Papa’s Pepper was founded by Lenny Abbott, who decided to create his own gourmet spice blend when he found it difficult to find the right combination of spice and flavor. After he created the perfect blend of jalapeño, serrano, habanero, Carolina reaper, ghost, red Thai and cayenne peppers, he shared his pepper blend with friends and family. Lenny's family referred to these as Papa’s Pepper, and it just stuck. 

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the Abbott family when they found out that Lenny had an inoperable brain tumor. Devastated by this news, Papa's Pepper took the backseat. Sean Mannello, Lenny's close friend, one day asked Lenny if he could write down the delicious recipe for Papa's Pepper so he could recreate the magic and share it with anyone who was interested.

Lenny passed away in June of 2023 after a Herculean 29-month battle with brain cancer. In honoring Lenny's memory, Sean took over the business and has always promised a portion of the profits to Lenny's wife Shari for the lifetime of the company (which will hopefully be forever!). Sean has also promised that per Lenny's wishes, he will make an annual donation to the MD Anderson Cancer Center for Cancer Research in Lenny's memory. So help them keep Lenny's memory living on and Sean's journey growing by sharing Papa's Pepper with your family and friends!