The most successful entrepreneurs often find a need in the market and then fill that need. So goes the story of local entrepreneurs Shanon Spivey, Bo Lott and Carroll Purvis, owners of SALT Peanut Company located on the Nicholls Highway in West Green. They found a need for locally grown seed peanuts and began filling that need in 2015.
“There were no local seed peanut companies,” says Shanon Spivey, who runs the business along with his wife Allison. “We decided to start one. Now SALT (so named for Shanon, Allison, and their children Lila and Ty) sells seed peanuts to companies in the southeast Georgia region.”
The company has grown from four seed peanut growers in 2015, to 15 in 2016 and now 18 in 2017. In 2016, they shelled 4,557 tons of peanuts in 2016, which is over 9,000,000 pounds. Over the past two years they have sold Georgia 06 G and Georgia 09 B peanut seed. For the 2017 crop year their farmers are growing Georgia 06 G, Georgia 16 HO, and Georgia 07 W peanut seed.
SALT Peanut Company employs from 11 to 40 employees seasonally. As September approaches, SALT Peanut will ramp up to their maximum number of employees as the seed peanuts are harvested, separated into different types and stored. In February, they will begin shelling the seed peanuts, which are then sent for germination testing and then separated into 50-pound bags and 2,000 pound totes.
As most entrepreneurs, the Spiveys hope to continue to grow their business. The warehouses they have now are filled to maximum capacity. With continued hard work and success in the business, the Spiveys will likely fulfill that dream.