Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1897
J. M. Smucker Company
Jerome Monroe Smucker began selling apple butter in Orrville in 1897; the company incorporated in 1921 and added preserves and jellies.
At a glance
- Year
- 1897
- Company
- Smucker's
- Place
- Orrville, Wayne County ZIP 44667 · Orrville · Wayne County
The story
In the 1890s farm families put up their own fruit and apples for the winter. Jerome Monroe Smucker saw that apple butter could be sold ready-made. He opened his business in Orrville, Ohio in 1897 and sold it from the back of a horse-drawn wagon.
The company was incorporated in 1921 and brought out its trademark glass jar in 1939, after which annual sales reached $1 million. It went public in 1959 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1965. By 1980 it was the number one jams and jellies company in the United States, with over 25 percent of that market.
Later it bought other brands: Jif and Crisco in 2002, Folgers coffee for $3.3 billion in 2008, Big Heart Pet Brands for $5.8 billion in 2015 and Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion in 2023.
Smucker's is still headquartered at 1 Strawberry Lane in Orrville, with about 8,000 employees and four business units.
Timeline
- 1897: Jerome Smucker starts selling apple butter from a wagon in Orrville. (Orrville, OH) source
- 1921: The company is incorporated. (Orrville, OH) source
- 1939: Smucker's introduces its trademark glass jar; sales reach $1 million. (Orrville, OH) source
- 1959: The company goes public. (Orrville, OH) source
- 1980: Smucker's is the number one U.S. jam and jelly company with over 25 percent of the market. (United States) source
- 2002: Smucker's buys Jif and Crisco. (Orrville, OH) source
What it changed
- Number one U.S. jams and jellies maker by 1980.
- About 8,000 employees today.
Why it matters
Became large national brand.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.