The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of

apple butter Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives a ...

. J.M. Smucker currently has three major business units: consumer foods, pet foods, and coffee. Its flagship brand, Smucker's, produces

fruit preserve Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

s, peanut butter,

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

s, frozen crustless sandwiches, and

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

toppings. Among J.M. Smucker's other food and coffee brands are Knott's Berry Farm, Jif, Laura Scudder's,

Santa Cruz Organic The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major bus ...

Folgers Folgers Coffee is a brand of ground, instant, and single-use pod coffee produced and sold in the United States, with additional distribution in Asia, Canada and Mexico. It forms part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co ...

Café Bustelo Café Bustelo is an American coffee brand owned by The J.M. Smucker Company. History Gregorio Menendez Bustelo (born June 21, 1894) traveled from his native Spain to Cuba as a young man, and moved to the United States in 1917. He founded the C ...

Dunkin' Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

, Smucker's Uncrustables,

Bick's Pickle Bick's is a Canadian pickle producer originally based out of Scarborough, Ontario. The brand is now sold in Canada by U.S.-based The J.M. Smucker Co. Bick's emerged in 1951 in the Toronto area when local farmers George and Lena Bick and their ...

Carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

Crosse & Blackwell Crosse & Blackwell is a British food brand. The original company was established in London in 1706, then was acquired by Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell in 1830. It became independent until it was acquired by Swiss conglomerate Nestlé in 1960. ...

Eagle Brand Eagle Family Foods Group LLC, is an American food manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company was established in 2015 by Paul Smucker Wagstaff after acquiring ownership of the Borden canned milk brands (Eagle Brand, Magnolia, Milnot, PET) ...

, Five Roses, and

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

. Pet food brands include

9Lives 9Lives is the name of a brand of cat food, owned by J.M. Smucker (after it acquired Big Heart Pet Brands, a former division of Del Monte in 2015) and introduced to the market by tuna processor StarKist Foods in 1959. It is best known for its ...

, Gravy Train,

Kibbles 'n Bits Kibbles 'n Bits is a brand name of dog food currently owned by The J.M. Smucker Company since it acquired its previous owner, Big Heart Pet Brands, in 2015. The brand was originally created in 1981 as the first dual textured dog food, having sof ...

Meow Mix Meow Mix is a variety of dry and wet cat food known for its advertising jingle. It is a product of The J.M. Smucker Company as of March 23, 2015. Meow Mix was introduced in 1974 and sells many flavors, including Original Choice and Seafood Medl ...

Milk-Bone Milk-Bone is a brand of dog biscuit. It was created in 1908 by the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company, which operated a bakery on the Lower East Side of New York City. Originally named "Maltoid", the biscuit was a bone-shaped treat made from minerals, ...

, and Rachael Ray Nutrish among others. Listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

, J.M. Smucker ranks 426th on the Fortune 500, with an estimated 2022 market value of $14.6 billion.

History

Founding (1897–1958)

The J.M. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 by Jerome Monroe Smucker. Smucker was born on December 5, 1858, in Orrville, Ohio, and much of his life was spent as a farmer in Orrville. In 1897 Smucker built a cider mill in Orrville. The company, which came to produce jellies, jams, and other food items, has stated that he used apples from local Orrville trees planted by

Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern cou ...

in the early nineteenth century. Smucker prepared

and sold it from the back of a horse-drawn wagon. Smuckers logo

The company was incorporated in 1921. At the time, the company sold preserves and jellies, and by 1928 was distributing in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. After the company recorded losses in 1932 and 1933, in 1935 Smucker's eldest son Willard established a Smucker's plant in the state of Washington for pre-processing apples, which were then shipped to Orrville to be cooked. After introducing its trademark glass jar in 1939, annual sales reached $1 million. In 1940, Smucker's introduced its first line of ice cream toppings, and two years later began distributing its products nationally. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the company faced shortages of labor, glass, and fruit. In 1946, Smucker's earned the designation "U.S. Grade A Fancy" after it paid

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

inspectors to "oversee every aspect of its production."

National expansion and IPO (1959–1984)

The company went public in 1959, and the following year J.M. Smucker opened a manufacturing plant in Salinas, California that increased its production capacity by 40%. In 1960, Paul Smucker became president and the company hired Wyse Advertising of Cleveland to produce radio spots. J.M. Smucker was then listed on the

(NYSE) in 1965. 1963 saw J.M. Smucker's acquisition of the jams and jellies company Mary Ellen. Profits increased between 1959 and 1969 before dropping in 1970. Between 1973 and 1980, J.M. Smucker implemented cost cutting measures to increase profit margins, acquiring manufacturing operations in Oregon, Tennessee and California and consolidating packing operations. In 1978, J.M. Smucker debuted a low sugar "spread" that was so low in sugar the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

wouldn't allow Smucker's to market it as a jam. J.M. Smucker acquired gourmet preserves company Dickinson's in 1979, and by 1980, J.M. Smucker was the number one jams and jellies company in the United States, with over 25% of the market in the United States. In 1981, Timothy Smucker was named president and the company purchased

Magic Shell Magic Shell is a dessert product produced by Smucker’s in the US, originally created as Ice Magic by Cottees in Australia, and sold in the UK as Bird's Ice Magic. It is a syrup that quickly hardens into a crispy shell when poured onto a cold sur ...

the following year. After purchasing the pickle companies Wooster Preserving Co. and the H.W. Madison Co. in the 1960s, the company sold its unsuccessful pickle line in the early 1980s. J.M. Smucker in 1984 continued to be traded on the NYSE, with the Smucker family retaining a 30% interest in the business. That year J.M. Smucker acquired the juices company Knudsen & Sons.

Diversification and growth (1980s–2016)

In the late 1980s, the company began expanding internationally under CEO Richard Smucker, acquiring brands in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe. In 1987 J.M. Smucker purchased R-Line Foods, and in 1988 the company acquired the Canadian toppings brand Shirriff which made products such as Good Morning Marmalade. J.M. Smucker's sales reached $367 million in 1989. In 1989 J.M. Smucker purchased the Australian company Henry Jones Foods, later selling it in 2004 to

SPC Ardmona SPC Global Limited, trading as SPC Australia and formerly SPC Ardmona, is an Australian-based company that specialises in large fruit packing and owns and operates a canning factory in Shepparton. SPCA closed its Mooroopna processing plant in ...

. By 1993, 8% of J.M. Smucker's annual sales were international. The peanut butter company Laura Scudder's and the juice company After the Fall were purchased in 1994, and that year J.M. Smucker also changed advertising agencies from Wyse Advertising to the

Leo Burnett Company Leo Burnett Worldwide, Inc., also known as Leo Burnett Company, Inc., is an American advertising company, founded on August 5, 1935, in Chicago by Leo Burnett. In September 2002, the company was acquired by Publicis Groupe, the world's third ...

. The annual Peanut Butter Festival in the town of

New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania New Bethlehem ( ) is a borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 979 at the 2020 census. The borough is situated at the southwestern corner of thPennsylvania Wilds Conservation Landscape Its main street, PA Rout ...

is co-sponsored by Smucker's. First held in 1996, the festival was held in New Bethlehem because the Smucker's peanut butter factory was the lead employer in the area at the time. In 1998, J.M. Smucker acquired the peanut butter company Adams, as well as the maker of a frozen crustless sandwich, MenUSAver. J.M. Smucker renamed the product Uncrustables. J.M. Smucker acquired Jif and

Crisco Crisco is an American brand of shortening that is produced by B%26G Foods. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil, originally cottonseed oil. Additional products marketed un ...

in 2002. By 2004, the company was still headquartered in Orrville, Ohio and had been family-run for four generations. Between 1998 and 2004, the company had appeared on ''Fortune'' magazine's annual listing of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States each year, ranking number one in 2004. That year the company purchased International Multifoods Corporation. Among the acquired brands in the deal were Pillsbury,

Hungry Jack Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub-li ...

Pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

Robin Hood Flour Robin Hood Flour is a brand of flour made by the Horizon Milling division of Cargill. The brand is marketed to the food service and industrial section by Horizon Milling and the consumer retail sector by The J.M. Smucker Company. History Origin ...

, and Bick's pickles and condiments. The flour company White Lily Brand was acquired in 2006. In 2007, the company acquired King Kelly Orange Marmalade and the Canadian company

Five Roses Flour Five Roses Flour is a Canadian brand of flour originally established and owned by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in 1888. In 1954, the Five Roses brand with the Lake of the Woods Milling Company were taken over by Ogilvie Flour Mills. ADM bo ...

. Also in 2007, J.M. Smucker acquired

Eagle Family Foods Eagle Family Foods Group LLC, is an American food manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. The company was established in 2015 by Paul Smucker Wagstaff after acquiring ownership of the Borden canned milk brands (Eagle Brand, Magnolia, Milnot, PET) ...

, which brought in the brands

/ Borden milk products, None Such mincemeat, and Kava coffee. In 2008, J.M. Smucker joined the

Standard & Poor S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is cons ...

's 500 Index. That May, J.M. Smucker announced it had bought the food division of

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

from

ConAgra Foods Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

, while

Cedar Fair Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included- ...

continued to own the theme park itself. That year it also purchased the frozen produce company Europe's Best in Canada and the Canadian milk brand

. On November 6, 2008, J.M. Smucker purchased the

coffee brand division from

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

for $3.3 billion, acquiring brands such as Millstone Coffee in the process. The

Reverse Morris Trust A Reverse Morris Trust in United States law is a transaction that combines a divisive reorganization (spin-off) with an acquisitive reorganization ( statutory merger) to allow a tax-free transfer (in the guise of a merger) of a subsidiary. It may b ...

merger doubled J.M. Smucker's size. In 2010, J.M. Smucker acquired Rowland Coffee Roasters, makers of Latin coffee brands, followed by the North American coffee and tea operations of Sara Lee in 2011. J.M. Smucker acquired

Big Heart Pet Brands Big Heart Pet Brands is an American company that manufacturers, distributes and markets branded pet food and other products for the U.S. retail market. Now a subsidiary of The J.M. Smucker Company, it is headquartered at the One Maritime Plaza i ...

in 2015 for $5.8 billion, bringing in brands such as Milk Bone,

, Kibbles ‘n Bits and Pup-Peroni. Also that year, J.M. Smucker announced it would sell its canned milk operations in the United States to Eagle Family Foods Group LLC. In February 2015, J.M Smucker and

Keurig Keurig is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. The machines are manufactured by the American company Keurig Dr Pepper. The main Keurig products are: K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; and ...

partnered together on making

K-Cup Keurig is a beverage brewing system for home and commercial use. The machines are manufactured by the American company Keurig Dr Pepper. The main Keurig products are: K-Cup pods, which are single-serve coffee containers; other beverage pods; an ...

packs of

coffee. Mark Smucker was named CEO in 2016.

Recent (2017–present)

After an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in early March 2018,

ConAgra Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...

Brands Inc. and J. M. Smucker Co. cancelled a deal for Smucker to purchase the

Wesson cooking oil Wesson cooking oil is a brand of vegetable oil manufactured in Memphis, Tennessee, and sold by Richardson International. Historically, Wesson was cottonseed oil, but as of 2009 the products sold under the Wesson brand are oil mixtures that may in ...

brand. The FTC claimed that Smuckers would have controlled at least 70% of the market for branded canola and vegetable oils. As part of a strategy to focus on pet food, coffee, and snacking, on August 31, 2018, J.M. Smucker announced it had sold its baking business in the United States to Brynwood Partners for $375 million, including the brands Pillsbury,

Martha White Martha White is an American brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, and similar products. The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899. At that ti ...

, White Lily, and Jim Dandy. The baking business in Canada was retained. The company acquired Ainsworth Pet Nutrition in 2018, including the brands Better Than! Treats, Dad's Pet Care, and Rachael Ray Nutrish, and in October 2018, J.M. Smucker consolidated its $580 million marketing business into

Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world by revenue, it is headquartered in Paris. After 1945, the little-known Paris ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

many J.M. Smucker employees began remote work. J.M. Smucker began providing "pay and benefits to employees to avoid furloughs," creating employee hardship and

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...

programs. By August 2020, its international and away-from-home segment had seen a quarterly sales decline of 9%. The Smucker's brand had seen a 25% quarterly increase in sales, Uncrustables had seen a 35% jump, and

had seen a 50% increase. In September 2020, the company announced a new logo and corporate brand identity, with aims to distinguish Smucker the company from Smucker's brand food items. J.M. Smucker Company was shortened to J.M. Smucker Co. In December 2020 J.M. Smucker sold Crisco to

B&G Foods B&G Foods is an American branded foods holding company based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company was formed in 1996 to acquire Bloch & Guggenheimer, a Manhattan-based producer of pickles, relish and condiments which had been founded in 1889. ...

for $550 million, part of the company's ongoing plan to divest of baking products in the United States. Overall in 2020, J.M. Smucker had $7.8 billion in net sales, with free cash flow growing 26% from 2019 to $985.5 million. Its US retail consumer foods unit saw a 22% jump in annual profits, while coffee rose 11% and pet food rose 6%. After selling

Natural Balance Pet Foods Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods is an American pet food manufacturer with its headquarters located in Burbank, Los Angeles, California. Established in 1989 by actor Dick Van Patten, the company markets itself as "Food For a Lifetime" ...

to Nexus Capital for $50 million in Jan. 2021, in early 2022, the company sold R.W. Knudsen and truRoots to Nexus Capital. The deal included an agreement for Nexus Capital to Santa Cruz Organic beverages, although not the brand's food items. The deal was estimated at $110 million.

Current brands

J.M. Smucker's three major business units are consumer foods, pet food and snacks, and coffee. The company is particularly known as a marketer and manufacturer of products such as fruit spreads, peanut butter, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods and beverages. The Smucker's flagship brand manufactures and sells its own brands of

fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the met ...

, jelly, peanut butter including Smucker's Goober PB&J, syrups, ice cream toppings including Smucker's

, and Uncrustables Sandwiches. In Canada, the brands are limited to ice cream toppings and preserves. J.M. Smucker brands currently include: Foods *Adams (peanut butter) * Bick's (pickles and condiments) *

(milk - in Canada) *

(traditional English foods) *Dickinson's (preserves) *Double Fruit (preserves) *

(milk products) * Five Roses (flour in Canada) *Golden Temple (Indian foods) * Jif (peanut butter) *

(preserves) * Laura Scudder's (peanut butter) *

(flour in Canada) *Sahale Snacks (fruit and nut snacks) *Santa Cruz Organic (peanut butter, juices) * Smucker's Uncrustables (sandwiches) *Smucker's (preserves, peanut butter) Pet foods *

(cat food) *Canine Carry Outs (dog food) * Gravy Train (dog food) *

(dog food) *

(cat food) *

(dog treats) *Milo's Kitchen (dog treats) *Nature's Recipe (natural dog food) *Pup-Peroni (dog treats) * Rachael Ray Nutrish (dog and cat food) * Snausages (dog treats) Coffee * 1850 Folgers *

* Café Pilon *

(

, pre-made coffee) *

*Medaglia D'Oro

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smucker Food and drink companies based in Ohio Brand name condiments Baking mixes American companies established in 1897 Animal food manufacturers Food and drink companies established in 1897 1897 establishments in Ohio Wayne County, Ohio 1950s initial public offerings Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Condiment companies of the United States Fruit preserve companies Peanut butter