American Peanut Butter Market

What’s the sitch with the American peanut butter market? 

Today, peanut butter is consumed by 90% of American households. Per year, we eat about 700 million pounds of the stuff, not counting the consumption of peanut butter contained within some of our most popular candy bars. The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. The fun facts go on, but I’ll stop there, having gotten my point across: we are peanut butter crazy in America, and this behavior spans nearly every demographic.

Peanuts themselves are a legume native to the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes. They have been cultivated for more than 7,000 years, and the earliest mention of grinding them into paste was documented as far back as the Aztecs. That said, “the milling of roasted peanuts into a semi-fluid state,” was not patented until 1884 by Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a Canadian pharmacist. At the time, the paste was peddled as a source of protein for people who had trouble chewing due to various dental afflictions. Dr. Edson had no idea how popular his paste would become to chewers and non-chewers alike. 

Its chameleon skin and widespread appeal make peanut butter so interesting. It can be advertised honestly as both a health food and a sweet treat. It is cheap enough for the masses, quick enough for the busy mom, and yet comforting enough to be chosen even by the refined palates of the aristocracy. It can stand on its own, via large spoonfuls directly from jar to mouth, or it can be made into a rich peanut sauce for a delicate Southeast Asian stir-fry. There are few foods that evade categorization as completely as peanut butter. Peanuts aren’t even nuts!! 

Now, I’m a man who loves peanut butter. But until recently, I haven’t had an approach to my purchasing, and therefore have spent far too long in the peanut butter section, having the same debate in my head each month when I go to re-up. Making impulse decisions on peanut butter is a fine tactic, and will undoubtedly work out with such a delicious paste. But I personally wanted a little direction, a little guidance toward the tub of brown goo most suited to my interests… my needs. So I lookedinto the differences between brands, the companies that control them, and why I should care. 

At first glance it seems so simple. There’s Jif, there’s Skippy, or there’s some kind of natural stuff, with the oil. As I delved into this sticky saga, I realized there was much more just below the glistening surface. 

The current rankings, by brand name, of peanut butter sold per year are:

1. Jif

2. Skippy

3. Peter Pan

4. Smucker’s

We see that Jif and Skippy are indeed one and two. Peter Pan is third, followed by Smucker’s, generally recognized as a major player on the fruit-based side of the sandwich. These are the titans of the peanut butter industry, arguably the most influential companies in America, at least in terms of keeping the seething masses content. 

J.M. Smucker’s Co

In 1897, somewhere near rural Orrville, Ohio, Jerome Monroe Smucker began selling apple butter out of a horse-drawn wagon. The first batches of his product were produced from orchards planted by Johnny Appleseed himself. By 1921 the J.M. Smucker Company was incorporated and making all kinds of jellies. Four generations of Smuckers later the company is still family run and based in Orrville, Ohio, though now raking in over five billion dollars of revenue per year. Amurca.

With past slogans such as, “If you find a better jelly, you buy it!” and “The only brand of jams that can make a piece of bread lively,”  their focus was clearly fruit spreads for much of their history. In 1994, they sneakily acquired the peanut butter producing branch of the Laura Scudder Potato Chip dynasty, a company that had invented modern packaging of potato chips in the 1920’s and had been slowly being sold off piecemeal since the late ’80’s. Smucker’s then also acquired Adam’s Natural Peanut Butters in 1997, followed closely in 2001 with a patent for the production of, “sealed crustless sandwiches with crimped edges…” now known universally by their brand name “Uncrustables.” This patent didn’t stand due to vagaries in its language, as well as other companies already selling similarly crimped and sealed products. J.M. Smucker’s didn’t really give a f#@k. They got public schools to serve Uncrustables in cafeterias. They had a vision of costumers needing only Smucker’s products when they craved PB&J… a historically successful jelly company getting into the peanut butter racket. 

Next, in 2002, J.M. Smuckers acquired the Jif peanut butter brand from Procter & Gamble for about a billion dollars in stock. Jif had been the leading brand of peanut butter in America since 1981. Recall the order of peanut butters from above? J.M. Smucker’s Company, with Jif at #1, and its own lines of Smucker’s Peanut Butter at #4, controls 40% of the peanut butter market share. The company also controls 37% of the “sweet spreads’ market with its jelly offerings (a market that includes honey). They are not kidding around when it comes to delicious spreads. 

Another man who was serious about spreadable foodstuffs was Joseph Rosefield. In 1922, he invented a method for modernizing the primitive peanut butter that was being sold at the time. He partially hydrogenated the peanut oil in his mixture, making the peanut butter creamy and homogenous, with a much longer shelf life to boot. He licensed this new production method in 1923 to Swift & Company for a hefty sum, and they began selling peanut butter under the brand name ‘Peter Pan.’ Currently the third most popular peanut butter in America, Peter Pan is now owned by industry giant ConAgra Foods and holds about 13% of the peanut butter market share. 

Skippy Peanut Butter

A few years after Peter Pan hit the shelves, Mr. Rosefield realized he wasn’t satisfied being on the sidelines for the thickening scrum over America’s potential peanut butter windfall. In 1932, Rosefield Packing Company began marketing their own product called ‘Skippy Peanut Butter.’ This brand has since become a household name, controlling 21% of the peanut butter market share, second only to Jif. 

Skippy has some interesting advantages over its competitors that could portend a seismic shift in the peanut butter rankings, despite currently selling far less peanut butter than Jif worldwide. Firstly, Skippy has the coveted www.peanutbutter.com domain name. This will only become more of an asset as millennials increasingly do their shopping and brand research on internet connected devices from the comfort of their ragged futons. If Skippy can sink its talons into the hearts of this screen-dependent generation, in a decade, when those same punks are hurriedly throwing together bagged lunches for their children, Skippy will be in the pantry instead of Jif. Secondly, Skippy is the most popular brand of peanut butter in China. Currently, Chinese consumption only accounts for about 10% of Skippy’s worldwide sales. But, with a population of more than four times that of the United States, if even a fraction of them develop a taste for puréed peanut spread, Jif could be in trouble. 

It seems as though Skippy’s potential for future profits caught the eye of at least one megalith within the processed food industry when, in 2013, Hormel Foods (of Austin, MN) bought the Skippy brand for $700 million from international behemoth UniLever. Hormel has traditionally been a processed meats company, most famous for bringing animal flesh into the 20th century with SPAM, a canned ‘meat’ that will be around and semi-edible long after humans have perished. As Americans have become slightly more health and environmentally conscious, Hormel has expanded its portfolio to include vegetarian pantry items, such as Wholly Guacamole, Muscle Milk, and most recently Skippy. You can think of Hormel as a non-perishable protein distributer, in whatever form that takes. So they are approaching the peanut butter market from a completely different angle than J.M. Smucker’s.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Briefly, let’s take a look back at the third highest grossing PB on the market, Peter Pan Peanut Butter. As mentioned earlier, this brand was there from the beginning of the modern peanut butter era, and has consistently held onto a sizable slice of the figurative pie. Peter Pan has maintained this consistency in a number of ways. Most obviously, their peanut butter mascot is a character we all recognize and associate with the golden afternoons of our youth; Peter Pan is, after all, the boy who never wants to grow up. This has kept Peter Pan entrenched in the pantries of 30-somethings yet to become Jif-moms, as well as recently divorced men trying to forget the most recent decade of their quickly fading lives. 

Another area where Peter Pan has been in front of the curve is in the way they have packaged their spread. Originally sold in tin cans with a turn key, they switched to glass jars as metal became scarce (and expensive) during the second World War. Then in 1988, they were again front-runners, as they became the first major player to start selling peanut butter in plastic jars. They have never been the class of the peanut butter industry, but they have survived by being a little bit cheaper and by holding onto a chunk of loyal consumers. 

In February of 2007, Peter Pan took a huge hit when their product was linked to 425 cases of salmonella across the US, the first such outbreak in the history of US peanut butter. They were forced to recall all peanut butter produced at the ConAgra-owned Sylvester plant dating from as early as 2005. This was a costly misstep in an unforgiving market, especially when they had succeeded for so long by staying out of the news. 

While they have held steady through this controversy, they are still dealing with the fallout many years later. In a more recent salmonella-contaminated peanut butter scare in 2012, they had to publicly defend themselves, though their plants had nothing to do with the incident. On the Peter Pan peanut butter website, under ‘frequently asked questions,’ the final two questions on the list are about the 2007 outbreak and about more recent recalls. This seems to be an association that just won’t fade away from the publics consciousness. Peanut butter consumers care about reasonably priced spreadable nuts… but they also care about safety.

ConAgra Foods

One has to wonder whether Peter Pan’s shaky safety record has anything to do with their parent corporation ConAgra foods. Of the three corporations on the current peanut butter-sales podium, ConAgra is the largest, with total revenues approaching 14 billion dollars per year, 6 billion more than Hormel Foods, and almost triple JM Smucker’s mainly spread-based revenue. ConAgra is also the most diverse of the three, selling everything from Hunt’s ketchup to Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn to Slim Jim’s meat sticks to P.F. Chang’s readymade frozen dinners. These massive profits spread over such diverse foodstuffs means they have the least riding on their yearly peanut butter sales. 

ConAgra has revealed itself to be an uncaring corporate machine on a variety of issues. In a 2006 report by CERES, a nonprofit organization working to address global climate change, 100 leading global companies were scored on their response to climate change; ConAgra scored 4/100, the lowest of any food company evaluated. They have been in the news for labor issues as well, with charges of hiring discrimination in the aftermath of a strike at a plant in California. They settled this suit for $1.5 million. 

Lastly, in 1997, ConAgra pled guilty to federal charges of spraying water on stored grain to increase it weight before sale, also bribing federal inspectors in the process. They ended up paying close to $9 million in fines, compensation for illegal profits, and attorney fees. Multinational Monitor, a corporate watchdog organization, names ConAgra one of the ‘Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s.’ Shay-hay-haydy stuff. 

One has to wonder whether the bigwigs running a corporate giant such as ConAgra truly care about whether Joe-from-down-the-street has a delicious, textured, peanut-based butter in his cabinet that he can count on after a long day at the factory, whether they care about the world Joe’s children are growing up in, or whether they only care about their dirt-smeared bottom line. 

Now, JM Smucker’s and Hormel Foods are not without their own dark, corporate underbellies. But, at least in my investigation, they have done less to get negative press than ConAgra. Since 1998, JM Smucker’s has been listed on FORTUNE Magazine’s annual listing of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work for in the United States,’ even ranking number one in 2004. In 2010 and 2011, Hormel made the Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine’s list of the ‘100 Best Corporate Citizens.’ They also have ‘The Hormel Institute,’ which, in partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, has funded biomedical research for many decades. Not bad at all.

Private-Label and Organic Products

At this point, you have done the math and may be wondering who controls the other 26% of the peanut butter market share. About 19% of the market share is attributable to ‘Private-label,’ peanut butter brands. Private-label products are those manufactured by one company but then sold under another company’s brand name. The Walmarts and Cub Foods and Targets of the world don’t own peanut butter factories; they contract with private-label companies who do.

These companies are inherently tougher to get a read on; their products are disguised by labels of the stores who’s shelves they inhabit. With names like ‘American Blanching Company,’ and ‘Producers Peanut Company,’ these companies are not in the marketing business. They are in the producing business. They keep a low profile, and prefer it that way. You eat their products without knowing, when you buy ‘Market Pantry’ or ‘Kirkland’ brand spreads from your grocer of choice. Often, generic brands available at large food retailers are produced at one factory, by one private-label company, then packaged with various labels and sold with the force of the different grocers behind it. Fascinating. 

The last piece of the market share is controlled by organic or natural peanut butter producers, now controlling 7% of peanut butter sales, a number that is rapidly growing. There are long-standing brands in this small chunk, such as Adam’s Peanut Butter (now owned by Smucker’s) and MaraNatha Natural Peanut Butter. But it is also where new faces can carve out a niche of their own, such as Monkey Butter, which was founded in 2011 and has already made its way onto the shelves of many higher end grocery stores. 

This final 7% of the peanut butter market is also where some of the fiercest competition is taking place between established producers, with Jif and Skippy both recently coming to the market with all-natural options of their own. Another example is Old Home Foods, a traditionally dairy-based brand that has, in recent years, come out with a line of natural peanut butters, looking to build brand loyalty among the choosier customers in the grocery aisle. The fact that these established brands are innovating in this sector suggests that this 7% share of the market may swell in the coming years, though this won’t necessarily mean more profits for the little fish in the viscous peanut butter pond.

Oil Chemistry

Switching gears a little bit, an explanation of the differences between peanut butters that are purportedly ‘natural,’ versus those that admit to being processed, might be useful here. 

I like foods with less ingredients; it is easier to know that what I’m shoving in my face isn’t going to hurt me when the only things listed are roasted peanuts and salt. I think many of you have similar feelings. One caveat to these brands is that, if the peanut butter you are buying is truly only made of peanuts, its oils will rise to the top, forcing you to slow down your frenzied spreading to an unacceptable rate lest you make a mess in the process.

Many brands will have ‘natural’ on their label, but conspicuously will not include ‘no added ingredients’ on that very same label. That is because they add palm oil to their spreads. Palm oil has a much higher melting point than peanut oil, and therefore at room temperature it remains semi-solid, whereas peanut oil at the same temperature will be liquid.

The reason for this difference in melting points is the content of saturated fats in these oils. Saturated fats have less ‘kinks’ in their carbon chains, allowing them to snuggle together more tightly than unsaturated fats. This also means they more readily stick to each other once they are in your arteries, which is obviously a bad thing, as blood is supposed to flow through those tubes unhindered. 

That is the crux of the issue; the qualities we want from a fat while it’s in our pantry are the opposite of the qualities we want from that fat once it is in our bodies. Palm fruit oil is about 50% saturated fat, while peanut oil is only about 17%. Both Skippy and Jif ‘Natural’ lines of peanut butter have added palm oil (as do many, seemingly more legit brands of ‘natural’ peanut butter… just something to consider). 

Another type of fat that will extend shelf life and reduce separation are ‘trans fats.’ These are most commonly natural vegetable oils that are artificially hydrogenated. This process reduces the natural kinks in these fatty chains, giving them the qualities desired for our pantries. (Recall… this process was first introduced to the peanut butter industry by Joseph Rosefield, leading to both Peter Pan and Skippy… and the modern American peanut butter era). Research has shown that these types of fats are at least as bad as saturated fats (pound for pound) and more than likely are the worst possible type to put in our bodies. Trans fats have been shown to markedly raise bad cholesterol levels, and have been loosely linked to colon cancer, among other really unhealthy things. 

Processed varieties of peanut butter often use these hydrogenated vegetable oils because they are cheaper than more natural, saturated fat alternatives (and perhaps because they extend shelf life even further). The tricky part of this corporate double-cross is that, food regulations only require you put trans fats on your label if the product has more than 0.5 grams of the stuff per serving; if there is less than this, companies are free to put ‘0g trans fats’ under their nutrition facts. It seems pretty dishonest, but it isn’t illegal. An easy way to see behind this curtain is to check the ingredients; you will see ‘partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,’ or some such conceit, toward the end of the list. 

So… What’s The Sitch?

That was sort of an extensive introduction. But without a working knowledge of the major players in this tragic comedy, the analysis would fall short. And if you don’t think this delicious, versatile, tan, American paste is as fascinating as it gets, then I suppose you’re either a communist, an illegal immigrant, or God forbid, both. 

By now you may be thinking, “I still don’t know which variety of peanut butter to buy.”

The answer to this question is not the same for every peanut butter enthusiast. It probably isn’t even the same for a single purchaser over the course of a year. That said, while there may not be correct answers, there are wrong ones. 

I’ll start with peanut butter-specific forks in the road. First of all, crunchy or smooth. This is largely a matter of opinion, and again, you don’t have to make one decision and stick with it (no pun intended) forever. I personally am probably a 2/3rds crunchy man, but I’ll snag a pint of smooth now and again, especially during a summery month when I’m feeling especially carefree and don’t need the added grit.

Once you decide on a general texture category, next in this decision is whether to go with a natural product or a processed version. 

One understandable reason to by natural peanut butter is for the health reasons mentioned earlier; just remember to check that label and make sure it only says peanuts and salt (and maybe sugar if you want that). While the jury is still out on trans fats versus saturated fats, neither are great in large quantities (i.e. eight spoonfuls of pure P-butter to the dome), and substituting one for the other is sort of missing the point.

The other problem with natural options is they are always going to be more expensive. Then again, with how salivarily-stimulating peanut butter is, the most expensive jar is still a great deal. If a little extra cost isn’t that big of a deal for you, the truly natural option is sort of the obvious way to go. I recommend Old Home Peanut Butter, as it is a Minnesota company, it is reasonably priced (as far as natural peanut butters go) and it is damn delicious. 

If you aren’t fixated on a few unhealthy ingredients when it comes to such an overall incredible foodstuff, especially within a life of much worse health-related decisions, a palm oil-augmented ‘natural’ variety can be a decent not-quite-all-the-way-processed middle option. This is especially true for those generally unable to make a decision and stand by it, for those unable to commit to anything in life let alone a definitive variety of peanut butter, for those who would rather continue to live a lie than admit to themselves that they have no control over the direction they are headed…for those people, the name-brand ‘natural’ peanut butters might really be perfect. [I can’t confirm or deny that I have some Skippy Natural in my pantry right now.]

But, once you’ve really settled on living a little bit and going fully processed, splurging on a product that won’t separate, that will undoubtedly taste awesome, and that is more in your price range, the choice becomes murky once again. 

In the processed PB conversation, the difference between the price, taste and nutritional values of each brand are squeezed into such narrow ranges that those qualities may not be the best fulcrums on which to hinge the decision. All of the processed name brands cost nearly the same amount per ounce, plus or minus a few cents. All peanut butter tastes really, really good, especially processed varieties. And they all have hydrogenated vegetable oils, at least in small (but significant) amounts. So deciding which to buy requires going further down the considerations list, to the company that produces them, and maybe even to the probability that the chosen spread will be around to purchase for years to come. 

We’ve already been through why ConAgra is the least trustworthy corporation among the top three peanut butter sellers in our discussion, and we don’t need to restate those flaws. With such small differences between peanut butter candidates, there’s no reason to spend my money on Peter Pan Peanut Butter, when it probably means adding another pinstriped suit to the wardrobe of some douche in a ConAgra skyscraper (I buy a lot of peanut butter). Don’t buy Peter Pan, regardless of how much you miss your childhood. 

That was the easy one. Now we enter into the age-old debate, Jif or Skippy? I guess I really could have started this article with that line. But I didn’t, and we are all better for it. Jif or Skippy… I’ll end this quick. Skippy. There it is. 

This was a tough decision for me, and so during the few weeks thinking about this article, I’ve gone through a jar of each. I’ll start by saying, both were worth every stinking Abraham Lincoln-stamped copper coin I spent (and I did pay for them in pennies. The cashier wasn’t amused until I showed him how he made it into my whatsthesitch.com article… turns out he’s a huge fan, so we are on good terms now, me and that cashier). 

Jif tastes great. They have a solid marketing team that regularly produces quality slogans and memorable advertising campaigns. Their jars are simple, yet attractive. And I respect JM Smuckers as a company. They know what they are good at, which is delicious spreads, and they focus on their strengths. They have a long, rich history of high-quality products and American elbow grease. But those things just aren’t enough to overcome the seductive aura that Skippy is able to create. It is hard to explain attraction, but I’ll try.

First of all, Skippy is owned by Hormel, which is another Minnesota company. While this is an unfair advantage, and I should try to stay unbiased, I’d be lying if the brand’s current ties to my home state didn’t influence me in some way. 

Next, when looking at the Skippy brand itself, not at Hormel, or JM Smuckers, Skippy was there from the beginning of the modern American peanut butter era. It is a friggin’ classic. As I mentioned before, Joseph Rosefield, the man who started the trend of hydrogenating oils in peanut butter, started the Skippy peanut butter brand in 1933. Jif didn’t get into the game until 1958!! They were still a twinkle in their father’s eye the entire time Skippy was providing comforting peanut spread to scared Americans during World War II AND the Korean War! You can’t beat a classic. 

Next, Skippy’s crunchy option is called ‘Super Chunk.’ That’s awesome. It is definitely more crunchy than Jif’s crunchy option. At least I’m pretty sure. Now that I think about it, Skippy does not offer a ‘Regular Chunk’ option… but they wouldn’t say ‘Super’ unless it was more crunchy than a regular crunchy peanut butter, right? I’m not going to overthink it. I’m glad it’s in their repertoire. 

Furthermore, Jif has about one-third of the peanut butter market. They have held the top spot since 1981. Everyone buys Jif. Who wants to root for the team that wins all time? I want to root for a lovable underdog with a legitimate shot at the title. Skippy finds has found a perfect middle ground, where they are a successful, but not nauseatingly successful. 

Which brings me to the next point in the Jif vs. Skippy debate: the future. A stranglehold on the Chinese market, along with the powerful www.peanutbutter.com will both undoubtedly start paying dividends in the decade to come. Also, while JM Smucker’s' focused mission is in many ways a positive, I do worry about the lack of diversity in their portfolio. They are really counting on America to continue to eat peanut butter and jelly at a similar rate moving forward. We all know this infallible sandwich isn’t being left off the menu for the majority of sane, hardworking people in this great country, not now, not never. But sugar is in the news more and more. Carbs are taking hits left and right. As people try to eat less bread, jelly and peanut butter may suffer because of it. Hormel is far better equipped to deal with a movement away from bread than JM Smuckers. Now, I’m not here to recommend which company’s stock to buy or anything; in that discussion I have no idea. All I’m saying is, if you give your loyalty to one of these brands now, and plan on living and eating peanut butter for the next 60 to 100 years, you might want to choose the brand that will still be a major force way down the line. 

Lastly, I like the name. Skippy. Makes me giggle. It has a playful quality that gets me excited to buy their product, run home, and eat it. Jif feels a little more functional, keeping the youth of America nourished. It is the choice for choosy moms. That’s very important, of course, but it doesn’t make me daydream about cracking open a fresh jar and diving in headfirst. 

For all of those reasons, when choosing between the top two behemoths of the American peanut butter industry, I’m happy to say I choose Skippy brand.

Lastly, the private-label option… this is admittedly an intriguing one. These jars often go for up to 50 cents less than one of the name brands, and they don’t make you think about who you are buying from. But honestly, that’s my problem with them. What are they hiding? Why don’t they take pride and responsibility for the creamy spread they’ve painstakingly produced? Why do they allow Rainbow Foods or Safeway to take credit? They are counting on mindless consumers, stunned from astringent lighting and identical aisles, to reflexively grab a generic tub off of an aluminum shelf, and continue shuffling past, overfilled carts cold from the lack of familiar brandname items. 

In some cases, generics are great, such as with medicines. That is a realm where removing all emotion from the purchasing decision makes a lot of sense. These two drugs are exactly the same. One is cheaper. That’s the one I’ll buy. 

I don’t want purchasing peanut butter to be as logical and calculating as all of that. And that is what these private-label companies are pushing us toward. Buying peanut butter should still be a romantic pursuit, where there is no objectively correct answer. I want to live in a world where a catchy slogan paired with a well-designed jar and a splash of that special-something will influence me into buying somebody’s product. 

So, if you are loyal to a grocery provider, such as a Target or Costco, then by all means, buy the peanut butter option that they provide. But when you’re at a grocery store that you don’t have any loyalty to, that you don’t frequent as often, or one that you aren’t proud to be inside of (re: Walmart, Kmart, etc.) make sure to consider what other brand names might speak more directly to you; what companies might spend more of their day thinking about the people in this country who love peanut butter.

Appendix A

• Best peanut butter for a classic PB & J on white bread = Skippy Creamy
• Best peanut butter for a hearty PB & J on grainy, wheat bread = Old Home All Natural Crunchy
• Best peanut butter for dipping an apple slice into = Old Home All Natural Honey Creamy
• Best peanut butter for dipping a carrot into = Old Home All Natural Creamy
• Best peanut butter for ants on a log = Skippy Super Chunk
• Best peanut butter for spooning directly from the tub = Skippy Super Chunk
• Best peanut butter for vegetarians in search of protein = Check your co-op
• Best peanut butter for spreading on your balls and having your dog… nvm = Skippy Creamy
• Best peanut butter on a budget = Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter (Walmart)
• Best peanut butter for a hippie on a budget = 365 Crunchy Peanut Butter (Whole Foods)
• Best peanut butter for making peanut butter cookies = Skippy SuperChunk
• Best peanut butter for making a peanut sauce = Old Home All Natural Creamy
• Best peanut butter for a busy family of six = Two-pack of Jif Creamy
• Best peanut butter for grandparents who only have it around to feed to their grandkids = Peter Pan Creamy 

References

Extensive research was done in the writing of this article… unfortunately, almost none of it was recorded. All of the facts can be found within the top six links of a well-worded Google search. Much of the supporting information was found on Wikipedia or the companies’ own websites.