Hillson Nut
Hillson Nut Company is a family-owned Cleveland-based nut roaster and processor, founded in 1935, that supplies custom small-batch roasted nuts, nut butters, and gift-packaged assortments to B2B food service customers and D2C retail consumers nationally via a Shopify storefront.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1935
- HeadquartersCleveland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Hillson Nut does
Hillson Nut Company is a privately held, family-owned nut roaster and processor founded in 1935 by Robert E. Hillson in Cleveland, Ohio, and now operating in its third generation. The company purchases raw nuts (cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, brazils, macadamias, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds) and applies custom small batch roasting, blanching, honey-roasting, buttering, pralining, and grinding into nut butters to produce a broad portfolio of SKUs across retail bags, gift tins, vacuum cans, and bulk wholesale packs.
The business runs a dual-channel model. On the B2B side, Hillson supplies ice cream companies, chocolatiers, candy makers, and restaurants with custom nut blends, buttered pecans for ice cream production, chopped nut mixes, and ground peanut or almond butter for commercial baking. On the B2C side, the company sells direct to consumers via a Shopify-powered e-commerce storefront with nationwide shipping, factory pickup in Cleveland, multi-address holiday gifting, and an increasingly diversified Sweet Treats and Specialty line (chocolate pretzels, caramel corn, praline pecans, Cajun and smokehouse flavored nuts, dark chocolate espresso beans). The underlying technology is conventional food processing rather than software; the company's differentiator is its cook-to-order flexibility, multi-preparation capability, and gift-ready packaging rather than any digital or AI-driven capability.
Pricing is unit-based across retail tiers from approximately $4/lb for peanuts to over $18/lb for jumbo cashews and macadamias, with holiday tins reaching $27.95. Marketing is concentrated on organic social (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), an email newsletter, and a recipe blog for content-led demand generation. There is no institutional capital, no M&A activity, and no disclosed revenue.
Hillson Nut firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hillson Nut
- Legal name
- Hillson Nut Company
- Website
- https://hillsonnut.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1935
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Hillson Nut Company is a family-owned Cleveland-based nut roaster and processor, founded in 1935, that supplies custom small-batch roasted nuts, nut butters, and gift-packaged assortments to B2B food service customers and D2C retail consumers nationally via a Shopify storefront.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hillson Nut industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nut Processing and Specialty Food Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Roasted Nuts and Peanut Butter Manufacturing (311911), Snack Food Manufacturing (31191)
- SIC
- Food And Kindred Products (2000), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Nuts Processing & Roasting (AFAKAIAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Nuts, Seeds & Trail Mix Snacks (CRADABAF), Nut & Seed Spreads Manufacturing (Peanut, Almond, Tahini) (AFAKADAJ)
Keywords
Where Hillson Nut is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cleveland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Hillson Nut business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- E-commerce Retail Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales through Shopify e-commerce platform selling nuts, seeds, snacks, and sweet treats to retail customers nationwide. Products include almonds, brazils, cashews, deluxe mix, hazelnuts, macadamias, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts in various preparations and packaging options.
- B2B Food Service Supply: Wholesale supply of nuts to food service businesses including ice cream companies, chocolatiers, candy makers, and restaurants. Custom products include buttered pecans for ice cream, mixed chopped nuts for sundaes, and peanut butter for cookie dough.
- Custom Processing Services: Custom small batch roasting and processing services for specialized nut product requirements including deluxe mixes, chopped nuts, custom nut blends, buttered almonds and pecans, and ground nut butters.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Basic nuts and seeds (peanuts, sunflower seeds) priced for accessibility |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Premium nuts and specialty products (cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Holiday gift tins and specialty gift packaging |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bulk and wholesale options for B2B customers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Hillson Nut product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hillson Nut Company manufactures and distributes a wide assortment of nuts and seeds, including cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, brazil nuts, macadamias, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, along with sweet treats and specialty prepared products. The company specializes in custom small batch roasting and processing, producing custom nut blends, chopped nuts, and ground nut butters for food service businesses, while also selling retail packaged nuts and holiday gift tins direct to consumers.
Product overview
Hillson Nut Company is a family-owned nut processing and roasting business founded in 1935, offering a single unified product portfolio of nuts and nut-based products. The portfolio centers on their Superior Deluxe Mix (a premium blend of Jumbo Cashews, Redskin Almonds, Blanched Almonds, Pecan Halves, Filberts, and Brazils in 15oz vacuum-sealed cans) alongside individual nut varieties including Almonds, Cashews, Pecans, Peanuts, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts, Macadamias, Pine Nuts, Pistachios, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, and Walnuts. The company also offers specialty prepared products such as Praline Pecans, Honey Roasted Peanuts, and Chocolate Pretzels. For gifting occasions, they provide Holiday Gift Tins, Gift Boxes, and Addressed Gift Cards. Their product line spans multiple preparations (Raw, Roasted and Salted, Honey Roasted, Buttered, Praline, Blanched, Chocolate Covered) and packaging options (Bags, Boxes, Gift Tins, Vacuum Cans). While the majority of their business serves wholesale customers (ice cream companies, chocolatiers, candy makers, restaurants) with custom nut blends and ground nut butters, they also offer retail products directly to consumers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Hillson Nut
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Hillson Nut technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Hillson Nut partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hillson Nut competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hampton Farms: In-shell and roasted peanut specialty processor selling wholesale and branded snacks across foodservice and retail. Overlaps with Hillson's peanut roasting capabilities and wholesale foodservice sales motion.
- Mariani Nut Company: California almond grower-processor offering custom roasting, packaging, and ingredient supply to food manufacturers and retailers. Comparable in B2B custom nut processing and roasted nut product set.
- Sahale Snacks: Premium nut snack brand selling flavored nut mixes, glazed nuts, and trail mixes through grocery, club, and D2C channels. Comparable positioning in higher-priced nut snacks and giftable prepackaged formats.
- Setton Farms: Vertically integrated pistachio and dried nut supplier offering bulk ingredients and branded retail snacks including Pistachio Chewy Bites. Comparable as a roasted nut ingredient supplier with retail branded products.
- Trophy Nut Company: Ohio-based custom nut roaster and packager serving B2B confectionery, baking, and ice cream customers with bulk and custom-processed nuts. Closely aligned with Hillson's B2B custom roasting model and Cleveland-adjacent geography.
- Kar's Nuts: Family-owned Midwestern nut snack manufacturer (Madison Heights, MI) selling trail mixes, roasted nuts, and nut snacks via D2C and B2B channels. Comparable to Hillson Nut in heritage, multi-channel model, and roasted nut category focus.
Broad incumbents
- Planters: Legacy branded nut snack label owned by Hormel Foods, offering peanuts, mixed nuts, and snacks across grocery and club channels. Comparable category presence but at mass-scale CPG distribution.
- John B. Sanfilippo & Son: Public company manufacturing packaged nuts under Fisher Nuts, Orchard Valley Harvest, and private label brands. Comparable as a higher-volume processor with similar product breadth in roasted/peanut nuts and confections.
- Fisher Nuts: Packaged nut brand owned by John B. Sanfilippo & Son, offering pecans, walnuts, almonds, and mixed nuts across grocery retail. Competes with Hillson in vacuum-can and bag retail nut SKUs, though at much larger national distribution.
- Blue Diamond Growers: Largest almond grower cooperative globally, producing a broad portfolio of branded nut snacks, beverages, and ingredients. Competes with Hillson across retail nut snack categories but at vastly larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Hillson Nut social profiles
Digital presenceHillson Nut financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hillson Nut leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Hillson Nut funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hillson Nut M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hillson Nut
What does Hillson Nut do?
Hillson Nut Company manufactures and distributes a wide assortment of nuts and seeds, including cashews, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, brazil nuts, macadamias, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, along with sweet treats and specialty prepared products. The company specializes in custom small batch roasting and processing, producing custom nut blends, chopped nuts, and ground nut butters for food service businesses, while also selling retail packaged nuts and holiday gift tins direct to consumers.
Is Hillson Nut a public or private company?
Hillson Nut is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Hillson Nut founded?
Hillson Nut was founded in 1935. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Hillson Nut based?
Hillson Nut is headquartered in Cleveland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hillson Nut make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. E-commerce Retail Sales are the primary driver. The others are B2B Food Service Supply and custom Processing Services.
Who are Hillson Nut's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hampton Farms, Mariani Nut Company, Sahale Snacks, Setton Farms, Trophy Nut Company and Kar's Nuts. Broad incumbents are Planters, John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Fisher Nuts and Blue Diamond Growers.
Does Hillson Nut have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hillson Nut.
What industry is Hillson Nut in?
Hillson Nut's product category is Nut Processing and Specialty Food Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAIAF, Nuts Processing & Roasting, with a secondary code of CRADABAF, Nuts, Seeds & Trail Mix Snacks. Its NAICS code is 311911 and its SIC code is 2000.