In the olden days (lower school) some days your parents would pack you a wonderfully curated spread of lunch; prepackaged apple slices, Babybels, maybe a KitKat or two and the main course, a Smucker’s uncrustable sandwich. In 1996, the J.M. Smucker Company had the brilliant idea to create an easy, delicious and troubleless sandwich; hence, the birth of Uncrustables. This “parenting hack” of a sandwich is frozen, pre-made, and stuffed with sugary jelly and sticky peanut butter, with its edges barren of crust and crimped closed. What could go wrong with such a delectable American favorite?
At some point between fall of 2024 and summer of 2025, Trader Joe’s released its take on an easy, ready to go sandwich fit for school lunches or snacks alike, the Crustless Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwiches. For the low low price of $3.79 dollars for four sandwiches, or $0.95 per sandwich, this crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich becomes a great time-save for kids’ lunches.
Notice the similarity? It’s quite hard to spot the difference between these two almost identical sandwiches both having marketing relating to its easiness to pack in a lunch, have as a snack or even as a dessert. Looking at Smucker’s Uncrustables Frozen Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwich, we can see that at Target, you could purchase a box of four for $4.49, or approximately $1.12 per sandwich, and at Walmart you could purchase a box of ten for $10.46, which is about $1.05 per sandwich. At both of these popularly visited stores, we see that Trader Joe’s is the cheapest option if you want a small peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
On October 13, 2025 the J.M. Smucker Company filed a lawsuit against Trader Joe’s, throwing accusations at the beloved chain for copying the successful Uncrustable sandwiches. The lawsuit claims that Trader Joe’s’ Crustless Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Sandwiches are an imitation of the Uncrustables’ distinguishing features, like the round shape, fun packaging and crimped edges. Not only does Smucker’s state in their 25-page complaint against the Trader Joe’s sandwich that Trader Joe’s copies the “bite” on the packaging, but the packaging omits their brand name, creating confusion between customers.
Smucker’s lawsuit specifically alleges that Trader Joe’s has infringed on trademarks, created a false origin, committed trademark dilution and has deceptive practices in order to gain sales. To expound on some of the aforementioned terminology, trademark infringement refers to the usage of a design/branding that is so similar to another brand that some consumers could assume the two are related. False designation of origin involves marketing that has the potential to mislead buyers into thinking that one of the company’s products is endorsed or created by another. Finally, trademark dilution happens then the imitation of an already well known brand (in this case, Smuckers’ Uncrustables) lessens the distinctiveness of the product.
Smuckers hopes to gain through this lawsuit a court order that requires Trader Joe’s to stop selling the product, pay damages for Smuckers’ lost profits and destroy current packaging for the product. At this time, the case remains pending in the federal court.
But how do the two taste? Is one better than the other? Can the consumer tell the difference between the two strictly between tastes? In the remainder of this article, those questions will be answered.
TEST ONE: TASTE
Which sandwich tastes better? This is an objectively subjective take on the matter, but as a long standing Uncrustables fan, and new Trader Joe’s Crustless fan, my opinion holds great gravity in the matter. In this test, I will be judging the sandwiches based on the following three qualities: taste, peanut butter to jelly ratio and texture. Both sandwiches have been thawed for the same time, approximately 30 minutes, and both sandwiches will have one bite taken of it, approximately ⅕ of it’s size to ensure fairness.
Upon tasting, the Uncrustables sandwich’s bread is pillowy soft while the peanut butter is almost annoyingly thick. What really takes the cake in this sandwich however is the sweet jam that brings back nostalgia of daring myself to eat the entire sandwich in a single bite. Regardless, the Uncrustables is undeniably a delicious classic that is sure to top Trader Joe’s’ Crustless, right?
Eager to find out, with my first bite into the Crustless sandwich I was staring right into the face of disappointment, or in other words, hard crumbly bread that allowed a mix of peanut butter and jelly to flow out onto my hands. Automatic disappointment. However, on the taste aspect, it was also disappointing. My first bite was more bread than anything else, and I’ve already expressed my dislike for that. The ratio of peanut butter to jam was abhorrent, with a faint taste of jelly and a whole lot of peanut butter that to its credit, wasn’t sticky, but also wasn’t great. Overall, this sandwich was a huge letdown and it pales in comparison to Uncrustables.
TEST TWO: INDENFIFIABLE
How different does the alleged copycat sandwich compare to the original? Can the consumer tell the difference between the two similar yet potentially different sandwiches of contention?
From the moment I sunk my teeth into the bread of the first sandwich, I knew I was blessed with the soft bread of beloved Uncrustables, and found myself preparing for the rough bread to scrape against my tongue like sandpaper. Are they identifiable? Absolutely. One’s texture and taste is lovely while the other one…. isn’t.
