Knott’s Berry Farm jam discontinued from store shelves

Knott’s Berry Farm, mostly known for its California theme park, just announced several food products that will no longer be sold on store shelves.

Items such as its homestyle jellies, jams and fruit preserves will cease to be available to purchase at grocery stores nationwide, per The Takeout.

However, as reported by USA Today, the brand’s fruit preserves and jams are still available through the Knott’s Berry Farm online marketplace through its theme park.

The company’s statement

Per the brand’s homepage, “Knott’s Berry Farm brand has been discontinued and is no longer being sold.”

Despite the jams and jellies being discontinued, the jam-filled cookies are still available to shoppers.

“The Knott’s Berry Farm brand (cookies are) not discontinued from grocery stores or any other channel of business,” according to Rob Gallitto, vice president of retail and specialty at Biscomerica, who spoke to Today.

“Biscomerica (Rialto, California) is the sole licensee to bake and market Knott’s Berry Farm cookies to all classes of trade,” Gallitto said. “Our 300 employees at our family run bakery work hard to bake this iconic brand daily.”

Frank Cirillo, senior manager of corporate communications for J.M. Smucker, told USA Today the brand’s decision “is in alignment with (Smucker’s) strategy to continuously evaluate our portfolio and ensure we are dedicating resources to the areas with the greatest growth potential.”

Cirillo added, “We appreciate the fans of the brand and look forward to continuing serving them through our other offerings.”

History of Knott’s Berry Farm

Per the brand’s website, Knott’s Berry Farm first started at the end of 1920, when Walter Knott and his cousin Jim Preston — who was a berry farmer — leased land together in Buena Park, California, to plant and grow berries.

Through trial and error, the Knott family eventually bought the land in 1927, and a year later, upgraded from selling their product at a roadside stand to their “Knott’s Berry Place” home — where Walter’s wife, Cordelia Knott, used the berries to make jams and pies, which instantly became a hit with customers.

After gaining more popularity from selling fried chicken dinners, in 1940, Walter envisioned a way to grow the brand and entertain his patrons: a faux Western-style town called Ghost Town. Once finished, it showcased an old Western main street — which grew a life of its own and became a hot photo spot for customers and sightseers alike.

With more years of development came an assortment of theme park attractions: trains, theaters, gold panning, log rides and roller coasters, among many other entertaining activities that the Knott family has implemented over nearly a century.

According to Today, the Knott family had barely any room to grow berries due to the amount of attractions. Because of this, they sold a partial amount of their brand in the 1980s first to Biscomerica to make their cookies, and then to Conagra in 1995 to produce their jams and preserves.

In 1998, the J.M. Smucker company acquired Conagra’s portion of Knott’s Berry Farm products, per Fox Business.