'Wanna Spoon?' You Will Say Yes to This Peanut Butter

When a pizza craving attacks, it’s easy to search for a local pizzeria, read ratings and drive to a spot where fresh, hot pizza with various toppings will be served. But, when a peanut butter and jelly sandwich craving hits, what is an eater to do? And, what if you’re craving a flavored peanut butter?

Pacific Beach Peanut Butter owner and self-proclaimed lifelong peanut butter fanatic, Matthew Mulvihill, knows all too well that searching for an eatery that will provide a really delicious, healthy peanut butter without all the added sugar, oil and salt is futile. Even Google didn’t help his search, he said.

“I was sitting at home and I wanted my daily peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Mulvihill said. “But at the time, I didn’t have peanut butter, bread and jelly. I Googled, ‘where can I go buy a pre-made peanut butter jelly sandwich?’ Nothing popped up. So I was thinking to myself: 'Well, if I ever sold a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I’d make the best peanut butter in the world.”

It was at this moment that Mulvihill, a Pacific Beach resident, realized he could make his own peanut butter that met his standards.

“I Googled, ‘How do you make peanut butter?’ And, [the results] popped up where I could go find the place to make it, which was Whole Foods at the time,” he said.

When he walked into Whole Foods, he saw the machines that served fresh peanut butter. All of the machines had regular peanuts and other nuts in them, but, according to Mulvihill, one had a milk chocolate morsel in it.

“I don’t know if [the milk chocolate morsel] was in there by accident or what,” he said. “But, I went, ‘Wow, I can do a lot of different stuff with [freshly made peanut butter].”

At this moment, a business idea was born. Mulvihill was inspired to launch Pacific Beach Peanut Butter, which now carries 11 flavors: M&M's, pretzel M&M's, cinnamon, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, all natural and all natural unsalted.

Inspired and excited by the idea of creating high-quality peanut butter with different flavors, Mulvihill bought a machine (named Norma), moved back in with his parents who did not live in San Diego, and even put in two weeks notice at his full-time job.

This lifelong peanut butter lover was serious about producing the best peanut butter and moving back to Pacific Beach, where he lived after college.

Mulvihill’s father, Bill Mulvihill, was skeptical of his son’s new business idea. He said it would “never fly.” 

But, he has been happy and proud to see his son’s business doing so well. In fact, Matthew Mulvihill’s mother, Jean, has come on board as a partner and his brother is relocating to San Diego to help the growing business.

Matthew Mulvihill attributes the success and support to the product being healthy, high-quality and just delicious.

“I also think it’s really popular because we don’t have the oil, the sugar, the salt [found in conventional peanut butter]. It’s more of a health-conscious spread that happens to be really good and tasty,” he said. 

“We are quality first. We are nine dollars per jar for a reason. Because we use the most expensive products you can find—from peanuts to chocolate and even the cinnamon chip.”

Mulvihill uses the unsalted Valencia peanut, which according to him, is the highest quality graded peanut.

“It’s actually rare,” he said. “It’s ony found in New Mexico and the tip of Texas. The farm we get [the peanuts] from are quality controlled because it’s rare and not mass produced.”

To further ensure his products are safe and quality ensured, Mulvihill sorts through his peanut and candy shipments to check for any imperfections.

As for new flavors, Mulvihill said he is open to any ideas. And, he will try them all­, even his eight-year-old cousin’s idea of an Andes Mint peanut butter or his friend’s suggestion of acai berry peanut butter. Both did not taste good, so he does not carry them, but he is open to any other suggestions. There is no limit to his quest to deliver the highest-quality flavored peanut butters in the nation.

So whether you decide to use the white chocolate peanut butter in a new baked good, the caramel peanut butter on waffles and apples (Mulvihill’s personal favorite), or the all natural in a classic peanut butter and jelly, make sure to have a spoon by your side, too. As the company slogan suggests, you’re going to “wanna spoon” this spread. 

Check WannaSpoon.com, to learn about shipment across the country.