Skippy peanut butter no longer in Canada

Skippy Peanut Butter, the second-most popular brand, is no longer available on store shelves, and many Canadians are not happy about it.

Amid all the talk of free-trade negotiations and agreements, a business decision to discontinue distribution of one product-line in Canada, is leaving fans of the peanut spread searching for new sources.

“It was an incredibly difficult decision”

Generally it could mean going over the border in to the United States, where Hormel Foods, the company that owns the brand, is located.

But that won’t necessarily be the answer, as the peanut butter created for the Canadian market had less sugar than the American version, and for some people that just won’t do, Taste is everything.

Skippy was first introduced to Canada in 1933. Available in smooth and crunchy versions, it was the peanut butter of choice for many families.

It’s a staple for breakfast, on toast, for lunch in sandwiches, often with jam, and late night snacks, sometimes even by the spoonful.

Formerly owned by Unilever, it was sold to Hormel, based in Austin, Minnesota, in 2013.

Skippy Peanut Butter is available in more than 60 countries including the United Kingdom and China.

A professor at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, told CBC that the brand may have been the victim of high distribution costs.

“If the economics doesn’t make sense, multinationals like Hormel often decide just not to exploit certain markets.” Sylvain Charlebois, who specializes in food distribution and policy, said.

“We’re a vast country with only 36 million people. The distribution costs are really high,” said Charlebois.  He said the extra cost of mandatory French-labelling may have also been a deterrent. 

For their part, Hormel says it halted selling Skippy in Canada due to competition and pricing that hurt the brand’s profitability.

“It was an incredibly difficult decision to withdraw Skippy peanut butter from the Canadian market,” spokesperson Brian Olson wrote in an email to CBC News.

Meanwhile, several families are hoarding the jars they have acquired now, and savouring the experience, as they continue to search shelves and on-line markets for more.