Thirteen years ago, Spread The Love began with something simple: a jar of homemade peanut butter, made with care and shared with the people we love most.
In 2013, at our wedding, we made peanut butter as a gift for our guests. It was pure, delicious, and made without all the unnecessary ingredients we were seeing in other brands. Our friends and family loved it so much that we decided to make more. What started as a heartfelt wedding favor quickly became something bigger: a mission to create real, simple, nourishing food made with love.
This year, as we celebrate our 13th anniversary, we are feeling especially grateful. Grateful for the journey. Grateful for the people who have believed in us. Grateful for every customer, retailer, athlete, parent, friend, and team member who has helped us Spread The Love through the years.
So today, we’re taking a trip down memory lane.
Where Spread The Love Started: 2013
The beginning of Spread The Love will always be tied to our wedding day. We wanted to give their guests something meaningful, personal, and delicious. Homemade peanut butter felt like the perfect gift: simple, wholesome, and made from the heart.
That first batch represented so much of what still defines our brand today. We believed then, and still believe now, that food should be made with ingredients you can trust. If it’s not good enough for us, then it’s not good enough for you. That belief has guided every jar, every packet, every new product, and every decision since.
2014: Our First Farmers Market in Los Angeles
In January 2014, we brought Spread The Love to our first farmers' market in Los Angeles. This was the moment our homemade idea began to feel real. We had actual jars, labels, and a logo. We stood behind a table, shared samples, and introduced our peanut butter to the community.
Those early farmers market days were filled with long hours, direct conversations, honest feedback, and so much excitement. Every person who stopped by our booth reminded us why we started. They cared about what was in their food. They wanted something clean, creamy, and delicious. They wanted a nut butter they could feel good about bringing home.
It was just the beginning, but it gave us the confidence to keep going.
2016: Our First Trade Show
In February 2016, we took another big step and attended our first-ever trade show: the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. For the first time, Spread The Love had an official booth where buyers, food lovers, and industry professionals could come try our products.
It felt huge. We were no longer only sharing jars at weddings or farmers' markets. We were standing in a room full of food brands, telling our story, and showing people what made Spread The Love different: drizzleable texture, simple ingredients, small-batch quality, no palm oil, and a whole lot of love.
That same year, in October 2016, we launched our first product beyond peanut butter: UNSALTED Almond Butter. Today, our almond butter is one of our top sellers and a staple in our own pantry. It proved that Spread The Love could grow while staying true to our roots.
2017: Launching on Amazon
In 2017, Spread The Love officially launched on Amazon. This became a huge push for our business and opened the door for people across the country to discover our nut butters.
Amazon helped us reach customers who may never have found us at a farmers' market or on our website. It also challenged us to grow in new ways, across operations, fulfillment, and customer service. Every review, every order, and every repeat customer helped us understand how much people were looking for cleaner, better pantry staples.
2019: Team Expansion
By 2019, we were growing again, and our team expanded. That year brought an important new chapter for Spread The Love, including the addition of Eloy, who became a crucial part of our Amazon growth and overall operations.
Building a brand takes more than great products. It takes people who believe in the mission. As our team grew, so did our ability to serve more customers, improve our systems, and dream bigger.
2020: Global Growth and Giving Back
In 2020, Spread The Love took off in new ways. We became available in more than 150 countries through iHerb, allowing customers around the world to enjoy our products.
That same year, we created the Spread The Love Forward Scholarship, a meaningful extension of our belief that business should be about more than selling products. From the beginning, our brand has been rooted in love, generosity, and community. Giving back has always felt like a natural part of who we are.
2022: The Dream Team
In 2022, we added two more employees to our team who are still with us today. We called it the dream team, and that name still feels right. Every small business owner knows how important it is to find people who care deeply, work hard, and treat the brand like it is their own.
Our team has helped Spread The Love grow while keeping the heart of the business intact. We are still family-owned and operated. We are still based in Los Angeles. We are still committed to making true small-batch, all-natural, high-quality, no-junk nut butters.
2023: A Full Rebrand and a Big Stage
In 2023, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a full rebrand. We redesigned our logo, jars, and visual identity to better reflect who we had become and where we were headed.
That year also brought an unforgettable milestone: we were keynote speakers at the Amazon Accelerate conference in Seattle. It represented so much more than a speaking opportunity. It was a moment to reflect on how far Spread The Love had come, from homemade wedding favors to a national brand with a growing online presence.
2024: New Markets and Sports Nutrition
In 2024, Spread The Love began expanding into exciting new markets, including Korea and the sports nutrition world. These new chapters opened doors to communities that deeply align with our mission: people who care about quality, performance, ingredients, and better-for-you food.
Sports nutrition has been especially meaningful because our products naturally fit into an active, healthy lifestyle. Whether it’s peanut butter packets for athletes, almond butter for everyday fueling, or clean ingredients for families, Spread The Love continues to support people who want food that works hard for them without unnecessary additives.
2026: Thirteen Years and Still Spreading The Love
Now here we are in 2026, celebrating 13 years of Spread The Love.
We recently came back from Washington, D.C., where we spent powerful face-to-face time with two California Senators and four State Representatives. We were proud to step up, tell the Spread The Love story, and advocate for the future of the small business community.
That moment reminded us just how much this brand has grown. What started in our kitchen has become a platform to talk about family businesses, women and minority-owned businesses, clean food, entrepreneurship, and the importance of supporting small brands that are trying to make a difference. We are only here thirteen years later because of you!
Every time you choose Spread The Love to fuel your healthy lifestyle, you help bring our mission to life. Every jar in your pantry, every packet in your gym bag, every gift set you send, every post you share, and every kind word you offer means more than you know. Thank you for supporting Spread The Love. Thank you for championing real food. Thank you for believing in a brand built on food, family, and love.
As we look toward the future, we think about our children and the legacy we want to build. We want Spread The Love to stand for something lasting: healthier habits, cleaner ingredients, stronger communities, and a reminder that love can be shared in even the simplest ways.
Thank you for walking this path with us for thirteen incredible years. The best is yet to come.
The Author: Val Fishbain
Val Fishbain is the co-founder and president of Spread The Love Foods, a women- and minority-owned clean-label nut butter brand known for its simple ingredients and no-palm-oil philosophy. With over 12 years of experience bringing better-for-you peanut butter to families, athletes, and wellness communities, Val is a leading advocate for honest food labeling and nutrient-dense, real-food nutrition.
