Skippy in the City of Angels

Skippy still lives on in Bangkok

Generally, I try to keep my posts pretty light and airy – nothing too serious.  I try to stay away from controversial political and religious entries.  Basically, my aim is to report on daily activities, here in Bangkok, that might hold some modicum of interest for the couple of people that actually read this Blog.

But every so often, I get angry and feel like I need to post an entry that reflects that anger.  This is one of those entries.

Recently, a friend sent me an article from the CBC website, followed up by another article in Fortune, indicating that Hormel foods, the owner of Skippy Peanut Butter, is pulling Skippy out of Canada.  Oh, come on!  How can this company do this to Canadians?  Apparently there are not enough of us Canadians who love Skippy Peanut Butter.  At least that’s what we’re being told.  Hormel, the makers of Spam (ugh), only bought Skippy in 2013 and already they’re dumping us Canadians who love the Skippy name.

The minute I arrived in Bangkok, I went to my local grocery store to check if Skippy was still on the shelves.  To my intense relief, there they were, lots of Skippy jars in various sizes and varieties and at reasonable prices too – 79 baht ($3.10) and 137 baht ($5.40).

It’s clear that the Americans are serious about some kind of trade war with Canada and in addition to softwood lumber, they are taking aim at Skippy.  It’s a shame.  It’s also a good thing that Skippy is still happily ensconced in Thailand.  The Americans probably haven’t noticed that Skippy is still being sold here.  Apparently, it continues to be the number one selling peanut butter in Bangkok.

Of course this is not the first time that my name has appeared in Bangkok.  In April, 2012, I wrote about a food court in a mall that was called Skippy Wonderland.  I thought that it was very nice.  And I am, after all, on billboards in Bangkok – Skippy in blue pyjamas guarding the highways and byways.

It makes me angry to see the Skippy brand disappear form Canadian grocery shelves.  It’s America at war with us.  Fortunately however, the Americans have probably forgotten that Skippy is still happily sitting on grocery shelves in Bangkok.  At least here in the City of Angels, the Skippy name lives on.