Cane River Pecan Company New Iberia: Jady Regard on the IceGators, the Bears and Louisiana Pecans

A kid with a pecan cracker and a business card at nine years old grows up to run one of Louisiana’s most recognizable gourmet pecan and corporate gift brands. We’re in New Iberia with Jady Regard of Cane River Pecan Company, and his story goes way past “selling pecans” in the best possible way.

We talk about the Louisiana “yard crop” tradition, the early days of farming pecan orchards, and how Jady’s mom built a mail order and corporate gifting business long before shipping food nationwide was normal. Then the plot twists: Jady jumps into sports marketing, helps ride the IceGators wave that took over Lafayette in the 1990s, and later works for the Chicago Bears before coming home to take the helm after his father passed.

From there, we get practical about what makes a high-quality pecan, why freshness and color matter, how pecan trees swing between on-years and off-years, and why hurricanes can set growers back a decade. Jady shares how Cane River scaled from raw pecans into flavored pecans, catalogs, e-commerce, and a full Main Street destination with Pie Bar, including the legendary boudin pie with sweet potato soufflé and a pecan praline glaze.

If you love Louisiana food, New Iberia road trips, and behind-the-scenes small business growth, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who takes holiday gifting seriously, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

Huge thanks to the partners who help make the Foodies of Lafayette Podcast possible. Your support allows us to share the stories, food, and people that make our community special. We're grateful to Rouses Markets, Logic Refrigeration HVAC, The Cajun Table, Vermilionville, Soul Haus Kitchen, Chris Logan Media, Sunday's Soda Fountain, and our official travel partner Miles in Style Travel for standing with us and supporting local storytelling.

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Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Cane River Pecan Company in New Iberia

01:49 A family pecan orchard in Natchitoches Parish

03:47 The first seasonal store on Front Street

04:52 Mom’s mail order and corporate gift business

05:25 The Nutcrackers and the Louisiana yard crop

07:26 From LSU to sports marketing

08:05 The IceGators take over Lafayette

11:47 Working for the Chicago Bears

12:48 Coming home to run the family business

14:46 An attorney who farmed pecans

16:06 Flavored pecans, a catalog and a national footprint

17:33 An entrepreneurial family

19:35 Building on Main Street in New Iberia

20:52 Bumper crops, on-years and off-years

22:27 Making the pecan Louisiana’s official nut

23:34 Where pecans grow, from Texas to South Africa

25:38 Why they stopped farming and started buying

26:20 Hurricanes and generational orchards

27:22 Why pralines have pecans

28:26 What makes a high-quality pecan

29:47 Milk chocolate pecans, the top seller

31:45 Corporate gifting and the pecan list

32:23 From Easy Street to Main Street

33:27 Packing every order by hand

34:40 The Texas mesquite pecan

37:09 The boudin pie with sweet potato soufflé

40:01 The Pie Bar menu and gumbo

40:42 Where else to eat in New Iberia

42:46 Children’s books, toy soldiers and alligator hunting

46:14 The Chief Nut Officer

47:54 From hand-picked to mechanical harvest

49:20 How to pick a good pecan

50:15 Konriko and friends in New Iberia

52:38 Filling Main Street and what’s next