If you’re looking to add more flavor to your summer barbecues, look no further than Patchogue-based Little Vicky’s Honey Butter.
The one-woman business is run by Bayport resident Vicky Cimmino, a full-time architectural designer who makes the butter and manages the company all on her own on the side. Little Vicky’s is sold at nearly 30 Stop & Shop locations and some independent supermarkets on Long Island.
“I’m the delivery driver, the honey maker, and the chief executive bottle washer,” she joked in an interview with the Press. “Little Vicky is the name my grandparents called me as a kid.”
Cimmino launched the honey butter brand in 2017. She’s always loved to cook and enjoyed making breakfasts for her former Patchogue roommates. While looking for ways to diversify her typical blueberry pancakes with a new breakfast spread, she decided to create her own honey butter recipe, using her grandmother’s old hand mixer to experiment until the taste was just right.
Sure enough, her roommates loved it. She then debuted the honey butter at the Apple Festival in Sayville, and it sold out in one day. That’s when she knew she could turn this passion into a business.
“It was so good [my roommates] ate a whole tub in a day,” she says. “It’s really delicious, and I’m the only one in the area who makes it, so I think I found a niche market.”
When Cimmino decided to brand her product, she tapped Ampersand Marketing, also based in Patchogue, to design the website and labels. Cimmino uses locally sourced honey for the no-added-sugar, nut-free, and gluten-free butter, which she now makes at a commercial kitchen in Calverton.
Little Vicky’s Honey Butter comes in five different flavors: simply plain, cinnamon, cinnamon raisin, chocolate brownie, and seasonal pumpkin spice, plus a garlic butter.
“Spread it on toast, bagels, muffins, waffles, pancakes, french toast, corn bread …,” she says. “You can get creative for dinner. For shrimp or chicken wings, you can toss it on there after grilling or baking. It’s also excellent on sweet potatoes.”
Little Vicky’s Honey Butter can be found in the deli and cheese section (near the hummus and other spreads) of select Stop & Shop locations and at littlevickys.com.
For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink.
Sign up for Long Island Press’ email newsletters here. Sign up for home delivery of Long Island Press here. Sign up for discounts by becoming a Long Island Press community partner here.
