Fix & Fogg – Natural Nut Butters Fix & Fogg - Natural Nut Butters

The half-underground shop window on Eva Street is where it all started for Andrea and Roman Jewell, and their popular nut butter brand Fix & Fogg. Customers can enjoy made-to-order sandwiches and porridge topped with the Fix & Fogg nut butter of their choice.

The two give us a little taste of their popular toast menu, ranging from sweet treats such as Chocolate & Strawberry Toast topped with chocolate almond butter, to savory Peanut Butter Avocado Toast topped with sauerkraut. Andrea tells us that although Fix & Fogg has recently moved into a bigger space due to growing demand for their nut butter, it’s already getting pretty crowded.

Interview: “Love, community and peanut butter”

An intense, nutty aroma of roasted peanut hits our faces as we enter the headquarters and factory of ‘Fix & Fogg’ in central Wellington. Suddenly, it feels like you are six-years-old, and someone is inviting you all the way into the back of the candy store.

Inside waiting are Andrea and Roman Jewell, the co-founders of Wellington-based nut butter brand ‘Fix & Fogg’. Two people with an unusual amount of surging positive energy and amiable aura. Stationed around the office are their employees, all ergonomically standing up while working, managing everything from sales and marketing, to customer service. As we are guided through the office, we catch a glimpse of peanut butter in the making, as black conveyor belts move jars through different stages.

Andrea and Roman decided to take the plunge and launch their nut butter business one week before they were expecting their first child in 2013.

“People make irrational decisions when facing life-changing events, and we made a similar thing,” says Roman, while nibbling on a piece of bread schmeared in ‘Smoke and Fire’ peanut butter. He goes on saying that it was because of the phenomenal support from the locals that they were able to grow so organically. Both coming from lawyer professions where they weren’t making anything, they found a way to express themselves with the art of craft-making.

After extensive research, they found a family business in Argentina that produced the type of peanut that they were after. A slightly savory peanut that keeps its natural oil when roasted and processed, thus preserving the peanut butter so it never needs to be stored in the fridge.

“We talk a lot about peanut butter being like coffee with no milk in it. You have nowhere to hide,” says Andrea. “When tasting it you can instantly tell if it’s sweet, acidic, salty or lack-ing in some way,” she continues. Always on the lookout for the best quality of ingredients to create the best product and stay true to the core of the business, Andrea and Roman only take on new projects or flavors that truly excite them.

Conversing with Roman and Andrea, you can tell that they are extremely passionate about not only their product but also their customers and the local community. Earlier this year they had a contest on social media asking their followers which flavor they would like to see next. From thousands of submissions, the classic American snack ‘S’mores’ was voted number one. Roman and Andrea gave all the winners a jar of the limited edition ‘S’mores Peanut Butter’ and saved twelve of the last jars to be auctioned off for a good cause.

“Being able to give that to our customers and make a difference in the local community is amazing. Although we are a small business, maybe our ripple will have its effect and inspire other businesses to do similar things.”

Ex-lawyers Andrea & Roman Jewell established nut butter brand Fix & Fogg in late 2013. Since then, their array of flavors has increased and is today available throughout New Zea-land as well as Singapore, Australia, the Philippines, and the USA. You can sometimes also find it at Supreme Coffee located in Tokyo due to previous business collaboration between the brands.
fixandfogg.com