Product type | Crackers |
---|---|
Owner | Pepperidge Farm |
Country | United States Switzerland Canada |
Introduced | 1962 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Previous owners | Kambly |
Tagline | "The Snack that Smiles Back" |
Website | www |
Goldfish are a 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 crackers were originally invented by Oscar J. Kambly 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, which later became 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]
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",[19] but the product is identical. In Switzerland, the original Goldfish flavor is marketed under the brand name Goldfischli.[2]
Goldfish was also sold in Australia under Arnott's branding.
Pepperidge Farm has created several spin-off products including Goldfish Sandwich Crackers, Flavor-Blasted Goldfish,[20][14] 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, colored Goldfish (come in a variety pack). There was reportedly 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.[21]
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 they were sold at following the recall.[22]
Julia Child liked Goldfish crackers so much, that on Thanksgiving, she often put out a bowl, alongside her famous reverse martini.[23]
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.