Skippy (peanut butter)

Brand name

The name "Skippy" was trademarked in 1925 by 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.

In 1932, the Alameda, California food packer Joseph L. Rosefield began to sell Skippy. 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. Crosby's family repeatedly attempted to fight the company's use of Skippy.

Product

In 1955, Rosefield sold the brand to Best Foods. 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.

Skippy is sold in many different sizes, including a 4 lb jar, known as the "Family Jar". In late 2000, Skippy reduced their standard jar size from 18 oz to 16.3 oz by adding a "dimple" in the bottom of the jar while retaining the jar's height and diameter.

Hormel discontinued the sale of Skippy peanut butter in Canada in 2017 due to declining profitability. The product is still sold in 60 countries, including China and the U.K. The Canadian recipe was slightly different, using 1-3 grams less sugar per jar than the U.S. version.

Production

Skippy has factories in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Shandong Province, China. About 750000 lb of peanuts are brought daily to the Skippy Peanut Butter plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, resulting in over 3500000 lb of peanut butter produced each week.

There are 14 different varieties of Skippy Peanut Butter Spread.

• Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter
• Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter
• Skippy Roasted Honey Nut Creamy Peanut Butter
• Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter
• Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter
• Skippy Peanut Butter Blended with Plant Protein Creamy
• Skippy Peanut Butter Blended with Plant Protein Chunky
• Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter Spread No Sugar Added
• Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter Spread No Sugar Added
• Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread
• Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread with Honey
• Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread
• Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread with Honey
• Skippy Natural Creamy 1/3 Less Sodium & Sugar Peanut Butter Spread

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.

In 2018, Skippy added Skippy P.B. Fruit Bites 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.

Nutrition

Skippy Peanut Butter is cholesterol-free and gluten-free. It contains sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean and rapeseed oil) to prevent separation.

All varieties of Skippy Peanut Butter are also kosher except the Skippy P.B. bites.

References

References

1. Michaud, Jon. (November 28, 2012). "A Chunky History of Peanut Butter". The New Yorker.
2. Hormel. "SKIPPY® Brand".
3. Hormel. (January 31, 2013). "Hormel Foods closes acquisition of U.S. Skippy® peanut butter business".
4. Isidore, Chris. (January 3, 2013). "Spam maker buys Skippy peanut butter". CNN.
5. Cronin, Brian. (March 12, 2009). "Comic Legends Revealed". #198 (column), [[ComicBookResources.com]].
6. (March 3, 2014). "Skippy v. Skippy: The Great Peanut Butter Trademark Wars".
7. Krampner, Jon. (2014). "Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food". [[Columbia University Press]].
8. [http://www.skippy.com/ Skippy.com website]
9. "The Sad Song of Skippy". Star Tribune.
10. Tibbetts, Joan Crosby. (1998). "Prologue". Skippy, Inc..
11. Turley, Hugh. (April 2009). "A Tale of Two Cartoonists". Hyattsville Life and Times.
12. Hirsch, Jerry. (November 9, 2008). "Objects in store are smaller than they appear". Los Angeles Times.
13. Harris, Sophie. (May 3, 2017). "Skippy peanut butter no longer for sale in Canada; fans stockpiling last jars". CBC News.
14. (May 2004). "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.
15. "Success Story - Skippy".
16. "All Products".
17. (August 3, 2018). "Hormel Foods Launches Skippy P.B. Fruit Bites".
18. (September 12, 2018). "The Makers of Skippy Peanut Butter Introduce New P.B. & Jelly Minis".
19. [https://www.peanutbutter.com/peanut-butter/creamy SKIPPY® Creamy Peanut Butter]