Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Uncrustables
Uncrustables, the premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Smucker’s has been selling since the 1990s, have been Having A Moment over the past few years. Trader Joe’s has attempted to capitalize on their popularity, but the company has been hit with a lawsuit accusing the grocery chain of ripping off the concept.
In 1995, a couple of guys in Fargo, North Dakota channeled their inner elementary schooler and dreamed up what they dubbed the “Incredible Uncrustables,” which was used to describe the crustless and sealed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they started selling to schools across the Midwest.
That product quickly came to the attention of the folks at Smuckers, which dropped $1 million to purchase the brand in 1998. That turned out to be a wise investment, as they’re still going strong close to three decades later and are on pace to generate over $1 billion in yearly revenue in the very near future.
The product may have originally been targeted at children, but Uncrustables have gotten a boost from adults who’ve realized they’re a pretty tasty way to get some protein and an energy boost in a pinch. I’ve played with more than a few golfers who’ve pulled one out of their bag during a round, and last year, The Athletic estimated NFL teams collectively go through more than 80,000 of them on an annual basis.
It’s only natural that other brands would want to get a piece of that lucrative pie sandwich, but Trader Joe’s is now facing a lawsuit for trying to do exactly that.
Smucker’s is suing Trader Joe’s for selling its own version of Uncrustables
Len Kretchman and Dave Geske were the aforementioned duo who invented Uncrustables, and in 1999, they secured a patent for a “sealed crustless sandwich” that Smucker’s parent company ended up adding to its intellectual property portfolio when it acquired the brand.
The company has since obtained others pertaining the the manufacturing process in an attempt to firm up its hold on that particular market, but that didn’t stop Trader Joe’s from whipping up the “Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches” that started to pop up at its stores earlier this year.
According to the Associated Press, that development did not go unnoticed at Smucker’s, which responded by whipping up a lawsuit accusing Trader Joe’s of stepping on its toes with the crimping on the outside of the sandwiches while alleging it’s guilty of trademark violations due to the coloring and lettering on the packaging, saying:
“Smucker does not take issue with others in the marketplace selling prepackaged, frozen, thaw-and-eat crustless sandwiches. But it cannot allow others to use Smucker’s valuable intellectual property to make such sales.”
The brand is seeking both financial compensation and a court order that would require Trader Joe’s to destroy its crustless sandwiches, and we’ll have to wait and see how things end up playing out.