ATLANTA, Ga. — People stuck at home during this challenging time are turning to comfort foods as a way to cope with the unknown. As Americans balance working from home and taking care of their families, peanut butter has become a go-to staple.
Many peanut butter manufacturers reported a huge uptick in peanut butter sales in March. Recently, J.M. Smucker reported seeing unprecedented demand for peanut butter. The company quickly implemented changes to manage supply by shifting their focus to products with the highest demand like JIF creamy peanut butter. They also see consumers shifting back to legacy brands like JIF.
A national specialty brand says limited choices in some categories has led some consumers to try new brands, flavors and packaging formats. Someone who usually buys jarred peanut butter might try squeeze packs. Or someone who usually buys a mainstream brand might try a natural or specialty brand. Or someone who only buys crunchy might try a flavored peanut butter.
“The trends we’re seeing are that consumers are turning to foods that are easy to prepare and serve, have long shelf lives, are affordable and provide a feeling of comfort, familiarity and safety. Peanut butter delivers on all of these,” one brand owner tells NPB.
Another big trend several peanut butter brands report seeing is the overall increase of e-commerce. One national specialty brand says Amazon volume is staggering. And another brand struggled to keep up with demand generated by Amazon sales in March.
Not only are people buying more peanut butter, they’re also talking about it more. A recent National Peanut Board analysis found that in a recent one-month period there has been a 95 percent increase in peanut butter conversation on social media compared to last year. *
Recent conversation around peanut butter is driven by odd combinations or indulgent consumption moments linked to comfort or boredom, recipes, nutrition/health tips and affordability. Additionally, due to the high demand for peanut butter right now, consumers are also talking about the lack of stock in retail stores, and there is also conversation about peanut butter being highly requested for food banks.
— National Peanut Board