PBspoon | Project Overview

The ultimate device for peanut butter consuption

Hit with the realization that no device exists for peanut butter lovers, I created the ultimate tool for extracting every last ounce out of the container.

Type : Kitchen Gadget, kitchen utensil

Method : Silicone Injection Molding

Scale : 80,000 units sold (Overseas), JIF 10,000 unit collaboration

Skills used: CAD Surface modeling, Rough Prototyping, 3D printing

Other Skills: Brand development, Retail management, Overseas Manufacturing, Willing a product to existence

Featured in: Buzzfeed, Real Simple, Kickstarter Staff’s favorite 26 campaigns of 2018, TikTok (1M+ impressions)

Half-filled jar of peanut butter, empty jar of jelly, and a wooden spatula with a gray silicone head on a white background.

Available at:

(also available at Amazon, TikTok Shop)

Project Start

I needed a break from the demands of running a manufacturing business, so I headed to Asheville, NC to catch the Great American Solar Eclipse. Sitting in a camp chair, I started whittling to keep my hands busy. My first attempt was a spoon for scooping coffee out of a jar and I quickly realized how limiting a jar's shape is for a standard rounded spoon.

A wooden spoon resting on a fallen tree trunk in a forest setting

Taking Shape

Back home, the problem stuck with me. I needed a tool specifically shaped to reach every corner of a jar. That's when it hit me; this would be perfect for peanut butter. I kept whittling away like a madman, until had a proof of concept that I felt like had potential. Testing went well, but now I needed to take this rough design and make it scale.

Close-up of a hand holding a yellow pencil, drawing a circle on a piece of wood with a hand-drawn circle outline.

A bandsaw cutting a piece of light-colored wood on a gray worktable.

A person holding a small hammer and working on a piece of wood on a workbench in a woodworking shop.

Exploring Options

I explored a few different avenues of creation at first, I loved the concept of making a CNC file to make this entirely out of wood and handle the production myself, but wood as a sole material in the kitchen is very limiting. I also liked the concept of making it out of metal, for durability and simplicity, but something felt sterile and lacked clear value. I also tested a basic shape of the spoon 3D printed out of PLA at my local makerspace.

Metal scoop with a black handle on a gray background.

A stainless steel spoon placed horizontally on a plain gray background.

A wooden spoon with a long handle and a rectangular scoop, lying on a gray surface.

Three plastic spatulas in red, white, and blue are placed on a wooden surface above a clear jar containing peanut butter

Honing the Design

I settled on a silicone headed spoon with a wooden handle, now to progress the design so it is actually functional. The biggest function to fight with here was to keep the spoon small and thin enough to feel like you’re eating off of a regular spoon, but large enough to support the wooden dowel. The first couple models/prints were incredibly thin, the scale was difficult to understand at first in CAD. I kept slowly increasing the width with prototypes unit I got to a point where it was durable enough and still felt like a spoon.

A red and wooden spoon lying horizontally on a gray background.

Two spoon-shaped objects, one red with a white handle and one green with a black handle, placed on a wooden surface.

A small black and red silicone spoon with a wooden handle on a gray background.

Gray cad model with a smooth, curved design, angled on a light gray background.

Prototype spoon head on a gray background.

Getting flexy

To simulate the flexible head, I started printing prototypes using flexible TPU progressing through a scale of infill percentages to simulate different shore hardness ratings. After I found an infill that worked well, I tested different silicone hardness in a 3D printed mold I created to see the range I needed to test further with the manufacturer. Without a vacuum chamber it didn’t look pretty, but functioned well enough for testing.

A person working on a 3D printer, adjusting or trimming a part with a small tool, with the printer's components and frame visible in the background.

Two gray plastic objects resembling molds or clips and a wooden stick with a purple piece of modeling clay attached.

Two gray 3D-printed parts with semicircular recesses and mounting holes, one with a sliding component attached.

Four gray plastic objects that look like small spatulas or scoops, with flat, rounded ends and short handles, placed on a grid-lined sheet of paper.

A black spoon sample with a wooden handle resting on a white surface.

Colorful spatulas with wooden handles laid out on a white surface, in blue, red, green, and black colors.

Crowdfunding

Now that the design is tested and validated, I needed to get funding and to test the market response. I gathered a team of friends to shoot the video and prepare the new website, marketing data, and to re-read my copy for the 76th time. I absorbed an IP textbook cover to cover in a week and filed a Provisional Patent Application. Response from the limited people I showed it to was positive so far, but what would the public think?

To fund it, I launched the Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2017 and emailed over 200 press contacts (pre AI!) to will this peanut butter saving dream into existence. It was thankfully a success, funding 170% of the target in 30 days.

Person scooping peanut butter from a jar with a spoon.

Person spreading peanut butter on a slice of bread with a spoon, on a white table, wearing a blue jacket and white t-shirt.

A young man with short light brown hair and a beard smiling while taking a selfie inside a greenhouse, with plants and large windows in the background.

A young woman with long black hair and a blue denim jacket is eating food with a wooden spoon.

Empty glass jars, one with chocolate spread, and two small spatulas on a white background.

Line drawing of various spoon sample shapes for prototype

It was even chosen as Kickstarter’s top 26 campaigns of 2018:

“A month or so ago, after nearly a year of thoughtful and detailed production updates, I received my PBspoon in the mail. I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say that this is humankind’s all-time most significant achievement.”

Michael Stewart - Kickstarter Director of Food Outreach

Manufacturing

I worked with a supplier that was recommended by another successful Kickstarter campaign that worked as an intermediary offering full manufacturing support, mold creation, packaging and crating, and shipping/duties. It was a huge piece of mind to work with a team that has proven experience decreasing the burden for an independent creator.

Although everything was as close to ideal, there were a few roadblocks along the way. The first sample was way too floppy, the color was off and the edges too sharp. Thankfully, we could revise by increasing the size of the spoon very slightly and modify the mold by subtracting slightly more material.

The second samples had an issue where the spoon handle was snapping repeatedly at the same point. I revised this by decreasing the depth of the connector and going with a slightly higher shore hardness silicone. This would stiffen the spoon enough to make up for the decreased length and less mechanical force was available at the breaking point. This could easily be fixed in the mold by removing a bit from the end of the handle insert without any major modification.

Although these changes did add 3 months to the expected timeframe, I finally had a finished product I was satisfied with.

Close-up of a metal mold with three cavities in the shape of spoons, used in manufacturing or cooking.

A hand holding a small peanut butter spoon with a cardboard backing. The spoon is labeled 'PB spoon' and has a silicone part. The cardboard background has instructions to scoop, spread, and scrape with colored bars.

Samples from manufacturing of a silicone spoon

Manufacturing revisions broken down clearly

Close-up of a person's hand holding a spoon detail for manufacturing

State of the Spoon

After I delivered all 817 orders to the Kickstarter backers, I had to find ways to get PBspoon to the masses. I started out by making a list of 100 small retailers around the country and shipping them free sample spoons with handwritten notes, but that didn’t really work. What did work was starting local and actually meeting people in the community, people truly want to support you when they put a face to the name.

I avoided approaching larger retailers at first with that same reasoning and submitted my products to two independent online retailers that specialize in independent makers and unique gifts. I quickly gained traction on their platforms and had some additional good luck being posted on Buzzfeed and included in a holiday gift guides.

Uncommon Goods has been a steady retailer since 2018, with a large portion of our retail sales. The PBspoon has recently picked up more traction on TikTok shop and it’s continuing to grow it’s presence on Amazon.

Open jar of peanut butter with a label reading "Peanut Butter Smooth" and a wooden spoon with peanut butter on it in front of the jar.

Close-up of a glass jar filled with peanut butter with a wooden spoon inside.

Two people, a young woman and an older man, sitting at a table with various containers of Whole Earth yogurt in front of them. The young woman appears surprised, holding a spoon, while the man is laughing. The background has a blue wall with logos of Team GB and Whole Earth.

A gift box containing four jars of various spread butters, including organic peanut butter, hazelnut dessert butter, and almond cashew butter, surrounded by holiday decorations like a candy cane, pine branches, and ornaments.

An advertisement offering a free Jif PB spoon when purchasing Jif peanut butter and Smucker's jam, jelly, or fruit spread. The image shows a wooden spoon with peanut butter on it and promotional text in red and blue.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a jar of grape jelly and peanut butter on a white surface.

A dream I didn’t know I had came true when I was reached out to by JIF peanut butter, my childhood favorite (chunky > smooth). We did a 10,000 unit mail in style giveaway campaign in Canada. Another weird result was Andy Mac (pro skateboarder, who’s poster was on my wall growing up) used the PBspoon in a dart style game for Olympic related peanut butter content. I can’t make this stuff up. Always follow your wildest product ideas, you never know where it will take you!