Justin’s

What Justin’s does

Justin's is a Boulder, Colorado-based consumer packaged goods brand that produces organic nut butters, nut butter cups, chocolate candy pieces, and chocolate candy bars. Founded in 2004 by Justin Gold at a Boulder farmers market, the company built its identity around USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Rainforest Alliance-certified, gluten-free, and Orangutan Friendly Palm Oil-sourced ingredients across its product portfolio. The brand is best known for its peanut and almond butters in flavors including Classic, Honey, Maple, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Coconut, and for chocolate-covered peanut, almond, and cashew butter cups in milk, dark, white, and crispy varieties. In 2025 the company extended into peanut-caramel-nougat chocolate bars.

The business operates a wholesale retail and DTC e-commerce model, distributing products through natural grocery retailers (Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, The Fresh Market), mass-market retailers (Target, Stop & Shop), and e-commerce channels including Amazon and its own website. Marketing relies on owned content, recipe assets, and organic social on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, with no disclosed enterprise contracts and no proprietary technology stack.

Following its 2016 acquisition by Hormel Foods, Justin's was divested in two steps in 2025: a definitive agreement signed in October 2025 with Forward Consumer Partners, and a December 2025 close in which Forward acquired a 51% majority stake while Hormel retained 49%. Justin's now operates as a standalone private company led by CEO Peter Burns, with founder Justin Gold returning as strategic advisor and a rebuilt C-suite including COO, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer, Chief Sales Officer, SVP Marketing & E-commerce, and VP Brand roles.

Name

Justin’s

Legal name

Justin's, LLC

Website

https://justins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Justin's is a Boulder, Colorado-based organic CPG brand founded in 2004 that produces nut butters, nut butter cups, chocolate candy pieces, and chocolate bars sold through natural and mass-market retailers plus e-commerce to health-conscious consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Nut Butters and Confections

NAICS

Confectionery Manufacturing from Purchased Chocolate (311352), Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing (3113)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Chocolate & Candy Snacks Manufacturing (AFAKAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nuts, Seeds & Trail Mix Snacks (CRADABAF)

Keywords

• Organic nut butters
• Nut butter cups
• Chocolate candy bars
• Better-for-you confections
• Specialty food brand

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: Justin’s generates revenue through the sale of nut butters, nut butter cups, chocolate candy pieces, and chocolate candy bars through retail and e-commerce channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Justin's manufactures and sells organic nut butters (peanut and almond in multiple flavors), chocolate-covered nut butter cups (peanut, almond, cashew), organic chocolate candy pieces, and chocolate candy bars. Products are sold through natural and mainstream grocery retailers and e-commerce channels, emphasizing USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Rainforest Alliance, and Gluten-Free certifications.

Product overview

Justin’s is a specialty food brand offering a portfolio of organic nut butters, nut butter cups, chocolate candy pieces, and chocolate candy bars. The core product lines include: Nut Butters (peanut and almond butter varieties in Classic, Honey, Maple, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Coconut flavors); Nut Butter Cups (chocolate-covered peanut, almond, and cashew butter cups in multiple chocolate varieties including Milk, Dark, White, and Crispy); Chocolate Candy Pieces (organic chocolate-covered peanut butter pieces with candy shells); and Chocolate Candy Bars (peanut caramel nougat bars in Milk and Dark Chocolate). All products emphasize organic, non-GMO, and mindfully-sourced ingredients. The company operates as a standalone entity following a 2025 partnership between Hormel Foods and Forward Consumer Partners, with Forward holding 51% ownership and Hormel retaining 49%.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nut Butters Organic peanut butter and almond butter varieties in multiple flavors including Classic, Honey, Maple, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Coconut. USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, and made with mindfully-sourced ingredients; targeted at health-conscious consumers.
• Nut Butter Cups Chocolate-covered nut butter cups in Peanut (Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Crispy), Almond (Dark Chocolate), and Cashew (Dark Chocolate) varieties. Certified USDA Organic, Rainforest Alliance, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Gluten-Free.
• Chocolate Candy Pieces Organic chocolate-covered candy pieces with a peanut butter or peanut butter crisp center, available in Dark Chocolate Peanut and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter varieties. Certified gluten-free and made with natural colorings from fruits and vegetables.
• Chocolate Candy Bars Chocolate candy bars featuring peanut caramel nougat, available in Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate varieties, plus mini bag formats. Organic and certified as part of Justin's expanded confection line.

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lily's Sweets: Stevia-sweetened chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, and baking chips; direct competitor in the better-for-you chocolate cup and bar category with similar natural grocery channel presence.
• Hu Kitchen: Paleo-friendly chocolate bars and confectionery with clean-label and paleo certifications; directly comparable better-for-you chocolate product format competing in natural and mainstream grocery.
• Peanut Butter & Co: Direct nut butter competitor offering flavored peanut and almond butters through retail and DTC channels; comparable specialty/specialty-natural positioning targeting health-conscious consumers.
• Barney Butter: Premium almond butter brand with nationwide retail distribution in natural and mainstream channels; directly comparable product format (jarred nut butters) and clean-label positioning.
• Nutiva: Organic, non-GMO superfood brand offering nut butters and related spreads with comparable certification stack (USDA Organic, Non-GMO) and natural-channel retail distribution.

Emerging players

• Unreal Snacks: Better-for-you chocolate snacks (chocolate-coated nuts, coconut bars) competing for the same shelf set as Justin's nut butter cups and candy pieces in natural and mainstream grocery.
• Artisana Organics: Organic nut and seed butters with comparable USDA Organic, raw, and clean-label positioning; competes in the premium nut butter category in natural and specialty retail.

Broad incumbents

• The J.M. Smucker Company: Diversified packaged food company whose Smucker's Natural Balance and Santa Cruz Organic nut butters compete with Justin's across conventional and natural grocery channels.
• The Hershey Company: Largest North American chocolate manufacturer with premium and better-for-you extensions (Lily's, SkinnyPop, Dot's); competes directly with Justin's confectionery and increasingly in better-for-you nut butter cups.
• Mars, Incorporated: Global confectionery leader with KIND Snacks and RXBAR acquisitions, providing deep competition across better-for-you snacking and chocolate categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JustinsNutButter
• Instagraminstagram.com/justins
• Pinterestpinterest.com/justins/_created
• TikToktiktok.com/@justinsbrand?lang=en
• Xx.com/Justins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Justin’s