Velvet Peanut Butter makes smooth transition to new owner

METRO DETROIT — A Detroit lunchtime staple is coming back home.

Atwater Brewery founder Mark Rieth, of Grosse Pointe Farms, has purchased Velvet Peanut Butter and plans to bring production of the beloved sandwich spread back to Detroit. Rieth closed on the purchase Jan. 2.

Rieth, who sold Atwater to Molson Coors in 2022, has been in the brewery and beverage industry for more than 25 years. He laughingly admits that buying a peanut butter business “was never in the forefront of my mind,” but he grew up eating Velvet Peanut Butter and, coincidentally, was from a family of three boys, not unlike the Velvet logo that features three boys to represent the brand’s classic tagline, “Fresh. Pure. Delicious.”

Rieth said he intends to bring production of Velvet back to Detroit. A Livonia plant “shut down many, many years ago — probably 40 years ago,” Rieth said.

Under a previous owner, production moved to Georgia, which is the largest producer of peanuts in the United States.

“One of the biggest things is, it’s an iconic Detroit brand, like Better Made,” Rieth said. “That’s why I’m so passionate about bringing (production) back to Detroit.”

At press time, Rieth was still in search of a site.

Velvet’s history goes back nearly 90 years. The company was launched in 1937 by Detroit truck driver Paul Zukerman, who spotted an ad for used peanut butter-making equipment and bought it to start Velvet Peanut Butter. After selling the product out of the trunk of his car, Zukerman was tapped to produce peanut butter for American troops during World War II. Velvet grew in popularity back home as well, earning Zukerman the nickname, the “Peanut Butter King.”

Zukerman continued to run Velvet Peanut Butter until he sold it in 1985, when he was 74. A Velvet spokesperson said Michigan production stopped shortly afterward, moving to another state. Then, Velvet Peanut Butter shut down altogether until it was revived by new owner Eric Bruce in 2008.

“I was not planning to sell the brand until I met Mark,” Bruce said in a press release. “It has been a true labor of love to revive Velvet Peanut Butter and shepherd the brand for the past 16 years. Now is the perfect time for me to step away and turn this iconic brand over (to) Mark for him to lead the exciting next chapter.”

Rieth currently owns Lansing Brewing Co. and its line of craft brews and other alcoholic beverages. He also recently started Detroit Liquid Ventures, which makes the Old Head line of Detroit-made Irish-styled ales and FÜL Beverage, a line of naturally flavored nonalcoholic beers and sports drink alternatives.

Rieth plans to keep the recipe that has earned Velvet Peanut Butter so many devotees over the decades.

“We love the original recipe,” Rieth said. “It’s the first homogenized peanut butter. It’s pretty iconic. We’re not messing with that.”

But, he also intends to expand the line. The father of three — a 25-year-old son and two daughters, ages 22 and 19 — said his middle daughter is allergic to peanuts.

“We’re going to make an almond butter for her,” Rieth said.

In the next 24 months, Rieth said they hope to introduce two almond butter flavors, along with honey-flavored and maple-flavored peanut butter.

Watch for other Velvet-related products as well.

“We’re going to make a peanut butter whiskey and a peanut butter porter,” Rieth said. “It’ll be fun.”

He said they’re also in talks with a couple of local ice cream and confections makers about products made with Velvet Peanut Butter, such as a peanut butter cup.

A new tagline for Velvet — “Stay smooth, Detroit” — will be making its way onto merchandise such as hats and hoodies, and Rieth said he hopes to open a couple of retail locations in metro Detroit to carry Velvet products and merchandise.

For now, Rieth said Velvet Peanut Butter can be found at a number of stores in the region, including Meijer and Westborn Market locations and Fresh Farms Market in Grosse Pointe City.

“I’m just excited to bring back an iconic Detroit brand,” Rieth said.