“It’s labor-intensive and weather dependent, but it produces a dense, deeply flavored nut.”

The Azure Road Take

Hubbard Peanut Company, known as Hubs, is a family-owned business in southern Virginia that has built an outsize reputation on quality and consistency since 1954. The company’s latest release — the 2025 batch of single origin redskin peanuts — reflects an emphasis on local sourcing and deeper community partnerships. These peanuts are grown by fourth-generation farmer Elisha Barnes using pre-industrial drying methods rarely practiced today. The company sees them as a way to preserve regional farming heritage while addressing food insecurity in the same area where the peanuts are grown.

Sustainability Chops

Sustainability at Hubs is about more than packaging or carbon offsets. Their “Peanut Promise” includes responsible sourcing, support for local agriculture, and partnerships with food-access organizations. Since 2020, Hubs has worked closely with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, offering warehouse space, volunteers, and fundraising support.

This year’s batch of single origin redskins grew on a plot of land made available to Barnes through a cooperative effort between the Foodbank and Rev. Eric Majette. Barnes used half the land to grow fresh produce to donate to local residents, and used the other half to plant this peanut crop. Barns employs an old-fashioned drying process known as shocking: it involves placing harvested peanut plants on wooden stakes to cure in the sun. It’s labor-intensive and weather dependent, but it produces a dense, deeply flavored nut. Proceeds from each can sold will provide two meals for individuals in need through the Foodbank’s network.

Hubs also supports local food education through The CROP Foundation and helps organize the Homegrown Harvest Festival, which raised $30,000 in 2023. The money funded Izzie’s Field for another season and provided culinary scholarships to regional students.

The Bite

Forget the soft (or withered), stale peanuts from Harris Teeter. Hubs dry roasts its peanuts with the skins on, lending them a firmer texture and a slightly tannic edge. The skin brings a faint bitterness, balanced by the nut’s natural sweetness. They’re less oily than many commercial varieties and have a clean, lingering finish. The slow-drying process concentrates the flavor. The result is a satisfying snack that’s distinct from standard cocktail peanuts — earthier, denser, and better suited to eating in small handfuls rather than by the bowl. 

Tins of single origin redskins are available in limited quantities each year. The price for one can starts at $30.50 and drops with larger orders. Once the crop is gone, it’s gone until next season. 

Origin Story

Hubbard Peanut Company began in Sedley, Virginia, when Dot Hubbard started cooking peanuts in her family kitchen and mailing them to customers in metal tins. Over time, that side project became a small business, and eventually one of the most recognizable names in Virginia peanuts. Hubs stands as the country’s oldest specialty peanut brand in the country and is still run by the Hubbard family today.

The Single Origin line launched in 2020. It was inspired by the idea of traceability in other industries, such as chocolate and coffee. Barnes, a longtime community leader and farmer in nearby Branchville, became the sole grower. His farm, Pop Son, is located on land once worked by his great-grandfather, who was a sharecropper. Barnes remains the only known farmer in the region still using the shocking method, which he sees as a way to preserve an important part of Virginia’s agricultural tradition.

Each year’s batch varies slightly, depending on rainfall, temperature, and curing conditions. But the core idea remains the same: small-batch peanuts, grown and harvested by hand, with a direct connection to the people and land behind them.