Iconic Kiwi brand Pic’s Peanut Butter is one of New Zealand’s most beloved food products, with a cult following among peanut butter−lovers on both sides of the ditch. The Nelson-based family business began 13 years ago in Pic Picot’s garage with a concrete mixer converted into a roaster, a benchtop grinder, and a tonne of peanuts.
Today, Pic’s applies the same single-minded, dynamic approach to sustainability as it does to making peanut butter. It’s a brilliant example of walking the walk when it comes to company values – a certified B Corp organisation with not only zero carbon, but climate-positive status (i.e., Pic’s overall business activity reduces carbon in the atmosphere).
In April 2022, Pic’s became one of the first peanut butter producers in the world to not only grow, but also roast its peanuts using the sun’s energy.
Project snapshot
Equipment
213.8 kWh solar system
486 x Seraphim solar panels
6 x Fronius inverters
Energy generated daily
Enough to roast 3.3 million peanuts
(or 28,000 jars of peanut butter)
(or one jar per 10.3 seconds)
Since my dad Pic started making peanut butter in a concrete mixer in our family garage 13 years ago, we’ve aspired to be a business for good. Good for our community and good for our planet. Not just on paper. But the kind of good that’s never quite finished.
Louis Picot
Our Channel Partner Sunergy Solar designed and installed a 486-panel, 213.8 kWh commercial solar system on the roof of Peanut Butter World, and the project was funded by a Smart Ease Payment Plan.
On a sunny day, Pic’s roasts around 3.3 million peanuts using solar power alone, and the system supplies 20-25% of the business’s energy needs.
Businesses like Pic’s who are really motivated to reduce their emissions can have a lot of competing priorities when it comes to the technologies they’d like to deploy. Partnering with Smart Ease who understand the technologies being funded – in this case a large solar array – as well as which financial structures will benefit the client was a game-changer. [Smart Ease’s] involvement allowed Pic’s to make the switch to solar sooner, helping them realise a big sustainability goal with no upfront cost.
Andrew Wells, Director, Sunergy Solar
The solution
Finding fast and flexible funding for their large-scale solar and battery investment enabled Pic’s to hold onto its capital for other sustainability initiatives. Given the business is also expanding into new markets, protecting cash flow was key − which is where Smart Ease’s Payment Plan fit the bill.
“Pic’s Peanut Butter is a brilliant client with a strong record for positive environmental and social action.” said Gaige Ross, Smart Ease’s New Zealand Sales Director. “We were able to help Sunergy deliver what Pic’s needed by being flexible and quick, and offering a funding agreement with a 10-year term.”
We’re proud to work with authentic, for-purpose brands like Pic’s that share our belief that businesses are a huge part of the journey towards net zero.
Start a conversation with Smart Ease and find out how our Payment Plans can help you meet sustainability goals and save on energy costs.