Peanut passion project
A flash of Pirate-inspired flare adorns every can from Hancock Peanut Company. The purple stripes on the logo of the golden legumes highlight the talents and family history of Scott Hancock Duke ’06 ’08.
Duke lives in Greenville and runs a digital marketing business where he manages his clients’ website design and social media marketing needs. The work fuels his passion project.
Duke launched the company in 2023 and began a new retail chapter in his family’s peanut business history. Peanuts were not in his career plans when Duke was completing degrees in media production and health communication in the College of Fine Arts and Communication. Still, the family business and history were always on his mind.
Most people would be unaware they have a passing knowledge of Hancock Peanut Company. Duke’s great-grandfather, Robert Hancock Jr., created the original peanut man model that became known as Mr. Peanut.
Duke said his great-grandfather was asked by the owner of Planters to carve the model from a sketch. Large wrought-iron statues of Mr. Peanut topped the pillars around the factory in Suffolk, Virginia.
Hancock also built a peanut sheller and started Hancock Peanut Company in Courtland, Virginia. They were buyers, sellers and shellers of high-grade Virginia peanuts. His shellers are in museums in Virginia.
“He didn’t seek patents. He was an industrialist trying to figure out how to make something work and more interested in the next steps than thinking about down the road,” Duke said. “Today’s peanut shellers are a modernized version of the original.”
Duke researched the company name and history and found the name available. He trademarked it and kick started the new retail brand.
Antique peanut jars and company memorabilia accent Duke’s home. They inspired his designs for the company’s new logo.
He’s built the business from the ground up. He processes orders, sells swag and writes a peanut news blog. He’s worked with local vendors to create peanut-themed shirts, caps and a Hancock Peanut Co. tumbler.
Duke says the jumbo peanuts selected for sale are from the top 1% of the crop, grown in Virginia and the Carolinas. The salted cocktail peanuts are his No. 1 seller. Chocolate covered peanuts and a honey-roasted version launched last winter and quickly became fan favorites.
“People like peanuts. They are really fantastic,” Duke said. “Anyone who tries them comes back to order more.”
He gained ECU trademark licensing and created limited edition “Proud Pirate Peanuts” for the ECU Alumni Association and entered a partnership with Team Boneyard, which supports ECU student-athletes.
Duke is working to grow his footprint throughout Pirate Nation. He aims to find an investor or partner and establish a distribution effort to get Hancock Peanuts on shelves in North Carolina retailers and more.
Greenville-based MrBeast recently placed a $1,000 order, and the former wardrobe manager for Seinfeld served Hancock Peanuts for a cast/crew/writers party in the fall.
Learn more about the company and peanut history at hancockpeanuts.com.