The J.M. Smucker Company has lowered its marketing spend as a percentage of sales and in absolute dollars, but says its brand investment remains “solid.”

The maker of Jif, Smucker’s, Folgers, Meow Mix and Milk Bone, said its marketing spend was $95.6 million USD for the Q1 period, compared with $98.5 million USD in the prior year quarter. The company says, however, it remains committed to spending the dollars it had planned at the beginning of the year and says 5.5% of net sales is the marketing spend guidance.

The company also feels “very good about [its] total coffee business,” with a new Folgers ad campaign to “reinvigorate the brand” according to company chair, president and CEO Mark Smucker in Tuesday’s earnings call.

“We are committed to spending the dollars,” Smucker says. These will flow through later in the year. He assured investors the commitment to investing in brands is “solid.” It’s also getting more efficient in marketing spend.

The company says it exceeded its expectations as consumers’ demand for our iconic brands continued in a rising cost environment, driving robust organic top-line growth for our key focus platforms of pet, coffee and snacking.

Its first-quarter net income of $109.8 million beat analyst expectations, but was still down from about $154 million the prior period. The CPG company also posted revenue of $1.87 billion in the period, up from $1.86 billion.

However, its gross profit slumped by $86.9 million USD, or 14%, including an ongoing unfavorable impact related to the May Jif peanut butter product recall. For its U.S. retail food business, net sales plummeted $124.5 million, or 29%.

Smucker says it assessing the Jif impact and managing costs within overall infrastructure to the extent it is able to, and insists there will be improvements through later quarters this year.

Growth in the company’s U.S. pet food business and coffee business were bright spots, with coffee net sales increasing $81.0 million USD, or 13%. The company says the coffee segment profit decreased $5.4 million, primarily reflecting a decreased contribution from volume/mix and increased marketing investment, partially offset by the favorable net impact of higher net price realization and increased commodity costs.

For coffee, Smucker says it is pleased with the performance, and that pricing helped drive dollar growth. Competitors are following suit in pricing, Smucker says, and it’s monitoring consumer behaviour closely. The fact that 70% of cups consumed are done at home, makes the company optimistic.

According to Smucker, for the pet side of the business, Milk Bone has outpaced the pet snacks segment, particularly in the last quarter, and gained share. That’s driven by innovations and premiumization, but also affordable options. Meow Mix is the number one spot in cat, and meets the “value equation for many consumers,” Smucker says.

The company increased its full-year fiscal 2023 financial outlook for net sales, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.