Phoenix peanut-butter maker needs votes to pitch to Shark Tank celebrity

A Phoenix peanut-butter maker is vying for a chance to pitch his products to Shark Tank investor Daymond John.

Jeffrey Malkoon, owner of Peanut Butter Americano, is urging Arizonans to cast online ballots for his company. He's competing for votes with five other small businesses, all from other states.

As of Tuesday, his company was in second place. Voting at https://www.paypal-sxswduel.com/ ends Feb. 28.

The top two vote-getters will have a chance to pitch their products to John, of Shark Tank fame, on stage at the PayPal Duel at the SXSW festival in Austin.

If Peanut Butter Americano wins the duel, the prizes are $30,000 from PayPal and one-on-one coaching from John.

The prize money would come in handy for Malkoon, 28, who has the opportunity, but not the vehicles, to sell his nut spreads in Sprouts and AJ's markets.

"I want to use the money for distribution," he said. "Right now, everything is just me and my truck."

His Peanut Butter Americano nut spreads have garnered attention locally. Malkoon, a Phoenix native who graduated from Brophy College Preparatory and Arizona State University, was honored as one of The Republic and azcentral.com's 35 Entrepreneurs 35 and Younger in 2014.

He said he has been on PayPal's radar because he relies on the electronic-payment company for selling his six gourmet nut spreads. He sold 40,000 jars last year, he said.

His flavors are classic, cinnamon honey, white chocolate, dark chocolate, classic almond and cinnamon roasted almond. Peanuts come from Texas and almonds from California. The spreads are manufactured in Glendale, Malkoon said.

All proceeds from the dark-chocolate peanut butter support relief work in the Western Hemisphere, including the "A Roof for My Country" charity, which builds emergency housing and provides job training in 19 countries.

When Malkoon was volunteering in Uruguay for the charity and couldn't find any peanut butter to eat despite all of the peanuts that grow in Uruguay, he thought of starting a peanut-butter business and donating part of the proceeds to charity.

"I wanted to give back," he said, speaking from his office at 4700 N. Central Ave., across the street from Brophy.

Businesses that devote a portion of their proceeds to a good cause or whose primary mission depends on a social need have taken off in recent years. The impact of such social entrepreneurship is about $3.7 trillion in the U.S., according to the U.S. National Advisory Board of Impact Investing.

Malkoon's company is competing against five other small businesses:

— Earhoox, which manufactures a product that stretches onto earbuds and offers a secure fit, based in Florida.

— Hemingwrite, a minimalist-digital-typewriter company, based in Detroit.

— Matador, a company that makes a blanket that folds into pocket size, based in Massachusetts.

— Prynt, a company that makes a product that prints photos from smartphones, based in San Francisco.

— Urban Cheesecraft, a company that manufactures a kit and supplies for making fresh cheeses at home, based in Oregon.

Peanut Butter Americano had been in the No. 2 spot for several days, but Earhoox and Prynt had pushed it into the No. 3 spot for a few hours Tuesday morning.

By Tuesday afternoon, it was No. 2 again. Earhoox was No. 1 and Prynt No. 3.

"Please, please, please come out and vote for us," Malkoon said. "Every vote is making a huge impact."