Fortune Favors Nuts owners Chef Eric Rupert, CEO Sam McDaniel, and COO Jess Benish have been selected by the SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) as the 2024 Small Business Persons of the Year for Wisconsin! The SBA was created with the mission of helping small businesses start, grow, expand, or recover from a declared disaster. Rupert, McDaniel, and Benish will be accepting this award in Milwaukee on May 1st during Small Business Week. They are hopeful to also bring home the 2024 NATIONAL Small Business Person of the Year - to be announced at National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C. on April 28-May 4th.
This small business opened in downtown Madison, WI in 2018. Fortune Favors Nuts quickly gained a local cult following for its irresistible take on the classic candied pecan, ditching heavy candy coating for a lightly sweet, salty, crunchy snack. A pandemic pivot from retail to online and wholesale sales, supported with SBA PPP and EIDL loans, took off exponentially. Fortune Favors Nuts has grown into a million-dollar business and continues to expand retail nationally in Whole Foods, Raley’s, Lunds & Byerly’s, and more. The small business is now based out of an expanded production facility in Cottage Grove, WI.
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Media contact for Fortune Favors is Sam McDaniel, reachable at sam@fortunefavorsnuts.com or 608-709-1077.