Skippy (peanut butter) facts for kids
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| Type | Peanut butter |
|---|---|
| Owner | Hormel Foods |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1932 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Previous owners | Joseph L. Rosefield CPC International Bestfoods Corporation Unilever |
| Website | www.peanutbutter.com |
Skippy is a well-known American brand of peanut butter. It is made in both the United States and China. Skippy was first sold in 1932. Today, a company called Hormel Foods makes Skippy. Hormel Foods bought the brand from Unilever in 2013. Skippy is the most popular peanut butter in China. It is also the second most popular brand worldwide, after Jif.
Contents
How Skippy Got Its Name
The name "Skippy" was first used in 1925. It was trademarked by Percy Crosby. He was the person who created a very popular comic strip called "Skippy." This comic strip was published from 1923 to 1945. The comic strip also became a novel in 1929. There was even a children's radio show called "Skippy" from 1932 to 1935. An Oscar-winning movie named "Skippy" was released in 1931.
In 1932, a food company in Alameda, California, started selling peanut butter. This company was owned by Joseph L. Rosefield. He decided to use the name "Skippy" for his peanut butter. Percy Crosby, who owned the original "Skippy" trademark, did not agree with this. He successfully had the trademark for the peanut butter name cancelled in 1934. However, Rosefield continued to use the name. Later, after a new law was passed in 1946, Rosefield was given the legal rights to the "Skippy" trademark for peanut butter.
Skippy's Journey Through Companies
In 1955, Joseph Rosefield sold the Skippy brand to a company called Best Foods. Over the years, other companies took over Best Foods. These included Unilever and, most recently, Hormel Foods. These companies have continued to claim the rights to the Skippy trademark. Percy Crosby's family has disagreed with this for many years. There have been many legal discussions about this, even into the 2000s.
Skippy peanut butter comes in many different sizes. One popular size is a large jar, which is about 4 pounds. This is often called the "Family Jar." Around the year 2000, Skippy changed its standard jar size. It went from 18 ounces to 16.3 ounces. They did this by adding a small "dimple" at the bottom of the jar. The jar still looked the same height and width from the outside.
Where Skippy is Made
Skippy peanut butter is made in two main factories. One factory is in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States. The other factory is in Shandong Province, China. The factory in Little Rock, Arkansas, uses a lot of peanuts every day. About 750,000 pounds of peanuts arrive there daily. This helps them make over 3.5 million pounds of peanut butter each week!
There are 14 different kinds of Skippy Peanut Butter Spread. Here are some of them:
- Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter
- Skippy Super Chunk Peanut Butter
- Skippy Roasted Honey Nut Creamy Peanut Butter
- Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter
- Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter
- Skippy Peanut Butter Blended with Plant Protein Creamy
- Skippy Peanut Butter Blended with Plant Protein Chunky
- Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter Spread No Sugar Added
- Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter Spread No Sugar Added
- Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread
- Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter Spread with Honey
- Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread
- Skippy Natural Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread with Honey
- Skippy Natural Creamy 1/3 Less Sodium & Sugar Peanut Butter Spread
Skippy also comes in smaller, easy-to-use packages. You can find it in a 6-ounce squeeze pack in Creamy or Natural Peanut Butter Spread. There are also small 1.15-ounce individual squeeze packs, sold in packs of 8, in Creamy or Natural Peanut Butter Spread.
In 2018, Skippy added new snacks called Skippy P.B. Fruit Bites. These joined their other Skippy P.B. Bites, which came in flavors like Double Peanut Butter, Pretzel, and Graham Cracker. On September 12, 2018, Skippy also announced a new line of Skippy P.B. & Jelly Minis. These small snacks came in flavors like Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly, Natural Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly, and Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jelly.
What's in Skippy Peanut Butter
Skippy Peanut Butter does not have cholesterol, which is a type of fat. It is also gluten-free, meaning it does not contain gluten, which is found in some grains. Skippy contains sugar and special vegetable oils. These oils, like cottonseed, soybean, and rapeseed oil, are added to keep the peanut butter from separating.
Almost all types of Skippy Peanut Butter are also kosher. This means they follow special food rules. The only Skippy products that are not kosher are the Skippy P.B. bites.
