Tempe-Based Peanut Butter Americano Wins $20,000 in FirstBank Competition
Joel Johnson, President-East Valley for FirstBank, is pictured with Jeff and Denise Malkoon of Peanut Butter Americano.
Tempe’s Peanut Butter Americano was Arizona’s grand prize winner of FirstBank’s “$20K Good Business Giveaway” contest.
In the competition, several hundred businesses submitted a video demonstrating how they do good in their communities, customers, or employees. Five Arizona finalists were selected for a round of public voting, and at the end of the voting period, Peanut Butter Americano received the most votes of all the Arizona businesses and was declared the winner.
“Peanut Butter Americano ties into our goals of bettering communities,” said Joel Johnson, President-East Valley for FirstBank. “We congratulate them on winning the $20K Good Business Giveaway. It was a pleasure to celebrate with them today.”
Peanut Butter Americano was founded by Jeff Malkoon in 2013 after a trip to Uruguay that inspired him to create delicious, good-for-you nut butters that give back to the world. Malkoon and his sister Denise run the business, which offers a variety of products that are made to order using non-GMO, U.S. sourced nuts.
“We plan to use the winnings to expand our giving mission and to create awareness online for what we do to reach new markets,” said Jeff Malkoon, Head Nut at Peanut Butter Americano. “And, of course, we’ll continue to make a positive impact.”
In addition to winning $20,000, FirstBank will work with PBA to promote and feature their business on a variety of online, email, and social channels as part of a larger effort to bring awareness to their organization and help grow their customer-base.
Practical Art in Phoenix was the first runner up, and they will receive a $2,500 cash prize from FirstBank.
