Hotchkiss Pecan Foods 2024: Pecans Like You’ve Never Had Before

D'Anne Hotchkiss is the founder of Hotchkiss Pecan Foods, a seasoned entrepreneur with a career spanning back to 1992. Recognizing the need for affordable marketing services for tech start-ups outside major tech hubs, she established a successful marketing communications firm, catering to small enterprises from Hawaii to Toronto. Over the years, D'Anne has co-founded numerous businesses across various industries, with a focus on longevity and impact. Her passion for pecans has led her to create a line of pecan products, capitalizing on their growing popularity as a favorite taste treat among consumers. DeliveryRank finds out more.

Can you share a little about your childhood memories and how they relate to your love for pecans and the journey that led to the creation of Wutta Nut! Pecans?

As we tell the story on the back of our packages, I grew up eating pecans. Every fall, my uncle in Georgia would send to us in Iowa about 100 pounds of pecans in the shell. Dad and I would shell them by hand. At the age of five or six, I could hold three in my hand and crack two at a time. I didn’t realize until I was much older that not everyone that young can do that. The word pecan comes from the Algonquin Native American word pacane, meaning “requires a rock to crack.” As I grew older, I also helped my mom in the kitchen as she used those pecans in the meals she made for us. 

How did Aunt Patricia’s inheritance and subsequent ventures into pecan pies and the pecan business inspire you to join her in launching Wutta Nut!?

Her passion for pecans knows no boundaries and now we’re all pecan evangelists. That said, we have so much fun with Aunt Patricia! She’s tough, and she has no filter. But really, she’s a kindhearted person. We consider her the source of all our creativity. In her spare time, she competes in dance competitions, and as she recently shared in our emailed newsletter, she’s taken up skydiving. 

What sets Wutta Nut! Pecans apart from other pecan products on the market, especially in terms of flavors and quality?

Essentially, pecans are most like a fruit, and like any fruit, you want them to be fresh and full of natural flavor. So, we’re firmly committed to producing clean-label snacks, so we avoid artificial ingredients. We start with a variety of pecan known for its pure pecan taste and buttery crunch. We want you to experience the full pecan flavor, complemented by the ideal amount of natural herbs and spices. 

So many pecan products are completely encased in either sugar or chocolate—because when they’re encased, no air can get to the pecans, so you don’t have to take good care of them and they have an enormously long shelf life. Also, since you can’t taste the pecans, their taste doesn’t matter. Of course, when you load them up with relatively cheap ingredients like sugar and you sell your product by weight, you substantially lower the cost of your product. 

Yes, this means our products cost us more, so they cost consumers more, and we know they’re worth it.

Could you walk us through the process of creating your pecan flavors, from the initial idea to the final product?

The idea begins with two basic thoughts: what flavors naturally complement pecans, and what flavors are familiar to people, although perhaps not in our combination? That’s how we came up with our first two flavors—Agave Ginger which tastes like a gingersnap cookie, and Rosemary Black Pepper, an herbal twist on the overused salt and pepper combination. 

We also make sure our flavor is distinct, yet popular. For instance, while there are many sriracha-seasoned snacks out there, we haven’t made one, but we do have a Parmesan Garlic Butter. 

Finally, we want to be sure people who aren’t adventuresome feel comfortable. That’s why we also have barbecue flavors, and our two most popular flavors—Bacon Maple, and Butter and Sea Salt. 

For the cautious calorie counters out there…?

There’s been a lot of research on what satisfies people when they’re eating. Most of what is in traditional snacks makes you keep eating, without ever feeling satisfied. What does satisfy you are foods that also have some fiber. Fiber makes you feel full. If you want to limit your calories and not feel hungry, choose foods that have fiber. An ounce of pecans – about 15-20, along with some grapes or a small apple, for instance, or a few small cubes of cheese, is about 400 calories. That’s an energy-boosting snack.

How do you see Wutta Nut! Pecans evolving in the future, and are there any new flavors or products in the works?

We are weeks away from launching a new flavor we’ve developed especially for chiliheads. The only hint I can give you is that we’re based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this flavor has a wonderful—and distinctly local—connection. 

If you would like to find out more about Hotchkiss Pecan Foods, please visit https://wuttanutpecans.com/