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Type | Sealed crustless sandwich |
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Inception | 1995 |
Manufacturer | The J. M. Smucker Company |
Available | United States, Canada |
Uncrustables is an American brand of sealed crustless sandwich. Owned and manufactured by The J. M. Smucker Company since 1998, [1] they are distributed in the United States and Canada. [2]
The Uncrustables sandwich was developed in 1995 in Fargo, North Dakota by Len Kretchman and David Geske. [3] First named the Incredible Uncrustables, [1] a trademark was secured for the name, and after a year and a half, a patent was also secured for the sandwich. By the end of 1998, 50 employees working out of Fargo were making 35,000 sandwiches a day. The product was sold to schools in eight Midwestern states. [4]
Smucker's bought the brand in 1998 for $1 million, [5] changing the name to Uncrustables. [4] In October 2012, several shipments of Uncrustables sandwiches were recalled for containing peanut butter by Sunland Inc., a Smucker's supplier. Sunland had recently closed a plant after other companies using its products reported salmonella outbreaks. Smucker's tests its own products, and no illnesses were attributed to Uncrustables. [6]
Smucker's expanded distribution of Uncrustables sandwiches into Canada in 2022. Sales for Uncrustables in 2023 were $685 million. [2] The Athletic reported in October 2024 that the NFL consumed over 80,000 Uncrustables sandwiches in a year. [7]
Uncrustables are "pre-made peanut butter and jelly, pocket-like, circular sandwiches" made by The J. M. Smucker Company, according to the Associated Press. [6] The sandwiches are sold frozen and are meant to be defrosted and eaten at room temperature. [8]
Patent number 6,004,596 was issued to Smucker's on December 21, 1999 for a "sealed crustless sandwich". [9] Since then, the Uncrustables brand has been involved in several high-profile patent and trademark disputes. [10] [11] [9] [3]
Smucker's began an effort in 2001 to expand its patent to also include manufacturing methods. After the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the request, Smucker's appealed several times. [3] Its bid was rejected in 2005. [10]
Smucker's sent a cease and desist letter to Chubby Snacks for trademark infringement in 2020; Chubby Snacks changed the shape of its crimped sandwiches to clouds as a result. [1] In 2022, Smucker's sent a cease and desist letter to Gallant Tiger’s PB&J over its advertising of a round peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bite out of it. [11] The claim was later dropped. [8]