Once Again marks 50 years with expansion, new products and anniversary sales

Once Again, the 100% employee-owned nut and seed butter company in Nunda, New York, is celebrating 50 years with new products, online promotions and a push to highlight its ethical sourcing and sustainability practices. The milestone also underscores how the brand grew from a basement startup into a national business sold in natural food stores and on Amazon.

Why it matters: - Once Again’s 50th anniversary shows how a small organic-food maker turned into a national brand while keeping employee ownership at the center. - The company’s focus on organic ingredients, ethical sourcing and sustainability gives the celebration broader relevance for shoppers watching where food comes from. - The anniversary also highlights continued product innovation in a crowded nut-butter category.

What happened: - Once Again is celebrating 50 years since its start in 1976. - The company is based in Nunda, New York, and is 100% employee-owned. - Once Again began as a husband-and-wife team making peanut butter in an 800-square-foot basement. - The business now spans branded, private label, foodservice and industrial operations. - Once Again produces peanut, almond, cashew and sunflower butters, plus tahini, in glass jars. - The company makes products in a 37,000-square-foot SQF-certified peanut facility and a 27,000-square-foot tree-nut facility.

The details: - Once Again says it helped develop growing standards for field crops to produce the first organic peanut butter in the United States. - The company also brought the first “no-stir” organic peanut butter to market. - Current products include the first graham sandwiches that are both organic and gluten free. - Once Again has added plant-based protein powders made with proprietary peanut flour. - The product lineup also includes high-protein squeeze pouches for on-the-go use. - The company’s Honest in Trade program centers on environmental impact, ethical supply chains and safe, quality food. - Once Again recently partnered with SedEx and HowGood to increase visibility into sourcing practices and efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. - Rocky the Raccoon, shown in the company logo, reflects that values-driven brand identity. - The company says Rocky and three other baby raccoons were adopted in 1981 on the original factory grounds in Nunda.

Between the lines: - The anniversary message positions Once Again as both a heritage brand and an innovation story. - The emphasis on employee ownership and ethical sourcing signals a strategy built around trust, not just product range. - The new data partnerships suggest the company wants to make its sustainability claims more measurable and easier for customers and buyers to evaluate. - CEO Susan DiPietro said the original vision was to make honest food with care and build the business around values, not just volume. - DiPietro said the company’s goals remain the same 50 years later: clean, nutritious, high-quality natural and organic products made in an ethical way.

What's next: - Once Again has posted a historical timeline on its website for the anniversary. - The company is running three online sales across three weeks, including $50 off orders of $150 or more. - On social media, Once Again is running a “Toasting to 50 Years” campaign with toast topping ideas and giveaways. - Once Again’s products are sold in natural food stores nationwide and on Amazon. - More information is available at OnceAgain.com and on @OnceAgainNutButter.

The bottom line: - Once Again is using its 50-year milestone to reinforce a simple message: growth, innovation and sustainability can still fit inside an employee-owned, values-driven food company.