Jif (peanut 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.[1]

Jif
Product typePeanut butter
OwnerThe J.M. Smucker Company
CountryUnited States
Introduced1956 (1956)
MarketsUnited States and Canada
Previous ownersProcter & Gamble
Tagline"That Jif'ing Good"
Websitewww.jif.com

In 1955, Procter & Gamble bought Big Top peanut butter and its manufacturing facilities in Lexington, Kentucky from William T. Young.[2] In the ensuing years, the company 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 new product was publicly announced in April 1956, as tests of the product began in select markets.[3]

Since 1981, Jif has been the largest peanut butter brand in the United States.[4]

Advertising

In 1958, the brand rollout in the U.S. involved a heavily publicized house-to-house distribution of free sample jars from special trucks[5] 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 ended with the tagline, "Choosy mothers choose Jif", and, in the 1990s, "Choosy moms choose Jif." 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!"[6][7]

In February 2020, Jif announced a planned media campaign that uses the Jif brand to try to settle the GIF/Jif pronunciation debate. The company partnered with Giphy to release a special jar of Jif peanut butter that replaces the classic Jif branding on the label with 'Gif.' The advertisement tries to settle the debate by showing two jars of peanut butter with the labels Jif and Gif, with the implication of pronouncing GIF with a "hard G".[8]

Production
Jif production plant, Lexington

The original Creamy and Crunchy style Jif peanut butters both made their nationwide debut 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.[4]

There are 10 different kinds of Jif Peanut Butter:[9]

  • Creamy
  • Extra Crunchy
  • No Sugar Added Creamy
  • Simply Jif Creamy (low sodium and sugar)
  • Omega-3 Creamy
  • Reduced Fat Creamy
  • Natural Creamy
  • Natural Honey Creamy
  • Natural Crunchy
  • Coffee Creamy

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 peanut butter-flavored breakfast cereal (manufactured under license by Kellogg's), which met with positive feedback.[10]

On May 7, 2012, Jif announced a new line of hazelnut spreads, to be produced in Chocolate and Mocha Cappuccino flavors.[11]

Jif also makes almond butter and cashew butter.[10] All variants of Jif are produced at a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, which is the largest peanut butter production facility in the world, and a smaller facility in Memphis TN whose products were not affected by the 2022 recall.[12]

Recall and Controversies

On May 20, 2022, their peanut butter products which were manufactured in their Lexington, Kentucky plant were recalled in the US and Canada due to potential salmonella contamination.[13][14][15] The J.M. Smucker Company estimated a loss of $125 million as a result of the 2022 recall.[16] On July 19, 2022, a class-action lawsuit was filed against J.M. Smucker Co. over the contaminated peanut butter.[17] The first seven digits for the recalled products ranged from 1274425 to 2140425.

As of July 27, 2022, 21 people in 17 states had fallen ill after consuming Jif peanut butter.[18]

References
  1. "J.M. Smucker Announces Stock Deal with P&G for Jif and Crisco". Archived from the original on July 12, 2012.
  2. Dudley, Jack. "P&G Acquires W. T. Young Foods, Inc,; Ratio of Stock Transfer is Undisclosed", Cincinnati Enquirer, August 23, 1955, page 32.
  3. "New Peanut Butter to Be Introduced", Wichita Eagle, April 12, 1956, page 2D.
  4. "About Jif: The History". Pillsbury Company. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  5. "Procter & Gamble Samples City With Jif", Montgomery Advertiser, September 7, 1958, page 9-C.
  6. Bekah (April 2, 2007). "Bekah's Bits: PB&J Day". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  7. "TVparty: Commercial Icons of the 60s". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  8. Valinsky, Jordan (February 25, 2020). "Jif settles the great debate with a GIF peanut butter jar". CNN Business. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  9. "Jif Product Page". www.jif.com. Jif.
  10. "Peanut Butter Products: Flavors and Varieties from Jif". Pillsbury Company. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  11. "Peanut Butter Brand Jif to Launch Line of Hazelnut Spreads". Foodbeast.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  12. "Fun Tidbits". The J.M. Smucker Company. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  13. Nutrition, Center for Food Safety and Applied (May 21, 2022). "The J. M. Smucker Co. Issues Voluntary Recall of Select Jif® Products Sold in the U.S. for Potential Salmonella Contamination". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  14. "Jif Peanut Butter Canada recalls Peanut butter (Not a food allergy alert)". Club Flappd. May 22, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  15. Government of Canada, Health Canada (May 22, 2022). "Certain Jif brand Peanut Butters recalled due to Salmonella - Recalls, advisories and safety alerts – Canada.ca". recalls-rappels.canada.ca. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  16. Genovese, Daniella (June 7, 2022). "Jif recall could cost JM Smucker $125M, company warns". FOXBusiness. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  17. "Recall Litigation Report: J.M. Smucker Co. Faces Class Action Suits Following Jif Peanut Butter Recall". July 19, 2022.
  18. "CDC says 17-state Jif peanut butter Salmonella outbreak is over". July 27, 2022.
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