Skippy (peanut butter)

Skippy
Product type Peanut butter
Owner Hormel
Country U.S.
Introduced 1932
Markets U.S.
Previous owners Unilever
Bestfoods
CPC International
Best Foods
Rosefield Packing Co.
Tagline "Skippy! Yippee!"
Website www.peanutbutter.com

Skippy is a brand of peanut butter manufactured in the USA. 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]

History

"Skippy" was first used as a trademark for peanut butter by the Rosefield Packing Co., Ltd., of Alameda, California in 1933.[5] Percy Crosby, creator of the "Skippy" comic strip (1923), who trademarked the name in 1925 had the trademark invalidated in 1934,[5] but Rosefield persisted, succeeding after the passage in 1946 of the Lanham Act. In 1955 he sold the brand to Best Foods.[6] Its successor companies, most recently Unilever and Hormel claim rights to the trademark over the objection of Crosby's heirs, and there has been much litigation on this point over the decades, some of which has continued into the 2000s.[7]

Skippy comes 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.[8]

Production

Skippy, the best-selling peanut butter in China, on the shelves of a Kai Bo Food Supermarket in Hong Kong.

Skippy has factories in Little Rock, Arkansas[9] and Shandong Province, China.[4]

Advertising

Skippy has used several cartoon and celebrity spokespeople in its advertising, including Dennis the Menace, actress Annette Funicello, and speed skater Bonnie Blair. A cartoon squirrel is featured on the packaging in Canada as an homage to the Squirrel brand of peanut butter that was acquired by Unilever in June 2000.

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. "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. 1 2 "Skippy v. Skippy: The Great Peanut Butter Trademark Wars | Trademark and Copyright Law". www.trademarkandcopyrightlawblog.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  6. ↑ Krampner, Jon (2014). Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food. Google Books: Columbia University Press. p. 86. ISBN 0231162332.
  7. ↑ Skippy.com website
  8. ↑ Hirsch, Jerry (2008-11-09). "On store shelves, stealthy shrinking of containers keeps prices from rising". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  9. ↑ "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.
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