Smucker, Trader Joe's and a Battle Over PB&Js

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, Business News, News

4.2 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

J.M. Smucker is suing Trader Joe's over trademark infringement, accusing the company of copying its pre-made Uncrustables peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. WSJ’s Jesse Newman explores the battle over PB&Js is part of a broader anxiety for Big Food over the rise of private-label products. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening:- Food Fight: PepsiCo vs. Carrefour- Kraft Heinz’s Big BreakupSign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Over the weekend, I went into my kitchen to conduct a very serious, hard-hitting interview.
0:11.0	What is your name?
0:12.1	Bedford.
0:13.0	What's your full name?
0:14.8	Beverly Gendleton.
0:16.1	An interview with my son, Bedford.
0:18.5	And how old are you?
0:20.0	Two.
0:22.6	And who am I? Daddy, doo-doo!
0:24.6	I wanted to ask him about one of his favorite foods, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
0:31.6	So we've got two sandwiches here.
0:34.6	Okay, let's open them up.
0:36.6	Specifically, I wanted to ask him about two competing versions of the PB&J, the uncrustable,
0:44.3	which is made by J.M. Smucker, and an alleged copycat made by Trader Joe's.
0:49.3	If you're unfamiliar, these packaged sandwiches both contain peanut butter and jelly on white bread.
0:55.0	They're both crustless, crimped at the edges.
0:58.0	They kind of look like giant round dumplings.
1:01.0	They're both stored in the freezer and thawed before eating.
1:04.0	I wanted to know, from an expert like my son,
1:07.0	Is it yummy?
1:09.0	It's yummy.
1:13.1	Whether he could tell the difference between the two.
	...

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