Skippy (peanut butter)

Last updated
Skippy
Logo Skippy.svg
Product type Peanut butter
Owner Hormel Foods
Country United States
Introduced1932;92 years ago (1932)
MarketsWorldwide (except Canada)
Previous owners Joseph L. Rosefield
CPC International
Bestfoods Corporation
Unilever
Website www.peanutbutter.com

Skippy is an American brand of peanut butter spread manufactured in the United States and China. First sold in 1932, [1] Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel Foods, [2] which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. [3] It is the best-selling brand of peanut butter in China and second only to the J.M. Smucker Company's Jif brand worldwide. [4]

Contents

Brand name

Percy Crosby, creator of the popular "Skippy" comic strip (1923–1945), which had been adapted into the 1929 novel Skippy, the daytime children's radio serial Skippy (1932–1935), and the Oscar-winning 1931 film Skippy , had trademarked the name "Skippy" in 1925.

In 1932, the Alameda, California food packer Joseph L. Rosefield began to sell its second hydrogenated peanut butter, which it labeled "Skippy" without permission, [5] Crosby successfully had the trademark invalidated in 1934. Rosefield persisted using the name and after Crosby was committed to an asylum and after the passage in 1946 of the Lanham Act, Rosefield was granted rights to the trademark. [6]

Product

In 1955, Rosefield sold the brand to Best Foods. [7] Its successor companies, most recently Unilever and Hormel, claim rights to the trademark over the objection of Crosby's heirs, and much litigation has occurred on this point over the decades, some of which has continued into the 2000s. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Skippy is sold in many different sizes, including a 4-pound (1.8 kg) jar, known as the "Family Jar". In late 2000, Skippy reduced their standard jar size from 18 ounces (510 g) to 16.3 ounces (460 g) by adding a "dimple" in the bottom of the jar while retaining the jar's height and diameter. [12]

Production

Skippy has factories in Little Rock, Arkansas, [13] and Shandong Province, China. [4] About 750,000 pounds of peanuts are brought daily to the Skippy Peanut Butter plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, resulting in over 3.5 million pounds of peanut butter produced each week. [14]

There are 14 different varieties of Skippy Peanut Butter Spread. [15]

Skippy is also available in a 6 oz. squeeze pack in Creamy or Natural Peanut Butter Spread and 1.15 oz. individual squeeze 8 packs in Creamy or Natural Peanut Butter Spread. [8]

In 2018, Skippy added Skippy P.B. Fruit Bites [16] to their Skippy P.B. Bites that were already available in Double Peanut Butter, Pretzel and Graham Cracker.

On September 12, 2018, Skippy announced a new line of Skippy P.B. & Jelly Minis in Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly, Natural Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly and Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jelly. [17]

Nutrition

Skippy Peanut Butter is a cholesterol-free and gluten-free food. All varieties of Skippy Peanut Butter are also kosher except the Skippy P.B. bites. [8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The J.M. Smucker Company</span> American food and beverage manufacturer

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<i>Skippy</i> (comic strip) 1923-1945 American comic strip

Skippy is an American comic strip written and drawn by Percy Crosby that was published from 1923 to 1945. A highly popular, acclaimed and influential feature about rambunctious fifth-grader Skippy Skinner, his friends and his enemies, it was adapted into movies, a novel and a radio show. It was commemorated on a 1997 U.S. Postal Service stamp and was the basis for a wide range of merchandising—although perhaps the most well-known product bearing the Skippy name, Skippy peanut butter, used the name without Crosby's authorization, leading to a protracted trademark conflict.

Joseph Louis Rosefield was a California food businessman who invented modern, nonseparating peanut butter in 1922 – 1923. His family business, the Rosefield Packing Company, was based in Alameda. His new production process was licensed to another company to make Peter Pan peanut butter in 1923. Rosefield Packing later marketed Skippy peanut butter in 1932; both brands are still sold today. It also introduced cylindrical "wide-mouth" jars for peanut butter in 1935. Peanut butter then became a vast food industry. Among other roles, Rosefield Packing provided emergency supplies of peanut butter to Hawaii during World War II. Rosefield's family sold Rosefield Packing and the Skippy brand to Best Foods in 1955.

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Citadel spread is a paste made of peanut butter, oil, sugar and milk powder. First developed as a trail food for hikers, a citadel spread resembles common ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) formulations, such as Plumpy'nut.

References

  1. ↑ Michaud, Jon (2012-11-28). "A Chunky History of Peanut Butter". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  2. ↑ Hormel. "SKIPPY® Brand". www.hormelfoods.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  3. ↑ Hormel (31 January 2013). "Hormel Foods closes acquisition of U.S. Skippy® peanut butter business". www.hormelfoods.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  4. 1 2 Isidore, Chris (January 3, 2013). "Spam maker buys Skippy peanut butter". CNN Money. CNN. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  5. ↑ Cronin, Brian (March 12, 2009). "Comic Legends Revealed". #198 (column), ComicBookResources.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Skippy v. Skippy: The Great Peanut Butter Trademark Wars". Trademark and Copyright Law Blog .com. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  7. ↑ Krampner, Jon (2014). Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food. Google Books: Columbia University Press. p. 86. ISBN   978-0-231-16233-3.
  8. 1 2 3 Skippy.com website
  9. ↑ "The Sad Song of Skippy". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  10. ↑ Tibbetts, Joan Crosby (1998). "Prologue". Skippy, Inc. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010.
  11. ↑ Turley, Hugh (April 2009). "A Tale of Two Cartoonists". Hyattsville Life and Times. Hyattsville, Maryland. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010 – via DCDave.com.
  12. ↑ Hirsch, Jerry (2008-11-09). "Objects in store are smaller than they appear". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  13. ↑ "Success is peanuts for skippy facility: the sole packager of a Unilever flagship brand uses hard work and flexibility to adapt to new demands". Food & Drug Packaging. May 2004.
  14. ↑ "Success Story - Skippy". Metro Little Rock Arkansas.
  15. ↑ "All Products".
  16. ↑ "Hormel Foods Launches Skippy P.B. Fruit Bites". Hormel Foods. August 3, 2018.
  17. ↑ "The Makers of Skippy Peanut Butter Introduce New P.B. & Jelly Minis". Hormel Foods. September 12, 2018.
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