Product type Peanut butter Country U.S. Markets U.S. | Owner Hormel Introduced 1932 | |
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Previous owners Unilever
Bestfoods
CPC International
Best Foods
Rosefield Packing Co. | ||
Skippy is a brand of peanut butter manufactured in the USA. First sold in 1932, Skippy is currently manufactured by Hormel Foods, which bought the brand from Unilever in 2013.
Contents
It is the best-selling brand of peanut butter in China and second only to The J.M. Smucker Company's Jif brand worldwide.
History
"Skippy" was first used as a trademark for peanut butter by the Rosefield Packing Co., Ltd., of Alameda, California in 1933. Percy Crosby, creator of the "Skippy" comic strip (1923), who trademarked the name in 1925 had the trademark invalidated in 1934, but Rosefield persisted, succeeding after the passage in 1946 of the Lanham Act. In 1955 he sold the brand to Best Foods. Its successor companies, most recently Unilever and Hormel claim rights to the trademark over the objection of Crosby's heirs, and there has been much litigation on this point over the decades, some of which has continued into the 2000s.
Skippy comes in many different sizes, including a 4-pound (1.8 kg) jar, known as the "Family Jar". In late 2000, Skippy reduced their standard jar size from 18 ounces (510 g) to 16.3 ounces (460 g) by adding a "dimple" in the bottom of the jar while retaining the jar's height and diameter.
Production
Skippy has factories in Little Rock, Arkansas and Shandong Province, China.
Advertising
Skippy has used several cartoon and celebrity spokespeople in its advertising, including Dennis the Menace, actress Annette Funicello, and speed skater Bonnie Blair. A cartoon squirrel is featured on the packaging in Canada as an homage to the Squirrel brand of peanut butter that was acquired by Unilever in June 2000.
