The J.M. Smucker Co. has taken legal action against Trader Joe’s, claiming that the grocery retailer’s newly introduced frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches closely mimic the design and packaging of Smucker’s iconic Uncrustables.
Filed on Monday in an Ohio federal court, the lawsuit details Smucker’s accusation that Trader Joe’s round, crustless sandwiches feature similar pie-like crimping along the edges, a design trademarked by Smucker.
Furthermore, Smucker argues that the packaging of Trader Joe’s sandwiches infringes on its trademarks by using the same shade of blue seen on Uncrustables’ lettering. This similarity extends to the depiction of a sandwich with a bite taken out of it, a visual element that Smucker claims is reminiscent of their own product design.
“While Smucker has no objection to other companies selling frozen, ready-to-eat crustless sandwiches, it cannot permit the use of its proprietary design elements to facilitate such sales,” the company stated in the legal filing.
Representatives from Trader Joe’s, headquartered in Monrovia, California, have not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
A message seeking comment was left with Trader Joe’s, which is based in Monrovia, California.
Uncrustables were invented by two friends who began producing them in 1996 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Smucker bought their company in 1998 and secured patents for a “sealed, crustless sandwich” in 1999.
But it wasn’t easy to mass produce them. In the lawsuit, Smucker said it has spent more than $1 billion developing the Uncrustables brand over the last 20 years. Smucker spent years trying to perfect Uncrustables’ stretchy bread and developing new flavors like chocolate and hazelnut.
Smucker said Trader Joe’s sandwiches are so similar to Uncrustables that they were already confusing customers. In the lawsuit, Smucker showed a social media photo of a person claiming that Trader Joe’s is contracting with Smucker to make the sandwiches under its own private label.
This isn’t the first time Smucker has taken legal action to protect its Uncrustables brand. In 2022, it sent a cease and desist letter to a Minnesota company called Gallant Tiger, which was making upscale versions of crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with crimped edges.
Smucker’s lawsuit comes a few months after a similar lawsuit filed against the Aldi by Mondelez International, which claimed that Aldi’s store-brand cookies and crackers have packaging that is too similar to Mondelez brands like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos.
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