After 127 years, Smucker's has moved beyond jam. But its CEO still finds time to jam on weekends
Smucker’s Uncrustables could soon hit $1 billion in annual sales
Smucker's Uncrustables – the pillowy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches found in the frozen aisle – could soon hit $1 billion in annual sales. To keep up with demand, J.M. Smucker Co. is opening a third Uncrustables plant in the U.S. next year.
It almost didn’t happen. The product lost money for more than a decade after the company bought the Unscrustables brand in 1998, Chairman, President and CEO Mark Smucker said. The manufacturer once known only for its jellies and jams spent years trying to figure out how to mass produce the stretchy, hole-free bread used in the crust-free sandwiches.
For Mark Smucker, the fifth generation of his family to run J.M. Smucker, having the time to get it right is one of the benefits of leading a 127-year-old company.
“Because we’ve been in business for so long and we have been family run, we do take a long-term view,” Smucker said. “The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the No. 1 sandwich consumed at lunch in the U.S. We said, ‘This is something we’ve got to lead.’”
Over the last 20 years, Orrville, Ohio-based J.M. Smucker has expanded to include brands like Milk-Bone dog biscuits, Meow Mix cat food, Folgers coffee and Jif peanut butter.
Smucker, who joined the family business in 1997 and became CEO in 2016, has sharpened the focus on high-growth categories. Last year, the company bought Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, for $5.6 billion.
Mark Smucker recently spoke with The Associated Press about his family's company, food prices and his hobby as a house music deejay. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
A. Around 2000 or 2001, my predecessor realized that we don’t have to be a fruit company. What
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