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Got Nuts? Texas Company Wants to Sell over 43 Tons of American Airlines’ Nut Mixes

For grounded flyers who want to recreate the premium cabin experience at home, a Texas company has a deal for you. GNS Foods, who supplied American Airlines with nuts, is selling the mix through their website at wholesale prices, hoping to offload 87,000 pounds of product.

Under normal circumstances, GNS foods of Arlington, Texas would provide nut mixes to American Airlines, which would ultimately be served to premium passengers. But with aircraft grounded and passenger counts decimated by COVID-19, the foods provider is getting creative with selling to their audience. The Dallas Morning News reports GNS has setup a website, with the goal of selling off over 43 tons of premium cabin nuts to frequent flyers.

 “Good Nuts” Available Online and at Factory Store

Under the “Great Nuts” brand, the company is hoping to get rid of over 70,000 bags of nut mixes. The two blends feature “a wide variety of nuts,” anchored by the company’s specialty: cashews and pecans. The regular mixed nuts is a blend of hand-mixed almonds, cashews, pecans and dry-roasted pistachios, while the “aloha mix” features “pina colada pecans,” cashews, almonds, and pineapple. Flyers can buy the first-class mixes in 1.25 pound bags, with a minimum of two bags per order. Flyers can put in orders on their website, or at their factory store in Arlington.

“We have pallets and pallets of nuts here,” Kim Peacock, president of GNS Foods, told the Dallas Morning News. “We didn’t know how long this was going to last. The airlines were in a state of disarray themselves and they didn’t know if they were going to be bringing them back or not.”

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, American and other airlines cut back on their in-flight services, meaning premium features like warm mixed nuts were the first thing to get cut. As it stands today, flyers aboard flights under 900 miles will not get snacks in the main cabin, and only receive water or canned beverages by request only.

Those aboard American flights longer than 900 miles will receive a pack of Biscoff cookies and bottled water when they board, with other beverages only available upon request. In the premium cabin, flyers will receive a complimentary fruit and cheese plate, but no nuts will be served.

Nuts Become a Popular Hit Online

Although the business GNS Foods’ will earn from consumer sales doesn’t compare to airline sales, the company says it’s better than nothing. In a normal year, the Dallas Morning News says GNS will sell over 6,000 tons of nuts to both American Airlines and United Airlines.

Even though they aren’t going to airlines, the company says that the direct sales to customers are a hit. A banner on the front page asks customers for patience, noting they are “working as fast as they can to fill your orders!”

Feature image courtesy: GreatNuts.com

9 Comments
D
dynamiteReady August 13, 2020

I can't believe they have the bags to try this...

J
jimmybtexas August 7, 2020

777 global bound hit the nail on the head regarding AA service (or absence there of). Airlines are using COVID 19 as an excuse to reduce their service even more (if that was possible). Flew PDX-DFW this week and was given a tiny water bottle and bag of pretzels for a 3 hour plus flight. Flight attendants were non-existent till we were landing. Had trash waiting ready to be thrown away for 2 hours. The only reason to fly AA is they fly to the places I need to go. Service will probably be even worse after the layoffs.

J
JAGorham August 6, 2020

Actually, $10 for a 1.25 pound bag isn't bad compared to what's in the blend. Almonds and (plain) walnuts go for $10/lb at Walmart, and the shelled pistachios are closer to $20/lb, with cashews in between. And I agree with others -- I think AA (and others) are just trying to drastically slash any costs they can.

S
schelsr August 5, 2020

So, let's get this straight: 1. AA not serving nuts 2. "Great Nuts" has their nuts piling up on pallets in a warehouse, unable to be sold 3. "Big opportunity" for us to buy their (now likely stale nuts)? Is there a NYC bridge for sale too?

K
kkua August 4, 2020

I was hoping for individual packs for portion control… sadly, a 1.25lb bag does not help with the calorie consumption.