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. 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. The product is marketed as a "baked snack cracker" on the label with various flavors and varieties.
History[]
Oscar J. Kambly originally invented goldfish crackers at Swiss biscuit manufacturer Kamblyin 1958 to celebrate his wife, who was a Pisces, an astrological symbol whose shape is of a fish. Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin introduced Goldfish crackers to the United States in 1962 after having tried them while on vacation in Switzerland. 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.In 1997, the smiley face was added to Goldfish, appearing on approximately 40% of the crackers.
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.
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.
Flavors[]
Goldfish crackers are available in many varieties, but start/end dates of production are unknown:
- Original, also known as Saltine.
- Cheddar
- Whole Grain Cheddar
- Parmesan
- Pretzel
- Pizza
- Baby (Cheddar)
- Grahams (Vanilla Cupcake and S'mores)
- Flavor Blasted (Xtra Cheddar, Cheddar & Sour Cream, Salt and Vinegar, Cheddar Jack'd, Sour Cream & Onion, White Cheddar, Xtra Cheesy Pizza)
- Mix
- Frank's RedHot
- Old Bay Seasoned
- Jalapeno Popper
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
- Puffs – launched in the United States in 2013
- Giant Sandwich Crackers
- Giant Goldfish
- 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