By James Ludden
Peanut brittle was the big takeaway from Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s earnings day.
Toward the end of his annual letter to shareholders on Saturday, Warren Buffett noted that he and longtime business partner Charlie Munger sold 11 tons of peanut brittle and chocolates to peckish investors at their annual general meeting last year. Just in case the message was in danger of getting lost, the '11 tons' was in italics.
“In our P.T. Barnum pitch, we promised you longevity,” Buffett said, noting that candy from his See’s kiosk must surely be the only reason for him reaching 92 years of age and Munger making it to 99. The side hustle resulted in peak business of 10 sales a minute, he said, raking in more than $400,000 over two days.
Peanut brittle is also, according to Buffett, a “nourishing” tidbit.
With just a handful of ingredients — sugar, corn syrup, butter, roasted salted peanuts and baking soda — it certainly packs a heavy calorific punch. According to the Nutrition Value database, a 1-ounce (28-gram) slab contains 130 calories.
Berkshire shareholders get the chance to top up on their fix again at the next meeting in Omaha on May 5-6.