Introducing: Peanut Parties

Peanut Parties is a small family-run business (ran by Fan and Richard) and was born at the beginning of 2020. They are based in Pettistree, near Wickham Market, and offer a food delivery service of freshly baked treats such as Afternoon Teas, Savoury boxes, as well as Celebration cakes. We recently caught up with Fan from the company to talk about the business, how it all began and what the future holds.

Fan explains “My husband and I have worked in the catering industry for many years and we’ve been thinking of starting our own business for a while, so launching Peanut Parties was a good way to test the water before maybe opening our own place. We knew Afternoon teas were a nation’s favourite and we wanted to offer our own version of this classic, showcasing seasonal and local produce as Suffolk has so much to offer. We’ve never imagined it would take off that quickly!”

In terms of background, after university Fan decided to leave France for a while to perfect her English and arrived a bit randomly in Woodbridge. She absolutely loved the area and that’s where she met her husband, 14 years ago. They both worked in France for a while, and 3 years ago decided to come back and settle here.

Business is booming, as Fan continues “Our customers always compliment the freshness of our boxes as everything is homemade and prepared to order. Our main purpose is to deliver high quality products at good value. We absolutely love receiving our customers’ feedback, it’s one of the joys of our job and it means so much to us!” Here are a few testimonials:-

“Wow wow wow ordered 3 different boxes from Fan and every one was fantastic! Everything was absolutely yummy! All the sandwiches and cakes were freshly made and the sausage rolls and scotch egg were delicious! It made the lunch for my mum’s 90th birthday perfect and totally stress free! Could not recommend highly enough and will certainly be using again!’’ – J, August 2020

“I had ordered delicious baked goods and afternoon teas for a few people and after hearing amazing things, decided I needed to try these things for myself! Glad I did! The afternoon tea was amazing. Everything was so fresh and those scones?! Perfection! Thanks so much Fan- my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it’’ – E, June 2020

Fan adds, “Every month we offer a new ‘Sweet Thing’ to broaden our menu and keep it exciting for our regulars, and we have a lot of things planned for the months to come, including a Christmas Box. And what I love is to be able to express myself in each cake. They are all different so there’s no routine and when a customer suggests a specific design I always try to add my personal touch.”

We spoke about how the pandemic has affected the business, and Fan explained “It has been very peculiar for us as we launched Peanut Parties only a couple of months before the beginning of the pandemic, aiming firstly at party food and birthday cakes. With the news of lockdown we had to adapt fast so we decided to introduce ‘lunch boxes’ and everyday treats to be delivered straight to the door. We also created a ‘Mini’ birthday cake, so children who had their party cancelled could still have something special. We then realised that people were using our services to reach out to each other, and send some cakes to their loved ones, with a personal message, as they couldn’t meet in person. It was quite emotional. In such crisis it’s so good to see people sticking together. Hopefully the efforts that we all make will pay off, and we’ll be able to enjoy a ‘normal’ Christmas.”

Lastly we asked Fan to tell us her ‘hidden gems’ of local business, and while maybe they aren’t so hidden she suggested her local suppliers: Revetts butchers in Wickham Market and Market Garden Produce, and Woodbridge’s greengrocers.