Sounds like this is going to be fun! Can't wait to get started!!!

Hi Everyone!

I can't wait!  Peanut butter is one of my fave foods!

I'm excited to be part of this group!

Best,

Rembrandt

 Hi Everyone!

Good luck to you all on hopefully winning the extra$100!

I love Peanut Butter, let's get started!

-Klimt

Hi gang

This will be terrific.  I must admit to having a secret obsession with peanut butter, so I'll have lots to say on the topic.  Can't wait to get started.

Hi All
I just wanted to respond to the introduction from Chris briefly. I just wanted to say that I am excited to be a part of this focus group as it is my true belief taht consumer opinions are very important specifically to the marketability of a product. he other reason i'm excited about being a part of this group is the topic. "PEANUT BUTTER" A subject that illicits childhood memories and grown up experiences. I look foward to participating .

PS thank goodness typo's are OK , HAHA

I live in Chicago with my hubby and our three cats.  Also, I love peanut butter!  It's a great snack or an easy thing to eat if I'm on-the-go.  I feel like it really keeps me feeling full...but is also pretty healthy!

I prefer smooth peanut butter...and I tend to go for the organic versions (which often need to be stirred a bit).  I also buy freshly ground peanut butter at Whole Foods and it's very fresh!  Another thing that I've discovered is whipped peanut butter...it's delicious! 

An ideal peanut butter moment for me would be eating a banana with peanut butter while curled up on the sofa at home.  I love the banana flavor mixed with the peanut butter!

If peanut butter no longer existed, I'd probably be bummed but alright.  (Heck, I studied abroad in college and it practically doesn't exist in Europe.)  However, it is a favorite food of mine...so if it no longer existed, I'd be sad.  I'd miss the thick consistency of the peanut butter and especially the taste of peanut butter mixed with banana or chocolate.  I might replace it with almond butter...not as good but similar in certain ways.

 I live in Lawrence Indiana about 30 minutes north of downtown Indianapolis. There are always at least 2 jars of peanut butter in our house at all times. I like the chunky kind and my wife likes the smooth. I usually eat it as a dessert or on waffles and my wife likes it on a sandwich or on apples and celery. She is the healthy one. My favorites are Jif and Reeses. I prefer the mainstream types of peanut butter. The taste reminds me of when I was a kid and the natural, fresh ground is too runny for me. It separates and is gross. We mostly just buy Jif. I guess that's because both my wife and I grew up with it. An ideal peanut butter moment for me would be 2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream with 3 huge spoonfuls of Jif peanut butter finally covered with maple syrup - all of this after a meal of BBQ chicken! I would be very upset if peanut butter no longer existed. It's also in a lot of my favorite candy bars so that too would upset me. I also think that George Washington Carver would also be upset if peanut butter no longer existed!

Hi everybody.

I live in New York City, on the upper west side.  I am married and have four kids.

Peanut butter plays a few different roles in my life.  As a mom, its my secret weapon to get my kids to actually eat.  I can put it on pretty much anything and they'll eat it.  Broccoli goes from being a bad guy to hero with just one spoonful smoothed across the top.  I know, I know.  Broccoli and peanut butter?  You'd be surprised by the concotions my four year old can come up with.  And its also my secret vice in the afternoons.  I can convince myself that I'm "just having a few crackers" for a snack, but when you layer those wheat thins with PB...its a whole different kind of experience!  Crunchy crackers with creamy peanut butter..the best.

I'm pretty much a purist when it comes to PB.  Historically I've always chosen Skippy and continue to do so for my kids.  For me, though, I am now eating Trader Joe's unsalted peanut butter because I think it has less sugar.  I've never dipped into those flavored peanut butters or anything.

My ideal moment is when I can sneak away from my screaming rascals of children and have a "me moment" with the peanut butter jar.  And if it wasn't there anymore?  Well, I suppose I'd fill the moment with something equally or more indulgent..dark chocolate maybe? 

I think that's all for now.

My name is Cynthia I live in Bronx, NY . Where does peanut butter fit into my life? This was a very interesting question and one I had never considered . Until today. It's funny really prior to today I would ahve said that peanut butter doesn't fit into my life but I found in thinking about it that this is not true. Peanut butter for me and my family ahs always been a staple, a comfort food. It was a food to paired with jelly and given to finicky kids (with the crusts cut off, of course!).

The other childhoood memory I ahve of peanut butter is that it was to be used to make wonderful peanut butter cookies - with the crisscrosses! These days peanut butter at home is used pretty much the same way as a comfort food.

 My favorite peanut butter is classic smooth Skippy  - the kind I buy usually depends on the occasion I'm buying it for (certain things like bananas  require crunchy!).

An "ideal peanut butter moment" for me is one that reminds me of home and childhood. It amkse me feel warm, loved and cared for. As I saiaid before I never really paid attention to the role of peanut butter in my life but now that I ahve I know that there would be a definite void if peanut butter did not exist anymore. I mean what I offer or prepare when my kids are looking for a healthy afternoon snack?

As far as I know, most peanut butter is sold in jars.  However, when I've purchased it fresh at Whole Foods it came in a plastic container.  I've noticed that organic versions (the ones that separate) tend to be sold in glass jars.  Honestly, I think that's a horrible idea.  Typically, the oil that separates makes the packaging really slippery and, when you add glass into the picture, it can be a recipe for disaster!

When I was a kid, we always bought Skippy Peanut butter.  So I have great memories of eating Skippy straight from the jar with a spoon!  Now I typically buy whatever is organic.  Usually I'll get 365 brand which you can find at Whole Foods.  However, I have also purchased Whole Foods' own peanut butter that they sell in the produce section.  That particular brand comes in a plastic tub.

For me, I tend to associate glass jars with highly quality...although, I really don't like the glass because it makes for pretty slippery packaging.  Peanut butter in a plastic tub would probably connote low quality for me...unless I purchased it from a farmer's market or had another reason to believe that it was really fresh.

 There are two kinds of peanut butter that I know about. First there is the kind that comes in a jar and second there is the kind that I've seen in those big 5 gallon buckets at the fancy grocery stores - I think that's the natural/organic kind that's runny and I don't like. My wife and I use JIF. She takes P & J sandwiches to work and has it as a snack on apples and veggies. She makes these things called ants on a log. It's peanut butter smeared into a piece of celery then topped with raisins - get it, ants on a log. It's really good and she says it's healthy for us. I like peanut butter on my waffles on Sunday morning with some syrup and maybe twice a week or so I have it on my ice cream. My wife sometimes buys those crackers in the store that already have peanut butter in between them. I don't know the brand name though. We use JIF because that's both what we grew up eating and we are very familiar with it. Even looking at the jar in the store reminds me of being a little kid sitting by the pond with my brown bag lunch of  P & J and chips. I know what I'm buying every time I pick up a jar of JIF!

Honestly, I would probably think that this brand was low-quality.  The picture on the front looks very low-budget.  I would probably not expect much from this peanut butter.

I might find this peanut butter in a gas station.

 I have never bought this brand of peanut butter before. It looks like that fancy hummus stuff that my wife buys. Peanut butter should come in a large jar - not something that looks like a fancy dip. The OLDE STYLE across the top makes me think that maybe this company used to make salsa and now they are trying their hand at peanut butter but forgot to change the design of the package. I wouldn't know what to expect from this peanut butter, I don't think it would taste very good at all. Maybe you would buy this at a fancy grocery store like whole foods.

Can you say "cheap & chintzy"?  I would definitely not buy this.  Looks very sketchy.  Bad graphics too.  What's up with that dancing peanut?  And I thought Olde Style was salsa?

Hello,
This package says BORING to me. Sure, it may be healthy. Sure, it's probably got far fewer preservatives than my beloved can of Skippy. But come on!!! Since when does healthy have to mean brown and boring?

I do like the plastic container vs. the jar. It suggests that it is fresher (like hummus or pre-made salsa). I would expect to find this in the deli section of my grocery store (near the olives, feta, etc.)

To me, the Skippy brand reminds me of childhood because I ate so much of it as a kid!  The packaging has really bright colors and seems really kid-friendly.  Having "Fuel the Fun" written on the jar makes it seem like an energetic, fun brand.

Since the packaging is a plastic jar, my first reaction is that it's a popular, mainstream brand of peanut butter. 

I tend to associate Smuckers with jelly and have never really had their peanut butter.  So I wouldn't think that it would be as good as Skippy.  I tend to think of Jiff as being a similar brand that's similar to Skippy.  I also tend to think of Peter Pan in the same genre.  All three brands are brands that I would probably make a child's peanut butter and jelly sandwich with.  They are all dependable and good tasting brands of peanut butter.  I probably wouldn't use the Smuckers since I don't typically think of them as a maker of peanut butter....just like if Skippy made jelly, I probably wouldn't buy it.

OK... Gotta run. I have to drop my kids off at school and pick up the dry cleaning -- oh, and run by the grocery store. This conversation has inspired me to add more peanut butter to my list! I'll be back in a few hours to check in again.

 I like Skippy but we've only bought it once or twice. Skippy to me stands for good ole American peanut butter! The packaging makes me feel like a kid again-reminds of summertime back in Indiana. JIF seems old fashioned to me and Skippy seems more upbeat and kid like. Smuckers to me says jelly, do they also make peanut butter? If so, I didn't know that. JIF means good, quality peanut butter and Smuckers means jelly to me.

Skippy is the definitive peanut butter.  For me it is the one & only.  When I eat Jif, it just doesn't taste right.  Kinda like when I get a mocha from Caribou and not from Starbucks.  its just not the same.

Smuckers means that weird guy on the Today Show who talks about old people's birthdays.  I'm never sure why Smuckers sponsors that, but they always show up there.  I don't think Smuckers makes peanut butter, do they?  I thought they were only jams.

Skippy suggests childhood fun. It reminds me of after-school snacks and peanut butter and jellies (with the crusts cut off!)
The packaging is bright and colorful and much more fun than the rival Jif. In fact, it sort of says. "Yes, we have more sugar than Jif - and we celebrate that fact." Jif's darker colors are more in line with its positioning as "Mom's choice". This package suggests that kids will like it (and Moms will hopefully approve).

I like seeing the pictures of the peanuts on the front and the fact that "Creamy" is so clear. There's nothing worse than grabbing a jar and then realizing it was crunchy!

This product does seem pretty geared towards kids.  I have to say that, as an adult consumer who is interested in organic products, I'd really love it if Skippy would come out with an organic version of their product that was a little more high-end.  Since I tend to purchase organic or freshly ground peanut butter, if Skippy came out with an organic product with more sophisticated packaging, I'd probably be more likely to buy it.

 Skippy doesn't really let me down unless I found out that they don't make chunky peanut butter, but I wouldn't know if they did or not because my wife does all the grocery shopping. If I were in charge of this brand I would create some type of peanut butter product that I could put on my ice cream. Maybe I would also create some type of peanut butter that had maple syrup in it so I could save a step when I'm having my waffles on Sunday morning. I don't really hear that much about skippy so maybe they should advertise more on the televison. The packaging is fun for kids but maybe they should make the packaging for kids and adults.

Could they consider doing a sugar free?  Like I said before, I'm more conscious of what I put in my body these days.  I'd love to have the taste of Skippy paired with an offering that is little easier on my aging body.

And what about to-go options?  I just ate an apple at my desk and was thinking, "gosh this would be better with peanut butter".  But I don't want to drag a whole bottle with me.  Little snack pack sizes or something would be good.

I probably wouldn't expect Skippy to bring out any new products next year because they don't seem like they come out with new products very often.  Their peanut butter is really popular and they seem to do well appealing more to kids.

However, if they came out with an organic, all natural version or even a whipped version, I'd love it! 

 I would hope that they could find a solution to my want for a combo of peanut butter and maple syrup for my waffles. Since they are such a big company if they did something different like this I would think that this could really set them apart from all of the other big companies.

I am a huge fan of organic foods.  I try to purchase organic meats and produce whenever I can.  When I eat organic foods, it really makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my health and it makes me feel like I'm taking good care of my husband.  (I'd give it to the cats too if it wasn't so expensive!!)  As I said before, I really like purchasing organic peanut butter and this is usually what I'll buy when I purchase peanut butter at the store.

I am usually willing to pay the extra money to buy organic/natural foods.  The only thing that prevents me from buying organic is when a product isn't available.  Sometimes, even when I go to Whole Foods, certain types of fruits/vegetables are only available in the conventional version (not-organic).  That's always a let-down.  One of the major reasons why I rarely shop at regular stores now and prefer Whole Foods is that I can't find enough organic foods at the regular store.  

I love the idea of organic peanut butter and I really prefer organic peanut butter over conventional types.

 We don't really purchase natural or organic food. It seems like a lot of people do though so maybe this is something we should consider. We don't buy it because it costs more and my wife says you have to go to all of those speciality stores to get it. Where we live they just aren't close and affordable. We might buy it in the future if the prices come down but the way things are now days I don't know if that's going to happen. Organic, I guess should be an option for people. It's a good idea because in the long run it's probably better for you.

Great so far!  I am actually pretty hungry for peanut butter now!

 I'm doing great, but I wish it were Sunday because as you all know by now that's when I eat waffles, peanut butter and maple syrup!!! Mmmmm it's good. If you haven't had it - what are you waiting for?