Squirrel (peanut butter) facts for kids
Squirrel was a popular Canadian brand of peanut butter. It was sold for many years, from around 1915 until about 2000.
Contents
The Story of Squirrel Peanut Butter
How Squirrel Began
Squirrel peanut butter first started in 1915. It was made by a company called Canada Nut Co. Ltd. in Vancouver, British Columbia. For its first 25 years, Squirrel was mainly sold in Western Canada.
Around 1931, Canada Nut Co. created a special part of their company just for peanut products. They called it Squirrel Brand Products.
New Owners and Growth
In 1944, another company bought Canada Nut Co. This was Kelly, Douglas & Co., a food seller from Vancouver. They kept selling Squirrel peanut butter under the original Canada Nut Co. name.
Later, in 1958, a second factory was opened near Toronto, in a town called Ajax. By 1959, Squirrel peanut butter was sold all across Canada. It was handled by Nabob Foods Limited, which was part of Kelly, Douglas & Co. These companies were also connected to George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies.
Changing Hands Again
In 1975, George Weston Ltd. sold its share of Kelly, Douglas to Loblaws. The next year, in 1976, Nabob Foods Ltd. became fully owned by a Swiss company called Jacobs Suchard AG.
In 1981, Nabob Foods Ltd. decided to focus only on coffee. So, they sold the Squirrel brand to Canada Packers Inc..
The Final Years
In 1990, Canada Packers sold the peanut butter part of its business. It was bought by a company called CPC International. CPC decided to keep making Squirrel peanut butter. They also made Skippy peanut butter at a factory in Montreal. This factory was owned by Best Foods Canada Inc., which was part of CPC.
In 1997, CPC International split into two new companies: Bestfoods Corp. and Corn Products International, Inc.
Why Squirrel Disappeared
In 2000, a big company called Unilever bought Bestfoods Corp. This meant Unilever now owned the Squirrel brand in Canada. However, Unilever decided to stop making Squirrel peanut butter. They chose to sell only the Skippy brand instead. This happened even though Squirrel had been sold in Canada for much longer.
For a short time, Unilever changed the name of Skippy in Canada to "Skippy the Squirrel." The label even showed a new squirrel drawing. Before this, Skippy's mascot was a peanut. The Skippy brand itself was later removed from the Canadian market in 2017.
What Made Squirrel Special
The Peanut on Top
Squirrel peanut butter was famous for one special thing. When you opened a new jar, there was always one whole peanut sitting right on top! This led to its well-known slogan: "The One With The Peanut On Top!" When the brand became Skippy, this special peanut was no longer included.
Mascot and Prizes
The mascot for Squirrel peanut butter was a friendly brown squirrel. It wore a green sweater and was often smiling or holding a peanut.
The brand also had "peanut points." You could collect these points from the jars and trade them in for different prizes. The slogan "The One With the Peanut on Top" was actually first used by another brand called York Peanut Butter. It was later used for Squirrel when Canada Packers bought the brand.
Marketing and Advertising
In the early 1960s, Nabob Foods used a football player named Joe Kapp to help sell Squirrel peanut butter. Joe Kapp played for the BC Lions football team. His work with Squirrel peanut butter even helped him get the nickname "Peanut Butter Joe."
