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By Jeannine DeFoe RC’97
The ability to keep up with changes in the marketplace and adjust to changing consumer tastes is critical for any business to last for decades. For alumni David Braverman LC’02 and his family members who run Nuts.com, bringing new ways to operate a 95-year-old company, such as tapping into online sales, has helped them grow rapidly.
Nuts.com was founded in 1929 as the Newark Nut Company by David’s grandfather, “Poppy” Sol Braverman. The business endured Sol’s service in World War II, their warehouse being firebombed in the Newark riots in 1967, and relocations in 1984 and 2005. Over the years, sales declined along with Newark’s fortunes, and the business turned to selling more of its products wholesale.
David grew up helping his grandfather at the Newark Nut Company on weekends. After graduating from Rutgers in 2002, he began work as a banker. But the opportunity to turn around an existing company that also happened to be the family business lured him away from a financial career. David and his cousin Jeff joined his father, uncle, and two other employees in running the nut business.
“I was very young—a year out of college,” he said. “But I figured this was a good opportunity to take a chance by taking everything I learned to an established business. I had a little more leeway to experiment, learn, succeed, and also fail, while also helping keep my grandfather’s dream and our family business legacy alive.”
Ahead of the Curve
David and his cousin Jeff pushed to sell more products directly to consumers over the internet, then an unproven channel for selling to individuals. Some older family members voiced concerns about the strategic change in direction.
“In the beginning, it was very tough. Here you have these young kids coming in wanting to change everything,” said David. “There was a lot of friction. For me, family’s the most important thing, and I didn’t want to do anything that could jeopardize my relationship with my dad, uncle, and cousin.”
Internet sales took off, and the company changed its name to NutsOnline and then Nuts.com. Today, it employs about 500 workers, split between its corporate headquarters in Jersey City and Cranford, N.J., production
facilities. The company buys directly from growers and roasts nuts the same day it ships to customers. Best sellers include salted cashews, bourbon pecans, dark chocolate almonds, organic dried mango, and chocolate-covered gummy bears, a Nuts.com invention.
David is now general manager at Koppers Chocolates, a Nuts.com division focused on gourmet chocolates and chocolate-covered Nuts. His cousin Jeff is Chairman of the Board at Nuts.com.
Rutgers Roots Benefit Nuts.com Today
David credits his Rutgers education for helping him work well with others of different backgrounds and viewpoints.
“Rutgers was an incredible experience for me,” he said. “It’s a very diverse culture. That helped me more than anything in the business world; learning how to interact with many different people, ways of thinking and backgrounds. That’s how the real world operates.”
Many Nuts.com employees are also Rutgers alumni.
“We hire a lot of RU alumni,” said David. “We’re a New Jersey–based company, and we have a wonderful university in New Jersey. Rutgers graduates tend to be a strong fit for us across the board. They’re smart, they have a strong business acumen, and they tend to be a great culture
fit for our company.”
News outlets, including “Today” and “New York Live,” have covered the dramatic turnaround at Nuts.com.
For David and other family members who work at Nuts.com, learning to separate business from family is critical to maintaining relationships at the workplace and home.
“We have no egos here,” he said.
“Everyone works for the collective success of the company. There are things that I’m good at, and there are things that other family members are good at; everyone knows their lane and provides support where needed. We’re all okay with taking instructions from other people. At the end of the day, we care about the company’s overall success and all work together to make that happen.”
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