The sincerest form of flattery …
J.M. Smucker Co. is suing Trader Joe’s alleging the latter’s new frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and their packaging are too similar to Smucker’s Uncrustables.
Associated Press said the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 13 in federal court in Ohio, claimed the round, crustless sandwiches Trader Joe’s sells have the same pie-like crimp on their edges that Uncrustables do. Smucker said the design violates its trademarks.
Smucker also claims the Trader Joe’s packaging is a violation of trademarks because the boxes use the same blue color as background that Uncrustables uses for its lettering and one of the sandwiches has a bite taken out of it, as does the Smucker package.
Uncrustables have been a meteoric hit for Smucker, with sales nearing $1 billion.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.