At 25, Justin Gold was making experimental peanut butter in his home kitchen with a food processor and a stack of recipe journals. His singular obsession: bring new life to a tired lunchtime staple.
What started as late-night experiments with honey, cinnamon and banana eventually became Justin's — one of the most influential natural food brands of the last two decades.
At first, Justin got rejected by most grocery stores he approached. He worked overnight in a shared industrial kitchen, hand-filling jars one at a time. He couldn’t get a distributor, so he stocked the shelves at the Boulder Whole Foods himself.
And when growth stalled… he had an idea during a mountain bike ride that would transform the company: What if peanut butter came in a squeeze pack?
In this episode, Justin explains how relentless experimentation and stubbornness helped him build a category-defining brand — and how, with each entrepreneurial milestone, an even more challenging one emerged.
YOU’LL LEARN:
Timestamps:
This episode was produced by J.C. Howard, with music by Ramtin Arablouei.
Edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Alex Cheng.
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