The J.M. Smucker Company’s (SJM) line of products has spread far beyond jam and jelly. The company, commonly known as Smucker, has acquired many businesses over the years, especially from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s. Smucker’s portfolio now includes major brands, like Jif peanut butter and Uncrustables, spanning categories from coffee to pet food and competing with consumer packaged goods giants, like Nestlé (NSRGY), General Mills (GIS) and Kraft-Heinz (KHC).
In 2016 Mark Smucker took over as CEO of the family business. In 2023, he expanded the company’s offerings further with the $5.6B acquisition of Hostess. Despite more consumers wanting to eat healthier, Smucker saw enough runway with the sweet treat brand, as its revenue was trending higher prior to the acquisition.
Smucker explains the steps the business has taken to listen to make foods healthier across the board, but he also thinks some of it is up to the consumer.
“I think we have to give the consumer choice,” says Smucker.
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Are there industry practices that need to change so that people feel better about the foods that they’re eating.
I think we have to give the consumer choice, right?
And, and I think each of us were responsible for what we put in our bodies.
And there are times when I want cream, but there are times when I’m gonna eat a salad.
And so I think it’s about making sure that the, the businesses that we’re in that we’re offering the consumer choice.
So if you think about Uncrustables, um obviously a source of protein, we’ve taken a high fructose corn syrup out of those because that’s clearly a trend.
We took GMO S out, you know, because consumers did not want GMO S. So we continue to evolve our ingredient decks to meet those consumer needs.
But ultimately making sure that we’re providing the consumer with both choice in terms of what they consume, but also a range of values.
So somebody might want a more premium product, one that’s more value oriented.
We offer that as well.
