In a Nut Shell
Money Game: For today's pros, corporate sponsorships go way beyond dollars and cents
"Hubs Peanuts -- that's a different story. The premium peanut producer (a tin costs about $25) has its logo on three-time mini-tour winner Mark "Hubbs" Hubbard's left sleeve. It happened after Marshall Rabil, a third-generation owner of the nut company, DM'ed Hubbard on Instagram." Read More on Golf.com » - Money Game: For today's pros, corporate sponsorships go way beyond dollars and cents
With flavors old and new, Hubs Peanuts are good for you, the earth and the community
"Female entrepreneurship was rare in the 1950s when Dot Hubbard became the pioneer of her craft. It all started as a labor of love. Dot, a mother of four and schoolteacher in Sedley, Virginia, enjoyed hand-picking the biggest peanuts she could find on her father's farm, blister-frying them in her own kitchen and then gifting them to friends. "Her friends loved them and started requesting more of them," said Marshall Rabil, director of sales and marketing at Hubbard Peanut Company -- and Dot's grandson. "My grandparents thought, 'Maybe this could work.'" It worked indeed." Read More on FeastandField.net » - With flavors old and new, Hubs Peanuts are good for you, the earth and the community.
New Endorsement Deal with PGA Tour Pro Mark Hubbard
"Simply being at the right place at the right time is a common determinant of good fortune, but sometimes all it takes to luck out is literally having the right name. Mark Hubbard, 42nd in the FedEx Cup rankings headed into the Northern Trust at TPC Boston this week, can thank his lucky stars that he happens to share a surname with a Virginia based peanut company. " Read More on Forbes.com » - PGA Tour Pro Mark Hubbard Owes His Last Name For New Endorsement Deal
The Hubs Vine brings famous peanuts, local products to Franklin
Watch Now - WTKR Norfolks, VA The Hubs Vine brings famous peanuts, local products to Franklin
Shocking Truth About Virginia's Peanuts by Don Harrison
"An old-school farming method returns...and yields spectacular results. The world's oldest peanut looks puny and unassuming as it rests in a display case at the Isle of Wight County Museum in Smithfield. The man who harvested it, Pembroke D. Gwaltney Sr., wrote "1890" on the smoothest side and saved it as a promotional tool for his business, one of Virginia's earliest peanut processing plants. Read More on VirginiaLiving.com » - Shocking Truth About Virginia's Peanuts - by Don Harrison
Steel Magnolias Podcast - Virginia is for Peanuts
On today's episode, we got to speak with Marshall Rabil, of Virginia-based, female and family-owned Hubbard Peanut Company, aka HUBS. Many years ago, in the small Virginia crossroads village of Sedley, Dot Hubbard developed a unique way to cook the Virginia peanuts grown on her father's farm. She diligently used only the finest peanuts from the local harvest. Read More on SteelMagnoliasPodcasts.com » - Virginia is for Peanuts
Lynne Rabil's Interview with American Peanut Council
APC: How did Hubbard Peanut Company start? LR: After growing up in the depression and my dad serving during WWII and the Korean conflict, starting life was not easy for my parents and many others of their generation. Our mother was a school teacher but after I was born she decided not to return to teaching. Before long twins were on the way (born 18 months after I ) and she wanted a little extra spending money to help my dad take care of our growing family. Having been raised in the largest peanut producing county in the country, she remembered how popular her family's recipe for peanuts had been with her college friends during the war years. She knew that most people had never experienced the taste of top-quality Virginia peanuts, so with a great family recipe and a supply of peanuts grown on her father's farm, Dot had everything needed to start a home based business. We can't pinpoint the day my dad first sold and delivered Dot's unique peanuts to the Virginian Drugstore on Main Street in Franklin, but we know the year was 1954 and the price of a 1 oz. bag of Hubs was ten cents. APC: Planters Peanuts were processed at that time next door in Suffolk. How did Hubbard Peanut compete? LR: The process that Dot pioneered was different from Planters dry roasted snack peanuts. She perfected a technique/recipe that called for blanching in water before frying in oil. Ultimately, Dot's specification for the largest peanuts from the crop and those that were too large to go through the peanut planting equipment became a new and highly sought after, but "unofficial", USDA grading standard of Super Extra Large. I don't think people were accustomed to the idea of giving peanuts as gifts until Dot began shipping gourmet Virginia peanuts directly into people's homes and businesses. APC: How did your father get involved? LR: We've been telling Dot's story throughout the years, but true success required teamwork. My dad's hard work and entrepreneurial vision were as important as Dot's daily juggle to manage family and business. HJ worked a full-time job at a paper company but after hours and weekends, he was integrally involved in every aspect of business at Hubbard Peanut Company; from designing packaging to planning and overseeing every building or equipment expansion. Early on, "Hub" was the key delivery man, dropping off small packets of peanuts that carried his nickname everywhere he went. Later as the business grew and with help from local machinists, HJ invented equipment that would allow Dot to cook large volumes of peanuts more efficiently while maintaining freshness and quality. APC: When did the family realize Hubbard Peanuts could be a viable and sustaining business? LR: By the time my brother was born in 1958, Dot was fully immersed in a thriving business and had moved beyond the kitchen to a separate building on the property for cooking and packaging. She began to hire people to assist. We children were always cheap labor, but I think the first iteration of a continuous cooking operation around 1960 was when my parents knew Hubbard Peanut Company might send the four of us to college. APC: How did technology change the business? LR: When Dot decided to start a business, there weren't many mail order companies and even fewer who were shipping gourmet gift foods. There was no system for zip codes in the U.S. UPS wasn't operating in Virginia and FedEx had not yet been founded. At the time, there was no such thing as a credit card. Most typewriters were manual, and computers were only a dream. Over the years, we transitioned with technology and have tried to stay on the cutting edge while continuing to do things in the same manner that my parents did as far as attention to detail, quality and taking care of our customers. APC: How has the American Peanut Council helped your business? LR: The one thing that the Hubbard family has never lost sight of throughout time is quality. Since joining the American Peanut Council in 2013, one of the most important benefits is to be surrounded by like-minded professionals - and professionals who are passionate about this industry. From sourcing the best peanuts of the harvest to ensuring top notch service, the experience of each Hubs customer is paramount and on the minds of every member of the Hubs team. APC supports our mission and goals by offering thoughtful leadership on food safety, sustainability, and crisis and risk management. With ever changing technology, advances in the logistics industry, training and maintaining employee health and safety, safeguarding private information, increasing government regulations, as well as many other factors of growth and competition, we rely on APC for peanut-focused research, workshops, and education related to changes within the industry. APC: Is there anything else you'd like to add? LR: The goal of the Hubbard family and team members is to never lose sight of how and where the journey began. That's not too hard because, today, Hubs are still cooked in Sedley, right where they were originally born.
Interview with Taste Radio Podcast
"Interview: Marshall Rabil, Co-Owner, Hubs - Rabil met with Taste Radio editor Ray Latif at BevNET headquarters in Newton, where they riffed on the seafood scene in Massachusetts and Virginia before discussing the origins of the peanut industry in the U.S. and how Hubs has become the standard bearer for specialty peanuts. Rabil also spoke about the company's evolving retail strategy, how new products, brand partnerships and creative marketing initiatives are attracting new consumers, how pricing reflects quality and the elements of Hubs' effective trial strategy." Read More on TasteRadio.com » - Interview: Marshall Rabil, Co-Owner, Hubs
