Alumni What Has a Bear Mascot and a Whole Lot of Devoted Fans? Stories You May Like Beyond PB&J: Alum’s Company Sells Creatively Flavored Nut Butters Cheesecake Mogul Alan Rosen ’91 Oversees a Comfort-Food Empire Gary and the Chocolate Factory: Alum Is Living the Sweet Life It’s not just the Big Red—It’s Teddie Peanut Butter, a 100-year-old family company run by a second-generation Cornellian By Joe Wilensky On a Wednesday morning during the fall 2025 semester, a student crossing Sage Atrium spies Jamie Hintlian ’82, MEng ’85, MBA ’86, and makes a beeline for him. Hintlian, a senior lecturer in the Johnson College of Business, is also CEO of the Teddie Peanut Butter Company. The brand, which has had a loyal following in New England for decades, has recently been—pun intended—spreading nationwide. The student excitedly tells Hintlian that he’s a huge fan—and that when he recently got a puppy, he of course chose the all-natural PB brand to fill its Kong toy. “There’s quite a fan base,” Hintlian says after the student dashes off to class. “That happens all the time—everybody’s got a Teddie story, it seems.” Hintlian is part of the third generation to run the family-owned, Boston-area Teddie and its parent company, the Leavitt Corporation. Carolyn and Jamie Hintlian. His wife, former CALS food science major Carolyn Bristor Hintlian ’83, MS ’86, is its technical director. The regional favorite, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2025, has been cautiously expanding across the U.S., to stores like Publix, Whole Foods, BJs, Wegmans, Walmart, Target, and Shoprite, as well as on Amazon. The brand has twice garnered the top ranking from the New York Times’ Wirecutter review site, which in 2023 called its smooth version “one of only two peanut butters that got a unanimous thumbs-up from every member of our tasting panel.” The famed sign atop the company's headquarters north of Boston. The rating was updated in August 2025, with Teddie holding onto the top spot among 15 varieties—beating out popular rivals like Smucker’s and Trader Joe’s. It “checks all the boxes: it has good, spreadable body, great salt content, a pleasant grainy texture, and fresh-roasted peanut flavor,” the site said, noting its “nuttiness burst on the palate” and “it holds its form atop sliced bread without oozing out the sides.” According to Wirecutter, Teddie 'checks all the boxes: it has good, spreadable body, great salt content, a pleasant grainy texture, and fresh-roasted peanut flavor.' Teddie traces its roots to when Hintlian’s grandfather, an Armenian immigrant, arrived in Boston more than a century ago and started working at a candy business in the city’s North End. In 1925, he and a partner launched a salted nuts company in Boston’s Quincy Market. The brand has been made in the same factory since 1960. When the Great Depression hit, they wanted to produce a food that was nutritious, inexpensive, and shelf stable—so they turned to peanut butter. The “Teddie” brand—named for the son of an operations manager—was established by 1931, and the cartoon bear logo followed soon after. Hintlian’s father, former electrical engineering major Jim Hintlian ’49, joined Teddie after serving in the Navy; he became president and CEO in 1955. Jim Hintlian ’49. In 1960, to meet growing demand, the company moved to an expanded facility in the northern suburb of Everett. That’s where Teddie Peanut Butter—along with other peanut, tree-nut, and mixed-nut products—is still made today, under an iconic rooftop sign that sports an sprinting version of the bear mascot. While Jamie’s brother became president and CEO in 2007, Jamie himself—having majored in operations research in the Engineering college and earned two master’s degrees on the Hill—didn’t join the business until after a long career in supply chain consulting at Accenture and Ernst & Young. He returned to Leavitt (which is named for his grandfather’s original partner) and Teddie in 2018 as chief operating officer, and became CEO when his brother retired in 2023. Stories You May Like Beyond PB&J: Alum’s Company Sells Creatively Flavored Nut Butters Cheesecake Mogul Alan Rosen ’91 Oversees a Comfort-Food Empire Soon after joining the family firm, Jamie returned to the Hill part time—alternating between Boston and Ithaca for much of each semester as he teaches in the Johnson Graduate School of Management, leads programs in strategic operations, and directs the master’s program in business analytics. Carolyn, meanwhile, worked as a food scientist for the U.S. Army and Ocean Spray. Jamie and Carolyn (at left) with Carolyn’s mom and Jamie’s parents at a 1986 Commencement reception. The pair had met on the Hill after Jamie asked her for help with homework in a food science course, which his dad had insisted he take; as Carolyn notes, it turned out to be more rigorous than he may have expected. “One night before an assignment was due, he couldn’t reach the girls he usually relied on,” she recalls with a chuckle. “Obviously, I wasn’t impressed. But he grew on me.” (Their kids include two fellow alums, William Hintlian ’21, MEng ’22, and Katherine Hintlian ’20.) The "Teddie" brand—named for the son of an operations manager—was established by 1931, and the cartoon bear logo followed soon after. Carolyn became Teddie’s technical director in 2016, overseeing food safety, quality control, and manufacturing operations. “We’ve made many changes in support of food safety and efficiency, but the ultimate value is in our Teddie formula and the fundamental way it’s made,” she says. “You won’t find anyone here who wants to mess with the original.” Carolyn watches over finished jars as they come off the production line. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, demand for staples like peanut butter spiked; the company ramped up, tripling production. Back then, the Boston Globe praised Teddie as “one of the unsung companies called into action … to keep up with a peanut butter panic that had swept the nation and emptied supermarket shelves.” You won’t find anyone here who wants to mess with the original. Carolyn Bristor Hintlian ’83, MS ’86 Teddie still produces just a few basic varieties: smooth and chunky, with no-salt organic versions of each, and a flaxseed option—“there’s a really strong, albeit small, fan base for that one,” Jamie says—as well as several mixed-nut products. The brand’s aficionados, whom the company affectionately dubs “Teddie Nation,” include foodies, nutrition fanatics, and even Olympic athletes. “When you first open a jar, there’ll be some degree of oil separation,” Jamie notes. “My advice is, give it a really good stir. And when you think you’ve stirred it enough, stir it a little bit more.” (All photos provided.) Published December 17, 2025 Comments Savannah Bao 17 Dec, 2025 Lovely story! It is a story about love, food, and traditions. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni For Miss Vermont, Pageants Are a Platform for Social Change Campus & Beyond Pioneering Labor Reformer Honored, in Words and in Bronze Bear Hugs Alum’s Brand Offers Tasty Treats—Safe from Common Allergens