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Goldfish (cracker)

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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]

Goldfish
Cheddar Goldfish crackers
Product typeCrackers
OwnerPepperidge Farm
CountrySwitzerland
Introduced1962; 62 years ago (1962)
MarketsWorldwide, except for Armenia, Iran, North Korea, and Syria[citation needed]
Previous ownersKambly
Tagline"The Snack that Smiles Back"
Websitewww.pepperidgefarm.com/product-categories/goldfish-crackers/

History

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]

2000s

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 branded as "Chilean Sea Bass" for one week to appeal for adults.[12][13]

Flavors

Goldfish crackers are available in many varieties, but start/end dates of production are unknown:

Different shapes and colors

These different-shaped Goldfish are all cheddar flavored. There are also different Goldfish mixtures, which are two flavors combined.

  • Colors (same shape as original but different colors using natural colors, Colors: Yellow, orange, red, and green)
  • Princess (colored pink)
  • Mickey Mouse (red crackers in the shape of Mickey's head)
  • Mega Bites (bigger than the original)
  • Star Wars

Discontinued products

  • PhysEdibles – prepared using whole-grains[19]
  • Puffs – launched in the United States in 2013 [20][21]
  • Giant Sandwich Crackers
  • Giant Goldfish [14]
  • Sandwich Snackers
  • Garden Cheddar
  • Mac & Cheese
  • Cars 3 (red crackers in the shape of Lightning McQueen)
  • Flavor Blasted Grahams
  • Cinabuddy Snack Bites
  • Cookies and Cream

International distribution

 
Goldfish crackers in a bowl

Goldfish are exported and sold in countries around the world. In the UK, they are sold under the name "Finz",[22] 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.

Spin-offs

Pepperidge Farm has created several spin-off products, including Goldfish Sandwich Crackers, Flavor-Blasted Goldfish,[23][17] 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.[24]

Recalls

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.[25]

Julia Child liked Goldfish crackers so much that on Thanksgiving, she often put out a bowl alongside her famous reverse martini.[26]

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.

See also

Further reading

  • Spiegel, Alison (November 12, 2014). "Have We Been Eating Goldfish Crackers Wrong This Whole Time?". HuffPost. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  • Opsahl, Kevin (December 1, 1969). "New Goldfish production line opens at Pepperidge Farms plant in Richmond". The Herald Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2017.

References

  1. ^ a b c "6 things you didn't know about "The Snack That Smiles Back"". Campbell Soup Company. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b Myers, Dan (May 4, 2015). "Things you didn't know about Goldfish crackers is that The Goldfish crackers also contain high amounts of sodium, 250 mg per serving. In both children and adults, high intake of sodium can have dire side effects, including cognitive degeneration, kidney damage, high blood pressure, and heart problems". Fox News. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  3. ^ Smith, A.F. (2012). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of what We Love to Eat. ABC-CLIO. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-313-39393-8. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  4. ^ McDonough, J.; Egolf, K. (2015). The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. Taylor & Francis. p. 2321. ISBN 978-1-135-94913-6. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  5. ^ Borsari, Karen. "Fun Facts About Goldfish Crackers: Pepperidge Farm Turns 75". Shape. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  6. ^ "Goldfish - the Original". Kambly SA. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  7. ^ a b Sauer, Patrick J. (19 December 2018). "How Goldfish crackers took over the world". Fast Company. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Our History". Pepperidge Farm. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 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.
  9. ^ Dan Myers. "Things you didn't know about Goldfish crackers". Fox News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  10. ^ Pepperidge Farm (Media Release) (10 January 2005). "Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Character Brought to Life in New Advertising Campaign; Television Spots Are First Chapter in Brand Update". Business Wire. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  11. ^ Doering, Christopher (2024-04-29). "An inside look at the innovation of Campbell Soup's $1B Goldfish crackers brand". FOODDIVE. Industry Dive. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  12. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (October 23, 2024). "Goldfish is changing its name to 'Chilean Sea Bass.' Here's why". CNN Business. Archived from the original on October 23, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Bregel, Sarah (October 23, 2024). "Goldfish gets a sophisticated makeover to woo adult snackers". Fast Company. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e Natow, A.B.; Heslin, J.A. (2004). The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter. Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter. Simon & Schuster. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0-7434-6439-0. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  15. ^ "Goldfish Original Baked Snack Crackers". Pepperidge Farm. January 1, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  16. ^ Cruise, J. (2012). The Belly Fat Cure Sugar & Carb Counter. Hay House. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-4019-4081-2. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "5 Things You Didn't Know About Goldfish Crackers". The Daily Meal. April 24, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  18. ^ "Jalapeno Popper Crackers". Pepperidge Farm. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  19. ^ Brandweek. Adweek L.P. 2006. p. 5. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  20. ^ Hunn, N. (2015). Gluten-Free Classic Snacks: 100 Recipes for the Brand-Name Treats You Love. EBL-Schweitzer. Da Capo Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-7382-1782-6. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  21. ^ "Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish Puffs launched in US." Progressive Media : 2. LexisNexus - Archives. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
  22. ^ "Pepperidge Farms - International". Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  23. ^ Netzer, C.T. (2011). The Complete Book of Food Counts, 9th Edition: The Book That Counts It All. Random House Publishing Group. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-345-53247-3. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  24. ^ Bloomberg, News. "Pepperidge Farm wins appeal in cracker dispute; Federal judge rules that Nabisco cannot sell goldfish-shaped snacks." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 01 Sept. 1999: 2. NewsBank — Archives. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
  25. ^ "Pepperidge Farm® Announces Voluntary Recall of Four Varieties of Goldfish® Crackers" (Press release). 23 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Thanksgiving, Julia Child's way". The Seattle Times. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
 
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