People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN), Growing Gardens and The National Honey Board.
As the guy who brought the first organic peanut cups, it’s no secret that nut butter and chocolate are the my favorite combination. We took it to the next level with our Dark Chocolate Cashew Butter Cups and Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups! These nutty creations are made with high-quality, USDA certified organic dark chocolate that’s perfectly paired with just the right amount of Justin’s Cashew Butter and Almond Butter.
At Justin’s, we are committed to sourcing the highest-quality ingredients and believe that people should be able to make informed choices about the foods they eat. That is why we only source GMO-free ingredients in our products, and we verified our entire product line through the Non-GMO Project in 2019.
As a nut butter cup connoisseur, I took everything I loved about my original Peanut Butter cups but made with an added pop of puffed quinoa. The quinoa takes the peanut butter cups to a whole new level and creates a crispy-creamy-crunchy experience you’ll love!
I must say I really raised the bar on protein with Refrigerated Almond Butter Protein Bars. My newest creation is made with 10g of plant-based protein, my one-of-a-kind almond butter, and only 5-7 grams of sugar. These bars are perfect for fueling any adventure, whether it’s at home or on-the-go!