Squirrel was a Canadian brand of

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

, marketed from about 1915 to about 2000.

History

Squirrel was originally manufactured by the Canada Nut Co. Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., by about 1915. For its initial 25 years or more it was marketed through Western Canada. By 1959 it was marketed across Canada through Nabob Foods Limited, a division of Kelly, Douglas Co. Ltd., then of Burnaby, B.C., which in turn was controlled by

George Weston Limited George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of Weston Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary, and Loblaw Companie ...

and

Loblaw Companies Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...

. In May, 1975, George Weston Ltd. sold the 81-per-cent interest it held in Kelly, Douglas to Loblaws. In 1976 Nabob Foods Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jacobs Suchard AG of Switzerland. In June, 1981, Nabob Foods Ltd. sold the Squirrel brand to Canada Packers Inc., to focus on its coffee business. In December, 1990, Canada Packers sold the peanut butter business to a subsidiary of

CPC International Ingredion Incorporated is an American multinational ingredient provider based in Westchester, Illinois, producing mainly starches, non-GMO sweeteners, stevia, and pea protein. The company turns corn, tapioca, potatoes, plant-based stevia, grai ...

of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. CPC decided it would continue making Squirrel peanut butter, along with Skippy peanut butter, at a Montreal plant, owned by Best Foods Canada Inc., a subsidiary of CPC's Toronto-based subsidiary, Canada Starch Inc. In 1997 CPC International split into Bestfoods Corp. and Corn Products International, Inc.

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

PLC (ULVR) London took over Bestfoods Corp. in June, 2000, for $20.3-billion (U.S.), acquiring the Squirrel brand in Canada. It discontinued the Squirrel brand, marketing only the Skippy brand after its acquisition, despite Squirrel's longer history in Canada. Unilever temporarily renamed Skippy in Canada as "Skippy the Squirrel", featuring a redrawn squirrel on the label (Skippy had previously used a stylized peanut as its mascot). The Skippy brand was withdrawn from the Canadian market in 2017.

Characteristics

Squirrel was known for containing one whole peanut which lay on the top of the peanut butter when the jar was first opened, hence the slogan "The One With The Peanut On Top!" The peanut on top was eliminated when rebranded as Skippy. The brand was also known for "peanut points," which could be collected and redeemed for prizes. The mascot was a brown

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

wearing a green sweater, smiling and sometimes holding a peanut. The slogan ''The One With the Peanut on Top'' was actually originally from York Peanut Butter and was transferred to Squirrel with Canada Packers purchase of the brand.

Marketing

During the early 1960s Nabob used

Joe Kapp Joseph Robert Kapp (born March 19, 1938) is an American former football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of California, Berkeley. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football Lea ...

, while he played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

football team, to market Squirrel throughout British Columbia, helping him acquire the nickname "Peanut butter Joe".http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/2011/11/27/brunt_grey_cup_recap/; https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_legends_kapp

References

{{reflist, 2 Former Unilever brands Peanut butter brands