Customer Profile:
NOSH Butters Went Looking for Pistachios and Found a Lot More
This is a story about how a quest for pistachios, the search for healthier nut butter, and a flat tire led to a solid partnership between two family-owned businesses. Husband and wife team Sam and Lauren Trohman are foodies who love nut butter, made by mixing almonds, pistachios, pecans, cashews and other nuts into smooth, creamy dollops of deliciousness. It’s perfect for everything from making a coffee smoothie to spreading it on toast to adding it to countless dessert recipes.
They always have the products that we need available. If we need them quickly, they make it happen. If I have a problem, I can call, or email and they communicate very well. One of the things that sets them apart is that they are a family-run business like ours, and there’s a personal aspect to that.
Building a better nut butter
When Sam and Lauren first started making nut butter, the products on the market often featured unnecessary ingredients such as added sugars and hydrogenated oils like palm oil. Palm oil is linked to cardiovascular disease and has a production process that can be bad for the environment. “We didn’t understand why all these products use palm oil when you can make peanut butter or almond butter or pistachio butter without added oils or sugars,” Sam says. “You still get a great source of protein and a great source of healthy fat.”
So, he and Lauren started making their own nut butter without the unwanted extras but with other enhancements that gave them a unique flavor. Pretty soon their friends and family were clamoring for them, so they launched NOSH Butters in 2017. “At that time, there were two main companies supplying nut butter,” says Sam. “The selection was limited; we didn’t understand why you couldn’t find hazelnut butter, for example.”
Making the C.J. Dannemiller connection
One day, Sam was seeking a source for fresh, high-quality pistachios to make into nut butter when he came across C.J. Dannemiller. In a clear case of serendipity, NOSH Butter had moved its production kitchen to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, which turned out to be just a stone’s throw away from C.J. Dannemiller’s facility. “Over the years, it’s been pretty organic being able to work with C.J. Dannemiller. We’ve tried other suppliers, but C.J. Dannemiller has been the most reliable for us.”
Sam is very specific about what that reliability means. “They always have the products that we need available. If we need them quickly, they make it happen. If I have a problem, I can call, or email and they communicate very well. One of the things that sets them apart is that they are a family-run business like ours, and there’s a personal aspect to that. That’s not something you can get from a lot of major suppliers out there. Major companies don’t really care about a micro business like ours. We built a relationship with Dannemiller that has over the years turned into a partnership, which goes a long way to building trust. We know they’re not going to take advantage of us.”
Quality nuts and a lot more
Sam likes the high quality C.J. Dannemiller provides. “When you’re dealing with an agricultural product like nuts, there’s a lot of potential for things to go wrong, to get ingredients that aren’t of good quality. Working with C.J. Dannemiller, that hasn’t been the case. They have good products and are SQF [Safe Quality Food] certified.”
NOSH Butters looks to C.J. Dannemiller for more than just nuts. “One of the good aspects of our partnership with C.J. Dannemiller is that not only have we received advice from them, but they have a big network of customers and have a lot of leads. They’ve passed a lot of customers onto us. By working with C.J. Dannemiller we’ve generated new opportunities to help our business grow.”
About that flat tire, Sam explains, “I was driving out to C.J. Dannemiller’s to pick up some ingredients and I got a flat tire. I was in their parking lot, and one of their employees helped me change the tire. He actually drove to his house to pick up some tools to help me change it. I would have been on my own at a big distributor. They’re nice people. Everyone I’ve come across there has been very professional and very friendly. Those things are intangible but incredibly valuable.”
About The C.J. Dannemiller Co.
C.J. Dannemiller is dedicated to delivering the freshest ingredients, quickest turnaround and best experience. See how we’ve impacted other retail businesses and food manufacturers. And contact us when you’re ready to connect with a bulk wholesale nut supplier that always puts the customer first.