Uncrustables
American sandwich brand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uncrustables is an American brand of sealed crustless sandwich. Owned and manufactured by The J. M. Smucker Company since 1998,[1] the brand originally included only frozen and crimped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It now also has a honey and peanut butter variety,[2] a chocolate hazelnut spread variety,[3] and a raspberry variety launched recently.[4] Distributed in the United States and Canada,[5] fiscal year 2024 sales were approximately $800 million.[6]
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| Type | Sealed crustless sandwich |
|---|---|
| Inception | 1995 |
| Manufacturer | The J. M. Smucker Company |
| Available | United States, Canada |
| Current supplier | Smucker's |
| Website | www |
History
Early history
The Uncrustables sandwich was developed in 1995 in Fargo, North Dakota by Len Kretchman and David Geske.[7] Before creating the product, Geske ran a packaged ice business,[8] while Kretchman was a former wide receiver for North Dakota State University, and had worked with schools in the food service industry.[9] Geske and Kretchman were having lunch with their families, when Kristen Geske and Emily Kretchman commented to their husbands that they should[8] "create a mass-produced peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the crust."[9] After doing taste tests at schools,[8] Kretchman and Geske began selling the sandwiches[10] as the Incredible Uncrustables.[1] 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.[8]
Purchase by Smucker's
Smucker's bought the brand in 1998 for $1 million,[11] changing the name to Uncrustables.[8] The original flavors included grape and peanut butter, and strawberry and peanut butter. The Uncrustables brand had $10 million in annual sales in 2000,[12] and $27.5 million in annual sales in 2004.[10]
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.[13] 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.[12] Citing difficulties meeting demand, Smucker's did little marketing for the Uncrustables brand in its early years.[14] 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.[15]
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.[5] Sales for the Uncrustables brand in 2022 came to $511 million.[14] Smucker's continued to have difficulty keeping up with demand, and was working on expanding its Uncrustables plant in Denver.[16] 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."[15] Sales for Uncrustables that year were $685 million.[5] The Athletic reported in October 2024 that the NFL consumed over 80,000 Uncrustables sandwiches in a year.[17] The Denver Broncos ate the most, consuming 700 sandwiches a week.
In November 2024, Smucker's opened an Uncrustables manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama.[18] Around $1.1 billion was invested in the plant.[19] A raspberry variety of Uncrustables was released in 2024.[4]
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.[13] The sandwiches are sold frozen and are meant to be defrosted and eaten at room temperature.[20] 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.[14]
According to the Wall Street Journal, they are popular with children but also with adults at work or away from home.[1] Flavors include raspberry, grape, strawberry, and honey, all combined with peanut butter. A variety with only chocolate-flavored hazelnut is also sold.[3] Larger versions of Uncrustables sandwiches are sold in certain markets and contain around 590 calories instead of around 200.[1] The original flavors, grape and strawberry jam, are sold in reduced sugar versions on whole wheat bread.[12]
Patents
Patent number 6,004,596 was issued to Smucker's on December 21, 1999, for a "sealed crustless sandwich".[21] Since then, the Uncrustables brand has been involved in several high-profile patent and trademark disputes.[10][22][21][7]
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.[7] Its bid was rejected in 2005,[10] with patent number 6,004,596 deemed not "novel or non-obvious enough."[23]
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.[1] 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.[22] The claim was later dropped.[20] Uncrustables in 2025 sued Trader Joe's for alleged trademark infringement.[24]