Uncrustables

History

Early history

The Uncrustables sandwich was developed in 1995 in Fargo, North Dakota by Len Kretchman and David Geske. Before creating the product, Geske ran a packaged ice business, while Kretchman was a former wide receiver for North Dakota State University, and had worked with schools in the food service industry. Geske and Kretchman were having lunch with their families, when Kristen Geske and Emily Kretchman commented to their husbands that they should "create a mass-produced peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the crust." After doing taste tests at schools, Kretchman and Geske began selling the sandwiches as the Incredible Uncrustables. 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.

Purchase by Smucker's

Smucker's bought the brand in 1998 for $1 million, changing the name to Uncrustables. The original flavors included grape and peanut butter, and strawberry and peanut butter. The Uncrustables brand had $10 million in annual sales in 2000, and $27.5 million in annual sales in 2004.

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. In 2017, the Uncrustables recipe was reformulated to use sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and NSF International certified the reformulated recipe as non-GMO. Citing difficulties meeting demand, Smucker's did little marketing for the Uncrustables brand in its early years. Its first national marketing campaign was in 2019, and coincided with the opening of a dedicated plant in Longmont, Colorado. Built for $340 million, the new Uncrustables facility doubled production capacity.

Expansion

Smucker's expanded distribution of Uncrustables sandwiches into Canada in 2022, and began building an R&D center at the Smucker's headquarters in Ohio. Sales for the Uncrustables brand in 2022 came to $511 million. Smucker's continued to have difficulty keeping up with demand, and was working on expanding its Uncrustables plant in Denver. Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce "fueled a sales boom" in November 2023, after he mentioned in a podcast that he likely ate more Uncrustables sandwiches than "anything else in the world." Sales for Uncrustables that year were $685 million. The Athletic reported in October 2024 that the NFL consumed over 80,000 Uncrustables sandwiches in a year. The Denver Broncos ate the most, consuming 700 sandwiches a week.

In November 2024, Smucker's opened an Uncrustables manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama. Around $1.1 billion was invested in the plant. A raspberry variety of Uncrustables was released in 2024.

Product

Uncrustables are "pre-made peanut butter and jelly, pocket-like, circular sandwiches" made by The J. M. Smucker Company, according to the Associated Press. The sandwiches are sold frozen and are meant to be defrosted and eaten at room temperature. In 2023, Smucker's launched a variety that lasts for five days in the fridge after thawing, allowing them to appear in convenience-store refrigerators.

According to the Wall Street Journal, they are popular with children but also with adults at work or away from home. Flavors include raspberry, grape, strawberry, and honey, all combined with peanut butter. A variety with only chocolate-flavored hazelnut is also sold. Larger versions of Uncrustables sandwiches are sold in certain markets and contain around 590 calories instead of around 200. The original flavors, grape and strawberry jam, are sold in reduced sugar versions on whole wheat bread.

Patents

Patent number 6,004,596 was issued to Smucker's on December 21, 1999, for a "sealed crustless sandwich". Since then, the Uncrustables brand has been involved in several high-profile patent and trademark disputes.

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. Its bid was rejected in 2005, with patent number 6,004,596 deemed not "novel or non-obvious enough."

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. 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. The claim was later dropped. Uncrustables in 2025 sued Trader Joe's for alleged trademark infringement.

References

References

1. Williams-Alvarez, Jennifer. (June 19, 2023). "What's in Your Bag or Briefcase? Smucker CFO Wants It to Include Uncrustables Sandwiches".
2. Nunes, Keith. (December 6, 2023). "Uncrustables propel Smucker in second quarter".
3. Schaefer, Sara. (April 5, 2005). "Patent No. 6,004,596: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich - WSJ".
4. Clack, Erin. (October 27, 2024). "See the Breakdown by Team".
5. Williams-Alvarez, Jennifer. (September 1, 2023). "The Grown-Ups Who Can't Quit Uncrustables".
6. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-feb-07-fi-patent7-story.html
7. (April 22, 2024). "Smucker's nearly $1 billion PB&J business is anything but crusty". [[Quartz]].
8. (October 19, 2012). "Smucker's Uncrustables sold to schools recalled". [[Associated Press.
9. (April 23, 2024). "J.M. Smucker CEO talks about Kelce's love for Uncrustables, integration of Hostess Brands".
10. Suttell, Scott. (August 24, 2022). "4 million Uncrustables a day and counting".
11. (March 19, 2024). "How J.M. Smucker turned a humble school lunch staple into a powerhouse brand". [[Fast Company]].
12. (October 24, 2024). "Wait, NFL players eat how many Uncrustables?". [[The Athletic]] - [[The New York Times]].
13. Paepcke, Jon. (December 10, 2025). "Smucker opens largest Uncrustable plant in Jefferson County".
14. Kingson, Jennifer A.. (December 6, 2022). "Get ready for "thaw and eat" foods".
15. Price, Emily. (September 19, 2024). "Uncrustables Just Launched a Fun New Flavor for the First Time in 10 Years".
16. Rainey, Clint. (April 10, 2024). "The untold story of how Uncrustables became a nearly $1 billion brand. Yes, Uncrustables".
17. (June 29, 2023). "Uncrustables, expensive and ultraprocessed, flying out of retailer freezers".
18. "Smucker's Uncrustables to release new flavor, first time in over a decade".
19. Cho, Janet H.. (June 14, 2017). "Smucker's Uncrustables sandwiches will no longer contain high fructose corn syrup".
20. Eschner, Kat. (October 16, 2025). "Can a Sandwich Be Intellectual Property?".
21. Schaefer, Sara. (April 11, 2005). "Appeals Court Rejects Patent For Smucker's 'Uncrustables' - WSJ".
22. Swerdloff, Alex. (July 14, 2017). "This Incredibly Annoying 'Disruptive' PB&J Looks an Awful Lot Like an Uncrustable".
23. Bellware, Kim. (December 21, 2022). "Trademark fight over crustless PB&J asks: What makes a sandwich special?".
24. Zhuang, Yan. (October 16, 2025). "Can You Trademark Peanut Butter and Jelly? Smucker's Says Yes.".