The History of Uncrustables

Crustless sandwiches have been around for centuries, from the crustless tea sandwiches served during tea ceremonies in Britain to the crustless pre-made sandwiches sold in Japanese convenience stores. And of course, parents have been cutting the crusts off their children’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches since they first became popular in the wake of World War II. In 1995, David Geske and his friend Len Kretchman were making crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their children at Geske’s home in Fargo, North Dakota. Their wives, Kristen and Emily, joked that the two men should start a crustless sandwich business. Geske and Kretchman took the comment seriously and began to work on a way to produce a large amount of crustless PB&Js. Keeping the sandwich intact during storage and transportation was an issue, but after much trial and error, they discovered that lining both slices of bread with peanut butter and sandwiching the jelly in the middle helped keep the sandwich from getting soggy, while crimping the edges kept the filling from seeping out of the sides. They found that once frozen, the round sandwiches could be thawed and enjoyed at any time without parents needing to cut off the crusts; this also gave kids the power to grab a crustless sandwich easily whenever they felt hungry. A friend’s son provided a name: Incredible Uncrustables. Through their business Menusaver, the two men began to distribute their pre-made crustless PB&J sandwiches to various school districts. School administrators appreciated the convenience and low price point for feeding large amounts of children, and soon, Geske and Kretchman were providing Incredible Uncrustables to school districts in 8 states at the price of $7.38 per dozen. They also filed a patent for their unique method of sandwich preparation, which was granted in 1999. The filing caught the attention of the J.M. Smucker Company (Smucker's). In 1998, the food giant purchased Geske and Kretchman’s company — including the soon-to-be-approved patent for Uncrustables — for $1 million. When Smucker's released their renamed Smucker’s Uncrustables nationally in 2000, the product was an immediate hit. Albie’s, a 1987 meat pie/pasties business owned by Regan Quaal, also noticed this and rolled out a similar product called E.Z. Jammers. Smucker's sued for patent infringement and thus began a lengthy legal battle that lasted until 2005, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against Smucker's on its attempt to nab two additional patents. (However, Smucker's has continued to send cease-and-desist letters to various alleged copycats over the years.) Today, Smucker’s Uncrustables are available in several varieties, including Strawberry, Grape, Raspberry, and Wheat. Over 4 billion Uncrustables have been produced and while they are certainly popular with kids, they are also widely popular among adults, especially NFL players; U.S. football teams reportedly consume over 4,300 Uncrustables per week! Needless to say, the unique sandwiches remain extremely popular today.