The J.M. Smucker Company facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The J.M. Smucker Company

Logo introduced in 2020
Headquarters in Orrville, Ohio
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: SJM S&P 500 component
Industry	Food Beverage
Founded	1897; 128 years ago (1897)
Founder	Jerome Monroe Smucker
Headquarters	1 Strawberry Lane, Orrville, Ohio , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Mark Smucker (chairman, president, and CEO)
Products	Consumer foods, pet food, coffee
Revenue	US$8.73 billion (2025)
Operating income	−US$674 million
Net income	−US$1.2 billion (2025)
Total assets	US$17.6 billion (2025)
Total equity	US$6.08 billion (2025)
Number of employees	8,000 (2025)
Subsidiaries	Big Heart Pet Brands Hostess Brands
Footnotes / references Financials as of April 30,  2025 (2025 -04-30)[update].

The J.M. Smucker Company, often called Smuckers, is an American company that makes food and drink products. It started in 1897 in Orrville, Ohio, making apple butter. Today, Smuckers has three main parts: foods for people, pet foods, and coffee.

Its most famous brand, Smucker's, sells fruit spreads, peanut butter, syrups, frozen crustless sandwiches, and ice cream toppings. Other well-known brands include Café Bustelo, Dunkin' coffee, Folgers coffee, and Jif peanut butter. For pets, they make Meow Mix and Milk-Bone. In 2023, Smuckers bought Hostess Brands, which makes popular snacks like Twinkies. Smuckers is a big company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Company History

Early Years: How Smuckers Began (1897–1958)

The J.M. Smucker Company was started in 1897 by Jerome Monroe Smucker. He was born in 1858 in Orrville, Ohio, and spent most of his life as a farmer there. In 1897, Jerome built a cider mill. He used apples from local trees, some even said to be planted by Johnny Appleseed.

Jerome made apple butter and sold it from a horse-drawn wagon. The company officially became a business in 1921. By 1928, they sold preserves and jellies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. In 1935, Jerome's oldest son, Willard, opened a plant in Washington state. This plant helped prepare apples before they were sent to Orrville for cooking.

The Smucker's brand logo

In 1939, Smucker's started using its special glass jar. Sales reached $1 million each year. By 1940, they introduced their first ice cream toppings. Two years later, their products were sold all over the country. During World War II, the company faced challenges like not having enough workers or glass. In 1946, Smucker's products earned a "U.S. Grade A Fancy" rating. This meant their production was carefully checked by government inspectors.

Growing Bigger: National Sales and Stock Market (1959–1984)

Smuckers became a public company in 1959. This meant people could buy shares of the company. The next year, they opened a new factory in Salinas, California. This factory helped them make 40% more products. In 1960, Paul Smucker became the company president. Smuckers was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1965.

In 1963, Smuckers bought another jams and jellies company called Mary Ellen. The company continued to grow. To save money and increase profits, Smuckers bought more factories in Oregon, Tennessee, and California between 1973 and 1980. They also made their packaging simpler. In 1978, Smucker's introduced a low-sugar fruit spread. By 1980, J.M. Smucker was the top jams and jellies company in the United States. They held over 25% of the market.

Timothy Smucker became president in 1981. The company bought Magic Shell in 1982. Smuckers had tried selling pickles in the 1960s but stopped in the early 1980s. In 1984, Smuckers bought Knudsen & Sons, a juice company. The Smucker family still owned a big part of the business.

Expanding Brands: Diversification and Growth (1980s–2016)

In the late 1980s, Smuckers started to grow internationally. They bought brands in Canada, Australia, and Europe. In 1987, they bought R-Line Foods. In 1988, they acquired Shirriff, a Canadian toppings brand. By 1989, Smucker's sales reached $367 million. By 1993, 8% of their yearly sales came from outside the United States.

In 1994, Smuckers bought Laura Scudder's peanut butter and After the Fall juice. The annual Peanut Butter Festival in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is partly sponsored by Smucker's. This is because the Smucker's peanut butter factory was a major employer there. In 1998, Smuckers bought Adams peanut butter. They also bought MenUSAver, which made the Incredible Uncrustables frozen crustless sandwich. Smuckers renamed it Uncrustables. In 2002, Smuckers acquired Jif and Crisco.

By 2004, Smuckers was still based in Orrville, Ohio, and had been run by the same family for four generations. The company was even named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by Fortune magazine. In 2004, they bought International Multifoods Corporation. This deal included brands like Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Pet, Bick's pickles, and Canadian flour companies Golden Temple and Robin Hood. Later, they bought White Lily Brand in 2006 and Five Roses in 2007. They also acquired King Kelly Orange Marmalade and Eagle Family Foods, which brought in Eagle Brand/Borden milk products.

In 2008, J.M. Smucker joined the S&P 500 Index, which includes 500 large U.S. companies. That year, Smuckers bought the food part of Knott's Berry Farm. They also bought Europe's Best frozen produce in Canada and the Carnation milk brand. On November 6, 2008, Smuckers bought the Folgers coffee brand from Procter & Gamble for $3.3 billion. This deal doubled the size of J.M. Smucker.

In 2010, Smuckers bought Rowland Coffee Roasters, which makes Latin coffee brands. In 2011, they acquired the North American coffee and tea businesses of Sara Lee. A big step happened in 2015 when Smuckers bought Big Heart Pet Brands for $5.8 billion. This added popular pet food brands like Milk Bone, Meow Mix, Kibbles ‘n Bits, and Pup-Peroni. Also in 2015, Smuckers partnered with Keurig to make K-Cup packs of Dunkin' coffee. Mark Smucker became the CEO in 2016.

Recent Times: Focus on Key Products (2017–Present)

Smucker's Canada office in Markham, Ontario

In 2018, Smuckers planned to buy the Wesson cooking oil brand, but the deal was stopped. This was because the government worried Smuckers would control too much of the cooking oil market. Smuckers decided to focus more on pet food, coffee, and snacks. So, in August 2018, they sold their baking business in the United States for $375 million. This included brands like Pillsbury and Hungry Jack. They kept the baking business in Canada.

Smuckers also bought Ainsworth Pet Nutrition in 2018, adding brands like Rachael Ray Nutrish. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Smucker employees worked from home. The company helped employees with pay and benefits. By August 2020, sales of the Smucker's brand had increased by 25%. Uncrustables sales jumped by 35%, and Crisco sales went up by 50%.

In September 2020, the company introduced a new logo and brand identity. This helped people tell the difference between the J.M. Smucker Company and the Smucker's food brand. In December 2020, Smuckers sold Crisco for $550 million. This was part of their plan to sell off baking products in the United States. In 2020, Smuckers had $7.8 billion in sales. In early 2022, the company sold R.W. Knudsen and truRoots. In January 2024, the Knott's Berry Farm grocery brand was stopped due to low sales.

Hostess Brands Acquisition

On September 11, 2023, J.M. Smucker announced it would buy Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion. This big deal brought many popular snack brands to Smuckers. These include Twinkies, CupCakes, DingDongs, HoHos, Fruit Pies, CoffeeCakes, MiniMuffins, and Voortman cookies. The deal also included seven factories and 3,000 employees. The purchase was completed in November 2023.

Smucker's Current Brands

J.M. Smucker's main business areas are foods for people, pet food, snacks, and coffee. The company is well-known for making fruit spreads, peanut butter, ice cream toppings, and natural foods. The main Smucker's brand makes its own fruit preserves, jelly, peanut butter (like Smucker's Goober PB&J), syrups, ice cream toppings (like Smucker's Magic Shell), and Uncrustables crustless sandwiches. In Canada, the Smucker's brand mostly sells ice cream toppings and preserves.

Here are some of the brands J.M. Smucker owns:

See also

In Spanish: Smuckers para niños

• List of coffee companies