Who doesn't love pie?! We are big fans of this delicious dessert especially when it comes from Crave Pie. On this Maker Monday, we caught up with Briana Carson of Crave Pie Studio to find out more about how she became a pie master and what flavors she loves most. 

1. When did you start on your journey of pie-baking? I began baking pies in 2010 after being laid off from my 20 year corporate job.  I attended culinary school to begin a new chapter in life, and had to bake an apple pie for the Baking 101 final.  I fell in love with the craft, and more importantly, with how pies make people feel.  I dropped out of school to pursue pie baking as a full time business and opened my first location in 2012.
2. What is your all-time favorite pie? That depends on the season! Spring: Strawberry Rhubarb; Summer: Peach; Fall: Roasted Pumpkin and Winter: Spiced Cranberry Apple Pear with Walnut Streusel.  I guess fruit pies are my favorite!
3. Can you give us a sneak preview into some new flavors that may be coming out in 2022? We are always developing new pie recipes that showcase our Georgia grown pecans, peaches and blueberries.  Our menu of specials changes daily and with the seasons.
4. What do you love to do for fun (besides bake delicious pies)? I love shopping at farmers markets and attending art festivals. I also enjoy cooking and dining.  
5. If someone isn't familiar with Crave Pie, where can they go (besides Georgia Crafted) to get their hands on a delicious pie? We have two physical stores: 3107 Main Street, Duluth and 360 Commerce Street in Alpharetta City Center.  Both locations are in walkable retail/dining destinations. Custom orders can be placed online at cravepie.com.  You can follow us online and check out our daily specials menus at @cravepie on Facebook and Instagram.

Having a craving for Crave Pie? You can find their delicious Chocolate Bourbon Truffle Mini Pie in our 2022 Valentine's Day gift box. 

No reason to be blue because July is National Blueberry Month! To honor this sweet fruit, we are featuring the maker behind one of our favorite blueberry products, Blueberry & Hemp Seed Granola from BFit BFly located in Atlanta, GA.

Tawana Cherie is the artisan behind this business that is driven by providing plant-based products that promote health and wellness. We recently had the chance to connect with Tawana about the inspiration behind BFit BFly and what sets her products apart from others available on the market today.

After her son was diagnosed with autism and dairy sensitivities, Tawana made it her mission to craft food that was simple, clean, and fresh while also having an outlet for her passion to create. 

“BFit BFly started in my little Georgia kitchen, testing recipes for how to make dairy-free cookies for my son, Myles, who was diagnosed with autism and dairy sensitivities. 

Spending time in the kitchen was therapeutic. It gave me not only space to create, but a sense of purpose that I was doing something to help my son with his food sensitivities. That purpose ultimately fueled my passion for baking and cooking health-inspired food for others, thus creating BFit BFly.”

Each product Tawana makes is filled with simple ingredients that are nutritionally-balanced and she derives inspiration from her love of fruit, familiar healthy ingredients, and holidays or seasons. 

“BFit BFly products are crafted with simple organic ingredients that bring together a balance of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

The inspiration behind the product flavors first, comes from my love of natural sweet fruits like blueberries and cranberries. Then pairing the natural fruits with something familiar, healthy, and fun, like hemp seeds with blueberry, or dairy free chocolate chips with cranberry.  

Other flavors are inspired from a season or holiday…who doesn’t love a pumpkin spice gourmet granola during the fall and a holiday blend in the winter? Here at BFit BFly we love this stuff.”

With all of the health-centric foods available on the market today, you may wonder what makes BFit BFly products different. Tawana let us know this answer is four-fold:

“BFit BFly products are unique vs. what you find in most stores because: 

1.  The way we make our snacks. Each bag is handcrafted and baked in small batches (which helps keep the product fresh). 
2. All ingredients are personally sourced within Georgia and the surrounding areas to ensure the best possible product. 
3. Our snacks are dairy free and vegan (which allows most people with digestive issues and sensitivities to enjoy our products). 
4. It’s a mommy-owned company (so you know health and simplicity is always the priority when creating a product).”

As a culinary expert, we had to ask what’s Tawana’s favorite recipe to enjoy during the heat of the summer. 

“My favorite easy summer recipe is grilled peaches with a dollop of dairy free plain yogurt and BFit BFly Hemp Seeds and Blueberry gourmet granola crumbled on top. So good and guilt free.”

There’s no doubt about it: BFit BFly is providing delicious, healthful products unlike the rest, and we’re proud to support this black woman-owned business. If you want to try BFit BFly Hemp Seeds and Blueberry gourmet granola for yourself, order your own bag on our website or our Take a Hike gift box to get a taste of this granola as well as other snacks and sips made for the great outdoors.

Tour of Georgia Stop #2: Middle Georgia

From whitewater rafting in Columbus to game days in Athens, Middle Georgia has an Explore Georgia adventure for everyone.

Our Middle Georgia gift box features products from all over this area of the Peach State including Southern Straws Original Cheese Straws (Columbus), Watanut Georgia Pecan Shortbread Cookies (Augusta), Phickles Pickles Carrot Stix (Athens), Biron Herbal Teas Peach Honeybush Tea (Macon), Corks Kettle Corn Kettle Popcorn (Statesboro) and Rinse Bath & Body Oats & Honey Soap (Monroe).

Meet the Artisans

Southern Straws Cheese Straws

Columbus, bordered by the Chattahoochee River, is home to the longest urban whitewater rafting in the world! One artisan duo who calls Columbus home is Margaret and Neal Amos, the mother-and-son team behind Southern Straws. Growing up, Neal and his younger brothers would watch their mother make thousands of cheese straws for friends during the holidays. In 2014, they turned their hobby into a business when they launched Southern Straws. The foundation for their delicious cheese straws is an old recipe Margaret got from her mother. Their unique bite-size shape makes them perfect for salads, soups, chili, even grits! Southern Straws offers three flavors of cheese straws including: Original, their most popular flavor with a nice kick of spice featured in our Middle Georgia gift box; Spicy, for those who like a little more heat; and Mild, no heat but focused on the rich cheddar flavor.

Biron Teas

Biron Teas is owned and operated by Andi Biron. Andi has a Master of Science in Homeopathy. Biron Teas initial herbal blends were made for friends and family to help them overcome the stage of life they were going through. Love & Laughter was made for a friend going through a bad break-up. Memory Magic was made for a single mom trying to finish her degree. Worryease was made for Andi who loves to sip it when she feels overwhelmed. Each Biron Teas blend has a unique story and purpose. Continuing their commitment to sustainability, Biron Teas teabags and overwraps are biodegradable so you can feel good about what you're sipping. Their Peach Honeybush Tea is featured in our Middle Georgia gift box.  

Rinse Bath & Body

In 2002, Heather Swanepoel took up soap-making as hobby after figuring out she was horrible at knitting. To justify making pounds of soap at a time to her husband, she would give away her soap to anyone who would take it. As she experimented with ingredients, she found herself perfecting products and people wanted to buy her products. With that, Rinse Bath & Body was born. With 20 product categories, they offer divine smelling products from soaps to shower bombs to lip balms and beyond. You can find Rinse Bath & Body at over 1500 retail partners (including Georgia Crafted, of course!) as well as Disneyland and Disney World. The Georgia Crafted Peaches carry multiple varieties of their products and are excited to feature their Oats & Honey soap in our Middle Georgia gift box.

Corks Kettle Corn

Another great college town, Statesboro is not only home to Georgia Southern but also some of the best kettle corn you'll ever taste from Corks Kettle Corn. On a whim, David Cork bought a kettle corn cooker in the early 2000’s and started popping at the local farmers market. From that simple beginning, Corks Kettle Corn has grown their wholesale distribution and ships popcorn all over the country. They offer multiple varieties of kettle corn including their famous Original Kettle Corn, Old Fashioned Caramel Corn, and their Simply Salted Corn. To ensure their customers get the highest-quality product, they use mushroom style popcorn that pops up to HUGE fluffy pieces, and  take extra time to sift out any un-popped or broken pieces. Their Original Kettle Corn is featured in our Middle Georgia gift box and you can shop all of their products in our Middle Georgia collection. 

Phickles Pickles

Athens is not only home to the University of Georgia and the Dawgs but also Phickles Pickles. In 2008, Angie Tillman began selling pickled veggies off her front porch and then in stores all over Georgia. With that, Phickles Pickles was born. A definite foodie and talented cook, Angie  has shared recipes on her social media platforms over the years - many of which have now become products she's added to the Phickles brand!  In her words, "Pretty much... if it's something I like to eat, I'm packaging it for resell!" At this time, Phickles offers seven different pickled veggies, two cheese spreads, three bbq sauces, two pepper jellies and a salsa.... all are gluten-free and low sugar. Her top-selling Phickles Carrot Stix are featured in our Middle Georgia gift box.

Watanut

You may know Augusta for the legendary Masters golf tournament but this charming town also features lovely small businesses like Watanut. Augusta, Georgia natives and Watanut founders, Brian and Kam Kyzer, are adventurous, creative, and love to take the road less traveled. Their gourmet nut mixes and shortbread cookies are made from scratch from the finest ingredients, baked fresh daily, and packed by hand. They source local growers and shellers for Georgia’s best pecans for their gourmet pecan gifts.The name Watanut comes from their enthusiasm and passion for what they do. Their delicious Georgia Pecan Shortbread cookies are featured in our Middle Georgia gift box.

We had such a great time (virtually) visiting Middle Georgia. If you want to explore this piece of the Peach State from the comfort of your couch, shop our Middle Georgia gift box here. 

Tour of Georgia Stop #1: South Georgia

Known for rolling fields of farmland, dirt roads, and some of the best eats you can find, South Georgia is the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the big city to just take it slow and relax.

During our Tour of Georgia South Georgia stop, we visited the town of each artisan featured in our South Georgia gift box including Goodson Pecans Cinnamon Sugar pecans (Leesburg), Oliver Farm Infused Sunflower Oil (Pitts), Grassroots Coffee “Bean Me Up, Scotty” Coffee (Thomasville), Wisham Jellies Peachy Peach Pepper jelly (Tifton), and Stripling's General Store Beef Jerky (Cordele).

Meet the Artisans

Goodson Pecans

Leesburg is not only the hometown of country music singer and songwriter, Luke Bryan, American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips, and MLB player, Buster Posey, but also home to Goodson Pecans. With four generations of pecan farmers in the family, the Goodsons know pecans but welcome all pronunciations of the tree nut's name. They have been producing gourmet pecan flavors for over 11 years. Featured in our South Georgia gift box, their Cinnamon Sugar Pecans were the first gourmet variety sold when they began their business and to this day are still the most popular seller. They have multiple award-winning & finalist products including their Honey Cinnamon Pecan Butter, Toasted Sriracha Pecans, and Vanilla Espresso Pecans. 

Oliver Farm

Oliver Farm is located in rural Wilcox County near Pitts, Georgia. With only 3 total stop lights in the entire county, you could say that this area of the Peach State is certified small town USA. Oliver Farm is owned and operated by the Oliver family and manufactures cold-pressed, gourmet sunflower, pecan, and peanut oils. With multiple awards behind their products including a 2017 Good Food Award & the 2015 Garden & Gun Made in the South award, their various pure oils are cooking companions for chefs, foodies, and home cooks alike. Their infused Sunflower Oil featured in our South Georgia gift box is their best-selling oil and can be used for dipping bread, sauteing vegetables, or enhancing grilled or baked meats. 

Wisham Jellies

Located in Tifton, Wisham Jellies produces some of the best pepper jelly varieties you can find. With the help of a throwback recipe, peppers from his garden, and a passion for grilling, Eric Wisham began getting creative with his pepper jelly batches during the summer of 2012. After a busy summer spent at his local farmers market in Downtown Tifton, he began his peppery journey to making and creating Wisham Jellies for store shelves in October 2013. Wisham Jellies Pepper Jellies are handmade with whole peppers and fruits which keeps their ingredients list short and sweet. Their Peachy Peach Pepper Jelly can be used in a variety of ways and is featured in our South Georgia gift box. 

Grassroots Coffee

Thomasville is known for the Rose Show, Victorian Christmas, and great quail hunting, but one gem located in historic Downtown is Grassroots Coffee. Roasting coffee since 2009, Grassroots Coffee is loved by visitors and locals alike. They responsibly source their beans from all over the world by working closely with importers, exporters, and farms to get the best beans possible. In 2019 alone, Grassroots Coffee roasted 45,000 lbs. of coffee. Featured in our South Georgia gift box, their top-selling "Bean Me Up, Scotty" blend was named in a customer contest and is the smoothest cup of coffee you will ever enjoy.

Stripling's General Store

With a history dating back to 1964, Stripling's General Store has been a staple for travelers and locals alike throughout South Georgia. With a process that uses the whole hog and a perfected blend of signature seasonings, Stripling's is best known for their sausage and produces 300,000 lbs. of their small-batch sausage each year. While still being a full-line grocery store filled with locally-made Georgia Grown products, Stripling's has branched beyond their first location in Warwick and now has locations throughout the state. Our South Georgia gift box features Stripling's General Store Beef Jerky which they make about 35,000 lbs. of each year. 

We had such a great time on our Tour of Georgia stop in South Georgia. To have your own journey from the comfort of your home, shop our South Georgia gift box here. 

The freezing temperatures and shorter days have the Georgia Crafted Peaches craving all things cozy. When we want to make our homes feel (and smell) warm and inviting, we reach for a Jack Be Nimble candle. 

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Paul “Jack” Bruschi, a former professional ballet dancer and founder of Jack Be Nimble candles. 

In 2008, Paul founded Jack Be Nimble after being dissatisfied with run-of-the-mill, low-quality candles offered in stores. 

“I decided I was tired of buying candles that smelled great in the store just to get them home, and they lost their smell after a couple of burns. I knew there had to be a better way.”

With that, Paul began crafting his own signature formula that would later be the foundation for all Jack Be Nimble candles. 

 “I started experimenting and a year later, I felt I had the formula that would make a candle that smelled amazing from start to finish.  Jack Be Nimble was born and I still use that same formula today in all our candles.”

Jack Be Nimble upholds an unwavering commitment to quality that you won’t find in big box store candles. Hand-poured in batches of 12 in their Atlanta studio, all Jack Be Nimble candles are made using American grown soy wax, all-natural cotton wicks & fine fragrance oils. Plus, each candle has a clean burn time of 50+ hours.

When it comes to the divine smell of each Jack Be Nimble candle, Paul is inspired by smells that ignite nostalgia, like his fond memories of his childhood in Georgia, and his devoted customer base.

“I love developing scents that are nostalgic in some way and recall some pleasant memory from your past. Many of our scents, like Georgia On My Mind, come from things I remember from my childhood growing up in Georgia. Other scent ideas come from our amazing customers who ask if we can make a candle that smells like this or that.”

After coming up with another scent, the real work begins, as the process for creating a new candle scent can take up to a year.

“When I do come up with an idea, it usually takes up to a year to fully develop and test the scent.”

After twirling the top off of any Jack Be Nimble candle, you’ll find yourself inhaling deep and smiling as you breathe in each cozy note. Even before lighting one of these beautiful candles, Paul wants the scents to bring happiness to anyone who smells them.

“I really want the scents to bring a smile to someone’s face. I see it when people pick up a scent and smell it for the first time. Whether the smell reminds them of Christmas morning at their grandmother’s house or a relaxing day at the spa, I want them to make people happy.

With scents like Rustic, Harvest, Nutmeg & Ginger, and Georgia On My Mind, a Jack Be Nimble candle is the perfect way to bring folks together at every gathering. 

As the holiday season gears up, we couldn’t help but ask Paul some of his best entertaining tips. His answer: simplicity is key.

“I say keep it simple. You can’t have fun if you are working the entire time your guests are with you. Prep or buy your food and beverages ahead of time, light your Jack Be Nimble candles 2-3 hours before your party starts, and then relax and enjoy your family or friends.”

What’s Paul’s suggested host or hostess gift to bring along with you to every gathering this holiday season? Give a more thoughtful “Thank You” to your host(s) by choosing a Jack Be Nimble candle. 

“So many people are tired of giving a bottle of wine and are turning to unique gifts like our candles. Candles are a more personal gift and I always think including a handwritten note with the candle is a nice touch.”

Finally, as a Georgia native, Paul has had ample opportunity to explore the Peach State. His favorite Explore Georgia adventure? Visiting old houses that have a unique history to share and provide inspiration for his candles.

“I love exploring old homes whether in South Georgia, the Coast, or the Georgia mountains.  Old homes remind me of my youth and I get lots of inspiration for candles by visiting historic places or homes around the State.”

As the Georgia Crafted Peaches settle in for chilly season in Georgia, you can rest assured that we have a Jack Be Nimble candle lit to warm our homes and our hearts with every sniff.

If you want to bring the cozy feeling from lighting a Jack Be Nimble candle into your home, shop our entire collection here. 

With a disposition as sweet as their small-batch spreads, Suzy and Clark Neal, the makers behind Unicoi Preserves, are two of the nicest folks you’ll ever have the chance to meet.

Residing in the North Georgia mountains, Sautee-Nacoochee to be exact, this couple has a passion for creating Georgia Grown spreads that are sure to bring people together whether used in a party food, on a cheese plate, or in an old-fashioned PB&J.

Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with Suzy about everything that’s been going on for the Georgia artisans including their newest product addition, award-nominated pretzel rolls, and much more.

When your Georgia Crafted Peaches first found out about Unicoi Preserves’ newest jar of goodness, we were immensely excited to discuss their sweet with a little heat Cherry Jalapeno spread.

The idea for this sweet and spicy spread came from their love of cherries but with a little twist of flavor.

“Cherry Jalapeno Spread came about from our love of cherries. Clark and I look forward to cherry season every year and think that the bright, tart flavor of cherry is complimented by the spice of jalapeno peppers. Ours is a unique recipe that we have been cooking and taste testing for over a year, working to get the balance of sweet, tart and heat just right.”

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, this spread is perfect for your holiday recipes and to include in a Georgia Crafted gift box.

“This is a beautiful product for the holiday season and gifting; it's just so festive spooned over goat cheese or cream cheese. We are all about entertaining and Unicoi Preserves Cherry Jalapeno Spread is the perfect pair with Georgia Crafted bamboo cheese boards.”

Adding their newest spread to their collection of other delicious flavors such as Vineyard, Vineyard Fire or Apple Cider Pepper has given Suzy and Clark plenty of new recipes to explore.

“Clark and I have been creating new recipes using Cherry Jalapeno Spread so stay tuned. It’s delicious on a toasted panini sandwich with roast beef and your favorite melty cheese and on bagels with a schmear of cream cheese.”

Not only are the Neal’s talented when it comes to concocting delectable spreads, but they also create delicious recipes to share with all of their friends, family, and followers. If there’s anybody’s get-together your Georgia Crafted Peaches would like to attend, it’s a party at the Neal house because they’ll serve up get-in-your-belly-good food.  

Recently, Suzy’s recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Rolls was a top contender at the National Festival of Breads in Manhattan, KS.

“I am very honored to have my Peanut Butter Pretzel Roll recipe chosen from over 300 entries as a finalist at the National Festival of Breads. Bread baking is a hobby I shared with my Mom and I'm always looking for unique ways to spotlight Unicoi Preserves, so a bread baking competition was right up my alley!"

"I created my recipe, took some pictures of my bread and submitted it online following the guidelines of the contest. I was thrilled to get a phone call from the organizers of the event asking if I was available to come to Kansas to compete and immediately said yes.  I competed in the Food Blogger category against three wonderful bakers and while I didn't win my category, I came away a winner with great memories, a lot of nice swag from the sponsors, new friendships and connections.”

Suzy’s Peanut Butter Pretzel Rolls are easy to bake and are best served with Unicoi Preserves Strawberry Vanilla Spread. 

When it comes to Suzy’s favorite recipe to cook up during the hot summer months, she prefers a delicious appetizer that brings the heat as well: Her Jalapeno Poppers glazed with Unicoi Preserves.

“There are never any leftovers when we take them to parties. We usually use Apple Cider Pepper Spread but we've recently tried our new Cherry Jalapeno Spread and its great as a glaze on them too!”   

With so many different flavors of Unicoi Preserves spreads to choose from, you have to wonder which flavors best reflect the personalities of the artisans.

Suzy says, “I'm Salted Caramel Peach Spread because I'm constantly looking at what's trending in the food world and I'm a proud Georgia Grown Peach!”

As for Clark, “He’s Strawberry Vanilla Spread because he's a traditional guy but is always up for an adventure and putting his unique twist on traditional recipes.”

To check out more delicious recipes from Unicoi Preserves, click here. We promise you’ll be hungry as soon as you start scrolling. To add all of their spreads to your pantry, you can shop our Unicoi Preserves collection to ship these little jars of goodness right to your doorstep.

As I pass Forsyth Park with its famous fountain where Forrest Gump dropped notable one-liners, I admire the oak trees with Spanish moss swaying with the Spring Breeze. A businessman is walking down the sidewalk getting to his office, two friends are walking along a path chatting, and tourists are already filling the park to take pictures of this historic site. These individuals have been brought together by the city of Savannah where life never gets old.

Traveling down the cobblestone streets of Savannah, it’s easy to get lost in the beauty of antiquity and history. I turn down West Hall Street in the historic district and find the cottage marked 208.

I ring the doorbell to the Salacia Salts Studio and the walking epitome of Southern sophistication wearing bright colors and pearls around her neck gracefully strolls up to greet me.

A woman of many talents, Cari Clark Phelps, is the owner and founder of Salacia Salts as well as her own design firm, Clark Creative.

She unlocks the front door and we’re transported to a place filled with the sound of seagulls and crashing waves.

As soon as you walk through the doors of the studio, you inhale the smell of relaxation and the sea, and exhale any worries you had before you walked through the door. The Salacia Salts Studio may be located in the heart of Savannah but the nautical décor and beach vibe makes the spot feel like you’re a few miles down the road on Tybee Island.

This small business is filled with bath and beauty products made from all-natural organic ingredients locally-sourced and inspired by scents of the South.

Like all other great prophecies, the idea for Salacia Salts came from a dream.

“I have helped brand companies and do packaging design for the past 15 years and in my dream I was helping someone find an economical way to package salt. I was also in the middle of a renovation with my husband in our historic downtown home. In the process, we were finding a lot of cool old things in our backyard including glass bottles.  I think I kind of merged what was happening in my real life at work and at home and had this dream that I was packing salts in a reclaimed bottle. I woke up and told my husband about this crazy weird dream I was having and he said, ‘Did you know that Tybee Island, 20 minutes off of our coast, is the Native American word for salt?’”

After having the dream, Phelps began researching everything she needed to know about salt.

Although most of us view salt simply as a way to season our food, she discovered that there was much more to this mineral.

“Salt is a natural cleanser and can be used as a household cleanser and as an exfoliant. It extracts and helps get rid of different types of dirt from your body and your environment. It’s great to detox and soften your skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. I don’t know specifically how many uses there are for salt but I know there are hundreds.”

With that, Salacia Salts was born. Phelps used her knowledge of salt as well as insights from her travels and living in the South to begin experimenting with local ingredients to create her products.

“I find ingredients that are natural or native to this area and try to use anything that’s Georgia Grown. The grits are grown in Lakeland, Georgia. Our pecans are grown in Valdosta. Our rosemary comes from an organic farm in Florida. I always try to use things that you can find in our area so that ends up being the catalyst for everything we’re developing.”

However, sometimes products don’t go as planned but can still end up working out for the best. After much urging from customers, Phelps started trying to create a foot scrub that would not be as slippery as her moisturizing salt soaks or body scrubs. However, after realizing that all of the ingredients were edible, she ended up making a completely different product.

“I had pumice, grits, sugar, salt, and I tried a whole bunch of different things that would exfoliate gently and naturally. When I removed the pumice and I was blending everything, I realized that all of it was edible. Because I’m a foodie at heart, I tasted it and thought this has some potential if I added more sugar. As I did, I realized, ‘Kiss my Grits’ because it had grits in it, it was sugary and I was using it on my lips. No longer was it a foot scrub. Instead, it became our signature product and it’s our number one bestseller.”

From your lips to your toes, Phelps has created products filled with natural ingredients to make every inch of your body feel soft, exfoliated, and moisturized.

With inspiration from the South and the sea, Phelps wants anyone using her products to feel relaxed and comfortable like a day at the beach.

“I want them to have the feeling at the end of the day when you’ve been at the beach. You’re at peace with nature, relaxed, and calm, but there’s also a comfort side with the fragrances of the South.”

Much like the warmth of the sun on your back or the feeling of sand between your toes, using any of the Salacia Salts products specially crafted by Phelps and her team, from soaps to salt soaks to lip scrubs, you will feel like you’ve given yourself a short getaway if only for a few minutes.

To pamper yourself with a gift from the Roman goddess of the sea, Salacia, purchase the Salacia Salts Seaside Citrus Salt Soak, Kiss My Grits Lip Scrub, and Southern Pecan Soap in the Build a Gift Box section of our website. You will feel relaxed and lovely after treating yourself to a wonderful spa day with these products from Georgia’s historic city by the Atlantic.

I drive past the blue city limit sign that indicates I have reached the hometown of Luke Bryan, Buster Posey, Phillip Phillips, and Carly Mathis. This small town in Southwest Georgia is not only home to this big talent but also houses some of the finest people you will ever have the opportunity to meet. Most especially, the Goodson family, who are the proud owners of Goodson Pecans, call this small town home.

Goodson Pecans is a small business located in Leesburg, Georgia that creates and sells shelled pecans, gourmet pecans such as the cinnamon sugar or sriracha flavors, and pecan butters. The idea for this business stemmed from Goodson Farms where all of the pecans are harvested for Goodson Pecan products.

David Goodson, the driving force behind making the dream of Goodson Pecans a reality, said that he pushed for his dad, a farmer since 1972, to bring the pecans grown by Goodson Farms to the internet.

“I had always been telling my dad about two years before we started we need to start getting our pecans online. The internet was a huge avenue already for things. We talked about that for two years and nothing. No traction.”

Goodson then took the business idea into his own hands and started to build Goodson Pecans.

“After that second year, I was like I just have to get out there and try it. We built a website and we essentially started Goodson Pecans at that point. We got a business license, and we were selling shelled pecan halves and pieces. The next year we added some sugar coated pecans and every year after that we’ve just been expanding.”

Goodson started running Goodson Pecans from his home, but as the list of pecan products kept growing, a new facility was needed.

As he sits on a metal stool in the middle of their packaging area, he said:

“We moved from our home into here when we started making pecan butter. We couldn’t do that in our home. We were required by the department of agriculture to be in a commercial facility. It was a big step for us to move from our home into a commercial facility.”

The facility is not incredibly large but allows the Goodson family to create most of their gourmet flavors and all of their nut butters in house. The store smells like warm pecans, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate. As you look around, you can tell that this facility is used to create, pack, and send Georgia grown pecans to people all across the country not just in this corner of Georgia.

One flavor of Goodson Pecans, Mimi’s Sugar Pecans, was created from an old family recipe and some flavors, such as the chocolate covered variety, are made locally. However, most of the delectable artisan products that Goodson Pecans sells are surprisingly created by trial and error.

“I love creating and it drives my wife crazy because I’ll say we need to try a savory flavor and I’ll get in the back and play with it. We’d play with recipes and say it needs a little more of this or a little more of this and we’d go back to the kitchen and work it out. That’s how Sriracha came about.”

The Goodson Pecans Gourmet Sriracha flavor has proven to be a successful savory and spicy flavor for the business, winning the 2017 Flavor of Georgia for the snack category.

“Sriracha won Flavor of Georgia back in March, and it’s been flying off the shelves this year. We’ve been super encouraged with it. We never thought that it would have been as popular as it was.”

Goodson Pecans prides itself on being a family business that creates products that are georgia grown.

“Georgia grown is important because of my product and our pecans are Georgia Grown. Pecans taste different here. They taste better. People say that and I’m probably biased but there’s also a little truth behind that.”

Goodson also knows the importance of georgia crafted products to his business as well:

“It’s valuable to be Georgia Crafted because that’s also who we are. We take what we grow and we craft it into something else. We add value to our product and that’s where I think there is great value in being Georgia Crafted.”

In this small town of Leesburg, Georgia, the taste of a Goodson Pecan reminds you that you’re in the part of the South that keeps it Georgia Grown, Georgia Made, and Georgia Crafted. 

To try Goodson Pecans, you can check out the 2017 Flavor of Georgia gift box featuring Goodson Pecans Sriracha flavor or purchase the Cinnamon Sugar or Sriracha flavors by the bag in the Build a Gift Box section of our website.