Product type | Crackers |
---|---|
Owner | Pepperidge Farm |
Country | Switzerland |
Introduced | 1962 |
Markets | Worldwide, except for Armenia, Iran, North Korea, and Syria [ citation needed ] |
Previous owners | Kambly |
Tagline | "The Snack that Smiles Back" |
Website | www |
Goldfish is a brand of fish-shaped cracker with a small imprint of an eye and a smile manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. [1] The brand's current marketing and product packaging incorporate this feature of the product: "The Snack That Smiles Back! Goldfish!", reinforced by Finn, the smiling goldfish mascot with sunglasses. [2] The product is marketed as a "baked snack cracker" on the label with various flavors and varieties. [3] [4]
Oscar J. Kambly originally invented goldfish crackers at Swiss biscuit manufacturer Kambly in 1958 [5] [6] to celebrate his wife, who was a Pisces, an astrological symbol whose shape is of a fish. [7] Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin introduced Goldfish crackers to the United States in 1962 after having tried them while on vacation in Switzerland. [8] [9] [10] The five initial flavors of Goldfish crackers launched in the US were lightly salted (later designated "original"), cheese, barbecue, pizza, and smoky. Cheddar cheese, the brand's most popular flavor, was not introduced until 1966. [1] In 1997, the smiley face was added to Goldfish, appearing on approximately 40% of the crackers. [1] [7]
Pepperidge Farm has expanded the Goldfish brand significantly in recent years, introducing numerous limited-time flavors and varieties beyond the traditional cheddar and pretzel options. These included Mega Bites (more giant Goldfish crackers) in 2022 and limited-edition flavors such as Dunkin' Pumpkin Spice Grahams and Frank's RedHot. Due to its popularity, the Frank's RedHot flavor has since been added to the permanent lineup. The company has also experimented with potato-based Goldfish crisps to achieve a potato chip-like flavor.[ citation needed ]
According to Campbell Soup Company, these innovations have contributed to Goldfish's position as the fastest-growing cracker brand in the United States in 2024, with sales increasing by 33% since 2021. [11] In October 2024, the company announced that online sales of the product would be temporarily be branded as "Chilean Sea Bass" to appeal for adults. [12]
Goldfish crackers are available in many varieties, but start/end dates of production are unknown:
These different-shaped Goldfish are all cheddar flavored. There are also different Goldfish mixtures, which are two flavors combined.
Goldfish are exported and sold in countries around the world. In the UK, they are sold under the name "Finz", [21] but the product is identical. In Switzerland, the original Goldfish flavor is marketed under the brand name Goldfischli. [2]
Goldfish was also sold under Arnott's branding in Australia.
Pepperidge Farm has created several spin-off products, including Goldfish Sandwich Crackers, Flavor-Blasted Goldfish, [22] [16] Goldfish bread, multi-colored Goldfish (known as Goldfish-American), and Baby Goldfish (which are smaller than normal). There are also seasonably available color-changing Goldfish and colored Goldfish (come in a variety pack). There was once a line of Goldfish cookies in vanilla and chocolate; chocolate has reappeared in the "100 calorie" packs.
In 1999, Campbell Soup Co.'s Pepperidge Farm won a court case involving Nabisco's Cheese Nips CatDog crackers that had fish-shaped crackers that resembled Goldfish. The court ordered Nabisco to refrain from using the goldfish shape and to recall all their products that included the fish shape. [23]
On July 23, 2018, Pepperidge Farm was notified by one of its ingredient suppliers that whey powder (in a seasoning applied to four varieties of Goldfish crackers) may have the presence of salmonella. The Flavored Blasted Xtra Cheddar crackers were recalled due to a possible risk of the salmonella outbreak. Three other Goldfish varieties (Flavored Blast Sour Slammin' Cream and Onion, Whole Grain Xtra Cheddar, and Goldfish Mix Xtra Cheddar and Pretzel) were also recalled due to contamination of the salmonella bacterium caused by the same affected whey powder used in The Flavored Blasted Xtra Cheddar GoldFish crackers. The contaminated varieties of Goldfish were immediately removed from all stores where they were sold following the recall. [24]
Julia Child liked Goldfish crackers so much that on Thanksgiving, she often put out a bowl alongside her famous reverse martini. [25]
In Season 1, Episode 9 of The West Wing , character Danny Concannon gives C. J. Cregg a pet goldfish after misunderstanding a comment about C.J.'s affinity for the crackers.
A cracker is a flat, dry baked biscuit typically made with flour. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking. Crackers are often branded as a nutritious and convenient way to consume a staple food or cereal grain.
Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Ritz Crackers is a brand of snack cracker introduced by Nabisco in 1934. The original style crackers are disc-shaped, lightly salted, and approximately 46 millimetres (1.8 in) in diameter. Each cracker has seven perforations and a finely scalloped edge. Today, the Ritz cracker brand is owned by Mondelēz International.
Cheez-It is a brand of cheese crackers manufactured by Kellanova through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately 26 by 24 mm, the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese, skim milk, salt, and spices.
Combos, officially called Combos Stuffed Snacks, are cylindrical tubes of cracker, pretzel, or tortilla, available with various fillings.
Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-It, was purchased by Keebler Company in 1996, which was purchased by Kellogg Company in 2001. Around then, Sunshine Biscuits was headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Keebler was located until 2001.
Lance, Inc. is an American brand of snack foods owned by the Snyder's-Lance company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2018, Snyder's-Lance is owned by Campbell Soup Company.
Cheese Nips were a small cheese-flavored cracker manufactured by Mondelez International under its brand, Nabisco, they were originally used to compete against Sunshine Biscuit's Cheez-It crackers.
Wheat Thins is a brand of baked whole grain snack food crackers distributed in the United States and Canada by Mondelez International. The product is also available in Australia through wholesaler USA Foods. Vegetable Thins, Oat Thins, Pita Thins, and Rice Thins, which are all spinoffs of Wheat Thins, are available in Canada and some regions of the United States. Wheat Thins themselves come in many flavors and varieties. Nabisco first introduced the product in 1947.
An animal cracker is a particular type of cracker, baked in the shape of an animal, usually an animal either at a zoo or a circus, such as a lion, a tiger, a bear, or an elephant. The most common variety is light-colored and slightly sweet, but darker chocolate-flavored and colorful frosted varieties are also sold. Although animal crackers tend to be sweet in flavor like cookies, they are made with a layered dough like crackers and are marketed as crackers and not cookies.
Better Cheddars is a brand of baked cheese crackers that are prepared using cheddar cheese as a main ingredient. Better Cheddars are manufactured by Nabisco, a subsidiary of Mondelēz International. In the United States, Better Cheddars are marketed under the "Flavor Originals" trademark, which also includes the Chicken in a Biskit brand. Better Cheddars were first introduced by Nabisco in February 1981. Various flavors of the cracker have been purveyed to consumers.
In a Biskit is a line of snack crackers produced by Nabisco. Originally released in the United States as Chicken in a Biskit in early 1964, the line has since grown to be available internationally with a variety of flavours.
Arnott's Group is an Australian producer of biscuits and snack food. Founded in 1865 by William Arnott, they are the largest producer of biscuits in Australia and a subsidiary of KKR.
Pepperidge Farm Incorporated is an American commercial bakery founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's 123-acre farm property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which had been named for the pepperidge tree.
The Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become one of the largest processed food companies in the United States with a wide variety of products under its flagship Campbell's brand as well as other brands including Pepperidge Farm, Snyder's of Hanover, V8, and Swanson. With its namesake brand Campbell's produces soups and other canned foods, baked goods, beverages, and snacks. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. A snack is often less than 200 calories, but this can vary. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
The cheese cracker is a type of cracker prepared using cheese as a main ingredient. Additional common cracker ingredients are typically used, such as grain, flour, shortening, leavening, salt and various seasonings. The ingredients are formed into a dough, and the individual crackers are then prepared. Some cheese crackers are prepared using fermented dough. Cheese crackers are typically baked. Another method of preparing cheese crackers involves placing cheese atop warm crackers. Cheese crackers have been described as a "high-calorie snack", which is due to a higher fat content compared to other types of crackers.
America gets its first taste of Goldfish crackers in 1962. Margaret Rudkin discovers the snack cracker on a trip to Switzerland and returns with the recipe.