Dive Brief:
- The J. M. Smucker Company will construct a new manufacturing facility in Longmont, CO, for its Smucker’s Uncrustables sandwiches, with production expected to begin in 2019, according to Food Business News.
- The company has seen its Uncrustables sandwich sales increase nearly 2,000% since 2000. Sales were around $200 million in 2016, the latest in a consecutive 17-quarter streak of double digit growth in U.S. retail sales.
- Uncrustables sandwiches are already being manufactured in a Scottsville, KY facility that will continue to produce up to 2 million sandwiches per day. The Colorado facility is expected to double that output.
Dive Insight:
Any company that announces the formation of new American-based facilities and the addition of jobs is going to get President Trump’s seal of approval (and possibly a nice Twitter shout out), so Smucker is wise to make this announcement right now. More than 500 jobs will be created by the time the facility is up and running.
The pre-made snack meal category has been on the rise for years. Demand for convenience foods in the U.S. is driven largely by busy consumer lifestyles, food prices and food budgets. Ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals and snack products made up more 26% of the average American household food budget between 1999 and 2010, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
Given this trend, and the enormous growth of Uncrustables, increasing production is a savvy decision.
A recent study by Nielsen showed that there are more convenient meals available in the frozen aisle; more busy families are seeking healthy and convenient options for dinner. The Smucker’s Uncrustables product may fall more into a snack category than a full meal, but millennials and younger demographics find nothing wrong with eating one of these as a meal replacement at any time during the day.