3,000 years ago, one exceedingly intelligent Incan man (or woman) decided to grind up a curious little nut into a pasty substance: the great ancestor of the delicacy now known as peanut butter.  The original creation was much drier and less smooth than the product usually found on shelves today, but as an avid peanut butter connoisseur, I’m sure the mixture, often combined with cocoa beans, was just as enjoyable.

These days, you would be hard-pressed to find me at my desk without a banana awaiting a dollop of crunchy peanut butter.   In fact, I’m kind of known for it. Since starting at gap intelligence (10 months ago to the day, next week!) there have been a mere handful of days where I have missed out on my morning tradition of banana and peanut butter.  Often times, I continue to consume spoonfuls of super chunky peanut butter well after the disappearance of my banana, and somehow manage to convince myself this is “healthy” snacking.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say living off peanut butter alone is a good life choice, but there have been studies conducted on nut eaters/peanut butter consumers vs non-nutters, and the results show that we (yes I consider myself a nutter) are less likely to develop heart disease or Type 2 diabetes! Score!

The best part about my love of PB, and extensive knowledge of its versatility, is the ability to hook others on it.  When I started here, our tablet and desktop analyst, Gurpreet, wouldn’t touch the substance with a ten foot pole.  Today, she feels quite the opposite.  It was a mixture of yogurt covered pretzels slathered with peanut butter that changed her mind.

I’m sure you’re imaging how delicious that would taste, and I can attest that it’s up there with the classics: PB&J, ants on a log, peanut butter cookies, and muddy buddies.

Other Fun Peanut Butter Facts and Their Relation to gap:

  • 1-in-90 Adults in the U.S. has a peanut allergy: our CEO Gary is the one here

  • It takes 540 peanuts to make a 12 oz jar of butter: gappers have enjoyed AT LEAST that many peanuts at the Padres games this season

  • Each acre of peanuts could make 30,000 PB&J sandwiches: gapU snack attack attendee’s polished off 0.1% of those sandwiches in 30 minutes

  • 60% of consumers prefer CREAMY to crunchy: impromptu poll of gappers found 64% prefer CRUNCHY over creamy

  • There are 10 National Peanut holidays: I celebrate peanuts every day of the year.

Any other questions on the uses of peanut butter, its nutritional information, or its consumer facts can be directed to Stacey at gap intelligence.