Sponsored scarfies can lay it on thick

University of Otago student flatmates say gaining sponsorship from Pic's Really Good Peanut Butter owner Bruce Picot is better than winning Lotto. Photo / Stephen Jaquiery

The boys at 108 Dundas St have gone nuts - or should that be legumes?

Their flat has picked up a year's sponsorship and now the University of Otago students are trying to work out how to consume their weekly 2.5kg allocation of Pic's Really Good Peanut Butter.

Human nutrition student Sam Hopper said he and his flatmates were ''obsessed'' with the brand and ate it on toast two or three times a day, so when it came to identifying a potential sponsor, Pic's was the obvious choice.

Most of the flatties spread it so thickly there was more peanut butter than toast, but Mr Hopper preferred to eat it straight from the container with a teaspoon.

"Being students, we have quite energetic lives, so this keeps us going.

"It's student food. It's cheap and it fills you up.

"It's high in protein, high in fibre, and it's a great energy food - and since we're all keen athletes, we love it."

He and his flatmates came up with the sponsorship idea while eating toast one night last year, Mr Hopper said.

"We knew the V [energy drinks] flat was on Dundas St and they were getting sponsorship, so we decided to give Pic's a go, and they were happy to go with it."

Pic's owner Bruce Picot was so impressed with the boys' proposal, he decided to visit Dunedin this week to deliver their first bucket of peanut butter.

"I thought it was a neat idea," Mr Picot said.

"Presumably, their flat will become really famous around here and people will come here for a snack."

The boys plan to tour the Nelson factory later this year as part of a promotion for Pic's. The flat sponsorship initiative appears to be spreading - excuse the pun - with the neighbouring flat of girls trying to secure sponsorship from a bread manufacturer.

Ellen Edmonds, 19, said having a flat full of boys next door with an endless supply of peanut butter would be a match made in heaven.

"We'll catch up for breakfast at our flat because it's sunny in our kitchen in the morning, and we'll have supper together at the boys' because it's sunny in their kitchen in the evenings," she said.