It started with parrots and peanuts. Which, though a wonderfully alliterative beginning, is not a connection that’s frequently made. “Back then,” says 38-year-old clinical dietician turned manufacturer Constantinos Lambrides, “my parrots were probably eating more nutrients than I was! It was 2016; I’d just bought a new blender to cut up food for my birds, and was experimenting with various vegetables, when I thought of trying something a little different. So I went and bought a bag of peanuts, roasted them in my oven, and blended them…”
The resulting nut butter went down a treat with the birds. And it also proved to be a wholesome gastronomic experience for humans. “I’m very selective with my food,” said Constantinos, “Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and enjoying high quality food are the pillars which govern my personal life. I always eat as cleanly as possible, and it was good to know I was consuming something completely natural and very good for me.”
Experimenting with constituency, with added ingredients and nutrients, Constantinos ended up with a surprising result: a wholesome, healthy peanut butter that was completely natural. Made without added sugar, salt or “bad oils, such as palm oils”, the combination proved a success: “My parrots adored it. But then so did I,” he laughs. “And when I gave my brother a jar, he loved it too!”
One jar became two, and close friends were co-opted to try out this nutritional new peanut butter. “There were a lot of trials,” Constantinos continues. “I wanted to keep the product as clean as possible, packed with 100 per cent whole nuts. I explored, I researched, I studied a lot of brands and trends. My first degrees were in business administration and finance, so that helped quite a bit with bringing my product to market, and though I feel my product kind of came out of nowhere, it was definitely something I wanted to share.”
Just a few months later, in autumn 2017, Constantinos’ product was on the market: made from hand-selected ingredients, and nuts roasted in an air-dry oven rather than fried. “Dieticians classify nuts in the fat category,” he reveals, “because they contain high levels of monounsaturated fats, which help lower cholesterol levels, triglycerides and blood pressure. They’re also packed with protein, fibre, vitamin E and all sorts of other nutrients and minerals. I guess you could say that nuts are a complete food!”
The initial line of Healthy Nut Butters were sold in gyms: an ideal niche for a product that was high in protein and totally natural. “But it didn’t stop there,” says Constantinos. “We were so successful that the next logical step was to expand, and I started experimenting with other types of nuts: almonds and cashews and brazils and pistachios and hazelnuts. It was quite a learning process,” he laughs. “But then I’m an intense person – I’m like a sea wave, I just keep going!”
By this time, Constantinos had already outgrown his kitchen-based outfit, and was employing a small staff in his Limassol-based manufacturing unit. “Step by step we were learning what was needed,” he reveals. “And that includes the whole business side of things too: I learnt about adding an expiration date, about VAT, about the official certifications we needed to obtain to produce a consumable product. Our manufacturing unit isn’t something huge,” he adds. “It’s a small unit, suitable for our production. We are, however, currently looking for a bigger space, because demand is definitely growing!”
Today, although Constantinos’ Healthy Nut Butters still fly under the radar for most, they’ve found a devoted audience. “As well as gyms, we now cooperate with Food Savers stores, with Nom market in Nicosia and the Urban Healthy House in Limassol. We also sell through a number of cafés as well,” he explains, “and we even created a special line of products called ‘Bella and Her Friends’ in support of the local dog shelter! We’re slowly, slowly growing and expanding our range – there’s no need to rush; I’m doing this because I enjoy bringing good nutrition to people, not because I’m trying to make a fortune!”
Along with the original Classic Peanut Butter, there’s now a high protein series aimed at athletes, and an 
Active Women Peanut Butter which contains almonds, maca, collagen, dates, organic cacao, and Belgian dark chocolate. But it’s the flavoured nut butters which are proving the real favourite: berry-based butters (including Goji Berry, Acai Berry, Cranberry, and Strawberry), a number of infusions (Matcha, Green Tea, Espresso) and spice- and herb-flavoured offerings, such as Cinnamon and Mint. There’s also an entire range dedicated to the sweet of tooth: White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, Honey and Cacao, Caramel Biscuit, and Cookies. “Whatever you can imagine, I’m trying,” he laughs. “Imagination has no bounds, and I’m trying and researching all sorts of things all the time.
“There is,” Constantinos concludes, “a lot of effort in this. We’re still small, but then that’s okay – I just feel blessed that people like and consume our healthy nut butters. And I love to give people something that tastes really good and is healthy at the same time; nut butters that will make you say ‘oh, yes!’ We are,” he laughs, “literally spreading joy!”
For more information on Healthy Nut Butters, call 77 70635 or visit http://www.healthynutbutterscy.com
