Owner The J.M. Smucker Co. Introduced 1958 Previous owners Procter & Gamble | Country U.S. Markets U.S. | |
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Product type Peanut butter and other nut butter | ||
Jif is an American brand of peanut butter made by The J.M. Smucker Company, which purchased the brand from Procter & Gamble in 2001. In 1955, Procter & Gamble bought Big Top peanut butter from William T. Young of Kentucky and, in the ensuing years, reformulated and rebranded it to compete with Skippy and Peter Pan. P. & G. named its product Jif, used oils other than peanut oil in its hydrogenation process, and sweetened the recipe, adding sugar and molasses. The original Creamy and Crunchy style Jif peanut butters both debuted in 1958. In 1974, Extra Crunchy Jif was introduced, followed in 1991 by Simply Jif, a peanut butter variant with low sodium and less sugar than regular Jif. Reduced Fat Jif was introduced three years later in 1994. In 2014, Jif Whips was released as the first whipped peanut butter,
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Since 1981, Jif has been the leading peanut butter brand in the United States.
Advertising
In 1958, the brand rollout in the US involved a heavily publicized house-to-house distribution of free sample jars from special trucks emblazoned with the then Jif mascot, the "Jifaroo", a blue kangaroo.
An early slogan was "Jif is never dry; a touch of honey tells you why." Early advertising also emphasized the beveled edge of the jar base, meant to make it easier to get the last bit of Jif out of the corner.
For many decades, TV commercials for the product have ended with the tagline, "Choosy mothers choose Jif" and, in the 1990s, "Choosy moms choose Jif."
A recent ad features an example of a divide and choose scenario.
From 1998 to 2000, there was a musical jingle that accompanied many Jif ads, which used the lyrics, "Moms like you choose Jif, choose Jif!"
Production
There are ten different kinds of Jif Peanut Butter: Creamy, Extra Crunchy, Simply Jif (low sodium and sugar), Reduced Fat, Reduced Fat Crunchy, Natural Creamy, Natural Crunchy, Jif Omega-3 Creamy, Jif Omega-3 Crunchy, Chocolate Silk, and Honey Infused. Jif is also available in a three-pack and an eight-pack of 1.5-ounce individual servings of Jif peanut butter, sold under the name "Jif to Go". In 2014, Jif introduced a new peanut butter-flavored breakfast cereal (manufactured under license by Kellogg's), met with positive feedback.
On May 7, 2012, Jif announced a new line of hazelnut spreads, which will be produced in Chocolate and Mocha Cappuccino flavors.
Jif also makes almond butter and cashew butter. All variants of Jif are produced at a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, which is the largest peanut butter production facility in the world. In 2015, a state-of-the-art Jif plant opened in Memphis, Tennessee.