Based in Mount Maunganui, Small Batch is a family-run artisan business producing aioli and nut butter. Owners Nick Delaney and Elaine Jennings are a husband and wife team with plans to get more people eating their products. Elaine chatted with the team about recent company news.
What is your company background, how did you start the business?
“We both have a love of good food. We met working in a restaurant in Dublin; Nick cooked professionally for 18 years and had always wanted to get into product development. We started with an aioli we made one night a week in a kitchen that we rented hourly and sold it at a local market. Over the next three and a half years it evolved into a full-time business with our own kitchen and supplying retail.”
What are the current product range and variants and how do these products stand out in the market?
“We have five flavours of aioli; Garlic, Smoked Garlic, Chipotle, Basil, Honey Mustard. The unique selling points would be that we use Marlborough Garlic, which we confit (cook in oil), giving it a smoother, creamier texture and more depth of flavour.
There are 13 nut butters; the Peanut Butter includes Crunchy, Smooth, Cinnamon Raisin, Chocolate; Almond, Almond Brazil and Cashew, Cashew, Macadamia, Hazelnut, Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Hazelnut, White Chocolate Macadamia and Super Butter.
Our entire range, except Chipotle Aioli, is gluten-free. We use no preservatives, and all our products are handmade in small batches as opposed to mass production, which helps us keep things as fresh as possible. Our aioli is made to order and shipped within 24 hours.
We only buy raw ingredients. Everything is done on site much like a good restaurant. We roast our own nuts as opposed to buying the more convenient already-roasted nuts, allowing us to control the different flavour profiles from start to finish. The Super Butter and Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter are uniquely ours and are also our best sellers.”
Has there been any recent company news?
“We had a product launch for Super Butter earlier in the year which went really well. We moved into our building last year and are still a husband and wife run business, and we just had a baby boy.”
What are the plans for the business moving forward, is there any expansion on the horizon?
“Plans are to get more people eating our products. We are always playing with new products so a bigger range is always on the cards.”
Where are your products currently available to buy, and are you looking at or wanting to expand your availability? If so, where would you like to see the product situated?
“Currently available locally in stores and at the Tauranga Farmers Market, where we have a regular stall, and mainly Auckland and Wellington with a few smaller stores scattered between. The products are also available to buy on our website www.smallbatch.co.nz. We are looking to expand to more retailers and the South Island, but we also want to keep our products handmade from scratch and of the highest quality.”
