The Mani Story
2014: STU (MANILIFE FOUNDER) MOVES TO ARGENTINA
2014: STU (MANILIFE FOUNDER) MOVES TO ARGENTINA
Attempting to escape a job in accountancy, Stu moves to Argentina and gets a job with a peanut butter social enterprise. Inspired by the different ways it can be used in cooking and just how delicious it was, he starts making and selling peanut butter in the local community.
DEVELOPING A PASSION
FOR PEANUT BUTTER
DEVELOPING A PASSION
FOR PEANUT BUTTER
Much to his dismay, Argentines aren’t as obsessed with peanut butter as we are here in the UK. Stu sells very little. However, using his oven and a small blender in his mate's kitchen, Stu continues to experiment with recipes and flavours. The first peanut butter jar is created, with a somewhat egocentric brand name!
2015: MEETING THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MANI
2015: MEETING THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MANI
Stu then tracks down the family behind the peanut estate that we still source from to this day. They hit it off and it just so happens they farm the best peanuts on the planet! It is from this relationship that ManiLife is born.
A COMPLETE DISASTER.
A COMPLETE DISASTER.
Stu moves back to the UK with an ambition to start the world's first provenance led peanut butter brand. He imports a tonne of peanuts. The day they arrive his manufacturing partner pulls out, leaving him with a literal tonne of peanuts in 25kg bags in his bedroom.
AN UNLIKELY PEANUT BUTTER VENTURE
AN UNLIKELY PEANUT BUTTER VENTURE
Stu turns to his friends for help. That summer, 45 friends came together. In an old rugby club kitchen, they make 4,000 jars of peanut butter. One jar at a time. Little did they know it would become the greatest tasting peanut butter in history.
From ‘Stu’s peanut butter’ to ‘ManiLife’
From ‘Stu’s peanut butter’ to ‘ManiLife’
Why ManiLife? Mani means peanut or groundnut in Latin American. And 'life' because we're all about making people happy and we believe our products to be life-changingly-lip-smackingly-good!
DISTRACTION LEADS TO DEEP ROAST
DISTRACTION LEADS TO DEEP ROAST
One day, Stu and his friends get distracted and over-roast the peanuts. On tasting, they are blown away. The Deep Roast is born. The first of its kind, it goes on to become the most sought after peanut butter. Pictured, are the first ever Deep Roasts on sale (with some rather makeshift labels).
OUR FIRST EVER MARKET
OUR FIRST EVER MARKET
The first ever Deep Roasts on sale at our first ever market. They were an absolute hit and the very first ‘Mani-fans’ were born (we're chuffed you guys are still supporting the brand, 7 years on).
2017: GETTING LUCKY WITH GOUSTO
2017: GETTING LUCKY WITH GOUSTO
A couple of years later, ManiLife had a breakthrough. Recipe box brand Gousto needs 9,000 mini pots at short notice. A dozen folk came together in a wee kitchen and packed 9,000 mini pots in 2 days (the group includes a lady called Saz, who turns out to be the love of Stu’s life and is now his wife).
2020: WAITROSE TAKES MANI MAINSTREAM
2020: WAITROSE TAKES MANI MAINSTREAM
In 2020, after perhaps millions of requests for ManiLife to go nationwide, a major supermarket finally takes a punt on proper peanut butter. It pays off and we’ve been friends ever since.
The foodie’s choice of peanut butter
The foodie’s choice of peanut butter
ManiLife has now become the peanut butter of choice with some of the TOP bakeries, recipe boxes, (michelin-starred!) restaurants and food brands across the UK. We’ve partnered up with pretty sensational brands; Crosstown, Hotel Chocolat, Mindful Chef, Pophams, Le Bab to name a few…
HOW IT STARTED. HOW IT’S GOING.
HOW IT STARTED. HOW IT’S GOING.
A fair bit has changed since the days in the rugby club kitchen. We’ve launched three new knockout products, won twelve Great Taste Awards across the range (and counting) and bagged multiple big supermarket listings.
MEET THE MANI TEAM
Stu
ManiLife founder
Louise
Commercial Director
Jonny
Finance & Operations Director
Alys
Head of Marketing
Toby
Supply Chain Manager
Ewa
Customer Supply Planner
Justine
Sales Executive
Emma
Marketing Executive
Jamie
Ecommerce & Export Manager
Vicky
Assistant Management Accountant
Laura
National Account Manager