The J.M. Smucker Company

Founding (1897–1958)

The J.M. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 by Jerome Monroe Smucker. Smucker was born on December 5, 1858, in Orrville, Ohio, and much of his life was spent as a farmer in Orrville. In 1897 Smucker built a cider mill in Orrville. The company, which came to produce jellies, jams, and other food items, has stated that he used apples from local Orrville trees planted by Johnny Appleseed in the early nineteenth century. Smucker prepared apple butter and sold it from the back of a horse-drawn wagon.

The company was incorporated in 1921. At the time, the company sold preserves and jellies, and by 1928 was distributing in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. After the company recorded losses in 1932 and 1933, in 1935 Smucker's eldest son Willard established a Smucker's plant in the state of Washington for pre-processing apples, which were then shipped to Orrville to be cooked. After introducing its trademark glass jar in 1939, annual sales reached $1 million. In 1940, Smucker's introduced its first line of ice cream toppings, and two years later began distributing its products nationally. During World War II, the company faced shortages of labor, glass, and fruit. In 1946, Smucker's earned the designation "U.S. Grade A Fancy" after it paid U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to "oversee every aspect of its production".

National expansion and IPO (1959–1984)

The company went public in 1959, and the following year J.M. Smucker opened a manufacturing plant in Salinas, California that increased its production capacity by 40%. In 1960, Paul Smucker became president and the company hired Wyse Advertising of Cleveland to produce radio spots. J.M. Smucker was then listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1965.

1963 saw J.M. Smucker's acquisition of the jams and jellies company Mary Ellen. Profits increased between 1959 and 1969 before dropping in 1970. Between 1973 and 1980, J.M. Smucker implemented cost-cutting measures to increase profit margins, acquiring manufacturing operations in Oregon, Tennessee and California and consolidating packing operations. In 1978, J.M. Smucker debuted a low sugar "spread" that was so low in sugar the Food and Drug Administration wouldn't allow Smucker's to market it as a jam. J.M. Smucker acquired gourmet preserves company Dickinson's in 1979, and by 1980, J.M. Smucker was the number one jams and jellies company in the United States, with over 25% of the market in the United States.

In 1981, Timothy Smucker was named president and the company purchased Magic Shell the following year. After purchasing the pickle companies Wooster Preserving Co. and the H.W. Madison Co. in the 1960s, the company sold its unsuccessful pickle line in the early 1980s. J.M. Smucker in 1984 continued to be traded on the NYSE, with the Smucker family retaining a 30% interest in the business. That year J.M. Smucker acquired the juices company Knudsen & Sons.

Diversification and growth (1980s–2016)

In the late 1980s, the company began expanding internationally under CEO Richard Smucker, acquiring brands in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe. In 1987 J.M. Smucker purchased R-Line Foods, and in 1988 the company acquired the Canadian toppings brand Shirriff which made products such as Good Morning Marmalade. J.M. Smucker's sales reached $367 million in 1989. In 1989 J.M. Smucker purchased the Australian company Henry Jones Foods, later selling it in 2004 to SPC Ardmona. By 1993, 8% of J.M. Smucker's annual sales were international.

The peanut butter company Laura Scudder's and the juice company After the Fall were purchased in 1994, and that year J.M. Smucker also changed advertising agencies from Wyse Advertising to the Leo Burnett Company. The annual Peanut Butter Festival in the town of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is co-sponsored by Smucker's. First held in 1996, the festival was held in New Bethlehem because the Smucker's peanut butter factory was the lead employer in the area at the time. In 1998, J.M. Smucker acquired the peanut butter company Adams, as well as the maker of the Incredible Uncrustables frozen crustless sandwich, MenUSAver. J.M. Smucker renamed the product Uncrustables. J.M. Smucker acquired Jif and Crisco in 2002.

By 2004, the company was still headquartered in Orrville, Ohio and had been family-run for four generations. Between 1998 and 2004, the company had appeared on Fortune magazine's annual listing of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States each year, ranking number one in 2004. That year the company purchased International Multifoods Corporation. Among the acquired brands in the deal were Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, Pet, Bick's pickles and condiments, and Canadian flour companies Golden Temple, and Robin Hood. In 2006, White Lily Brand was acquired. In 2007, the Canadian flour company Five Roses was acquired. That same year, the company also acquired King Kelly Orange Marmalade, Eagle Family Foods, which brought in the brands Eagle Brand/Borden milk products, None Such mincemeat, and Kava coffee.

J.M. Smucker's four major business units are consumer foods, pet food, snacks, and coffee. The company is particularly known as a marketer and manufacturer of products such as fruit spreads, peanut butter, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods and beverages. The Smucker's flagship brand manufactures and sells its own brands of fruit preserves, jelly, peanut butter including Smucker's Goober PB&J, syrups, ice cream toppings including Smucker's Magic Shell, and the Uncrustables sealed crustless sandwich. In Canada, the Smucker's name is only used for ice cream toppings and preserves.

J.M. Smucker brands currently include: