A Talk With NAKED Nut Butters Co-Founder Meredith Ahead of Closure

All good things must at some point come to an end, and this is the case for vegan nut butter company and expat favorite NAKED Nut Butters, which announced via their official WeChat yesterday that they had decided to close due to issues arising from Covid.

The company, which has been owned and operated by expat duo Katie and Meredith for the past seven years, got its start in  2016 and has never looked back, debuting all kinds of flavors and exceptional gastronomic experiments – including this nifty recipe for peanut butter tangyuan – over the years.

We recently caught up with co-owner Meredith to hear what she had to say about her time running the company, reasons for closure, and how people can stock up on NAKED Nut Butter before it's gone for good.

Looking back to when NAKED began, what was the impetus for starting your own nut butter brand?
It was an accident, really. I was just so obsessed with nut butter and couldn’t find anything good here in Beijing, so I started making my own. After concocting some interesting flavor combinations and letting other friends try them, I was encouraged to sell them at the first Flea Market. From there, it just snowballed with people ordering more and more and with my partner and I deciding to take the leap and quit our jobs to “go nuts” full time. It’s been seven years since then, and we’ve started our own factory and have sold all across China. Sometimes I look back and don’t know how it all happened, but I’m really glad it did!

In your announcement you mention Covid is the reason behind Naked’s demise, what hit hardest during the past three years?
It all really started going downhill when the big lockdown happened in Shanghai. Half of our customers live in Shanghai, so we lost sales there for a few months. After it reopened, it seemed that things would improve, but then so many foreigners decided to leave China permanently. Even though the majority of our customers are Chinese, we lost a bit of steam that we couldn’t get back. My business partner also decided to leave China right before all the lockdowns happened, and it was a big struggle for me to run everything on my own. I tried my damnedest, but it’s just not a one-person job.

After seven years of running the company, what’s your fondest memory (or what are your fondest memories, for that matter)?
Some of my fondest memories are going to markets. I absolutely love meeting new people and hanging out with other business owners, and even though it was always exhausting I just loved doing it.

I also got to chug wine with Jack Ma in Hong Kong. It was during a board meeting for the NGO we worked with where we presented our business. After the meeting, we got drunk with all these influential people and found ourselves at someone’s mansion, playing pool and singing KTV until 3am. We had to then rush back to our tiny Airbnb to pack up and leave for a flight back to Beijing at 7am.

So when will things close officially?
The official closing time is yet to be determined. We’re still sorting out some logistical issues, and keeping our fingers crossed for someone rich and obsessed with nut butter to swoop in and offer to buy our business for billions. However, we will shut down production immediately.

How can folks get their hands on the last jars of NAKED nut butters before they’re gone forever?
Well, when we made the announcement that we were closing we sold out of our remaining stock immediately. However, we’ve had so many messages and requests for more that we’re considering doing one last round of tubs for whoever wants them. So, if you’re reading this and you want to get your hands on the very last round of NAKED nut butters, send us a message and we’ll put you on the list! If we get enough final orders, we’ll go nuts one last time. Who knows, these last tubs may become collector’s items worth a lot of money someday.

To get in touch with the NAKED Nut Butters team and procure some nut butters, scan the QR code below to add them on WeChat.

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Images: The Beijingers, courtesy of NAKED Nut Butters