Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Washington.
Hi Nate, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is Nate Washington, born and raised in Lake Park, Georgia. I spent my first 24 years living in Georgia and moved to Charleston in 2021. I’m a proud University of Georgia alum and will always be a Dawg. I’ve been working in the commercial real estate industry since 2020.
Nate’s Nuts started as nothing more than an idea to bring quality boiled peanuts like I had growing up in South Georgia up to Atlanta. In the summer of 2021, I found an incredible graphic designer in Atlanta, Abby Willis, to design the Nate’s Nuts logo. I sat on the logo for over 2 years and made no effort to start selling peanuts. Eventually, I moved out of Atlanta and now call Charleston home. Since green boiling peanut season isn’t until about August of each year, I began experimenting with other kinds of nuts to bring to market. Praline pecans have been a favorite snack of mine for as long as I can remember and seemed like the perfect starting point. After numerous failed recipe attempts, I finally found one that delivered a praline soft to the bite, mixing a perfect blend of sweet & salty. Most pralines I’ve tried are hard and feel like you’re biting into a Jolly Rancher, not Nate’s Nuts OG Praline Pecans. We’re starting with pralines, but the possibilities of bringing new snack products are endless. Around August, we will launch Nate’s Nuts Boiled Peanuts locally in Charleston.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The support I’ve gotten from the #NatesNutsArmy has been overwhelmingly positive. Of course, starting a business and getting the proper licensing is a little intimidating, but everyone I’ve encountered along the way has been so helpful. The hardest part is getting people to try your product and developing a presence in the market. But once people try them, the feedback is usually positive.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Nate’s Nuts is a side business at the moment. This is something for me to do after my W-2 job and on the weekends, hoping to grow it to be a household name. But as of this article, Nate’s Nuts has the praline pecans at farmer’s markets and pop ups around the Charleston area and then Nate’s Nuts merch on Etsy. The pralines are very good, but the logo and mascot (#LilNate) are what I think will help Nate’s Nuts grow the most. #LilNate is a very good depiction of me in real life. The shoes (Nike Air Max 90), hat, and sunglasses (Wayfarer style) have been my everyday outfit since probably middle school. So Abby (big shout out to Abby) did a wonderful job of incorporating me into #LilNate. And the name of course. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been wearing a Nate’s Nuts shirt or hoodie walking on King Street and hear people saying “Nate’s Nuts” out loud or give a little chuckle as I walk past. So the name is something that sticks with people.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in Lake Park, Georgia, about 4 miles from the Georgia/Florida line. It’s a small town right outside of a bigger town, Valdosta, Georgia. My first hobby, I remember, was skateboarding. We had a great neighborhood with many kids my age, so we were always outside doing something. Making bike tracks in open lots, digging holes for fun, ding-dong ditching, and just being kids. I played baseball until high school, then played basketball for 2 years in high school. I would say I had a pretty normal life being a product of my area. Everyone knew everyone so there wasn’t much I could do without it getting back to the adults. I was always super nice and respectful to my friends’ parents and adults so my parents would always receive compliments about my manners. My parents were, and still are, my biggest supporters. Everything I have and am today, I owe to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thenutsofnate.etsy.com
- Instagram: thenutsofnate
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555623416210
- Other: https://linktr.ee/natesnuts
