We're feeling grateful for another year of making the best candied pecans with the best staff! Read through our highlights below. See you in 2024!
Rebrand
Our biggest, boldest headline of 2023: we changed our name! It was time for new beginnings and that meant creating a name and brand that matches the quality of the nuts we make. Thank you for supporting us through the transition and beyond! Read the CapTimes article here.
With the new name, we also released merchandise for the first time ever, including t-shirts, beanies, charcuterie boards, stickers, mugs, and more!
Whole Foods Expansion
In September of 2023, we launched Fortune Favors in the entire Whole Foods Mid-Atlantic region (54 stores)! That brings our presence to a grand total of 123 Whole Foods stores across the midwest and east coast! Use our Store Locator to find the full list of stores.
Raley’s Launch
For the first time ever, Fortune Favors candied pecans entered the grocery store realm on the west coast via Raley’s supermarkets! The Raley's family of stores is the premier destination for shoppers in Northern California and Nevada—find us at Raley's, Bel Air, Nob Hill Foods and Raley's ONE locations, (in the charcuterie section)!
Facility Upgrades
We automated several parts of our pecan-making process after moving into a beautiful, new-to-us twenty thousand square foot production facility in 2023. We now have a mechanized weigher, hopper, conveyer, and labeler! We still have an all-star five-person production staff and make the nuts in startlingly small batches, but the machines make the process more efficient, high volume, and less physically strenuous.
Retail Glow-Up
Our modest shop on Atwood Ave received a fresh look with new shelving, window decals, and displays! We also added more products and reorganized the store by theme: Old Fashioned, Wisconsin, Sweet Treats, Cheese Board, and Staff Favorites—so you can easily shop for gifts all year long! Check out the remodel pictures here.
Events
2023 was packed full of events! Throughout the summer, we partnered with local bars, breweries, and gift shops to hand out free nuts at 16 “Snack Takeovers.” One of these takeovers was at a Packer bar in Washington D.C., where we stopped after a week of sampling at Whole Foods stores in the area!
In October, we got to be a part of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner, where more than 1200 attendees took home a can of Fortune Favors. The Madison Chamber plays a unique role in our city, championing economic growth while simultaneously leading the charge to guarantee a wonderful quality of life for our whole community.
Our partnership with the Overture Center grew as we participated in their founders event in July, donating bags for their donor gifts. We continue to be featured on their concessions menu and hope to collab and/or co brand products in the future! Read more here.
Wisconsin Foodie
In November, we hosted Luke Zahm and his crew from Wisconsin Foodie! It was truly an honor to spend the day filming, taste testing, and laughing our butts off. The episode will air in January or February of 2024!
New Packaging
Our fan-favorite, Eric’s Up North Mix, a combination of The Classic candied pecans, Door County dried cherries, and dark chocolate chunks, got a new design this year! The holiday green pouch now matches the quality and caliber of the entire Fortune Favors product line. Sweater Weather (formerly Winter Warmer) also became an official, seasonal flavor with its own mythical, scarf-wearing Fortune Favors reindeers!
