Ritz Crackers is a brand of snack cracker introduced by

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

in 1934. The original style crackers are disc-shaped, lightly salted, and approximately in diameter.. Each cracker has seven perforations and a finely

scalloped Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

edge. Today, the Ritz cracker brand is owned by

Mondelēz International Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in ...

. A single serving of the original cracker (about 5 crackers or 15 grams) provides of food energy, 1 gram of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

, and 4 grams of

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

; the whole wheat variety provides and 2.5 grams of fat.

History

In the early 1900s, the Jackson Cracker company of

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

, developed a small, round cracker called the Jaxon. The company was bought out by Nabisco in 1919. Nabisco introduced the Ritz Cracker in 1934. Looking to compete with the similar ''Hi Ho'' cracker made by their competitor

Sunshine Biscuits 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-Its, was purchased by Keebler Company ...

, they tasked an employee, Sydney Stern, to create a name and a marketing plan. Stern chose the name 'Ritz', which appealed to individuals enduring the privations of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

by offering them "a bite of the good life". He also designed the blue circle/yellow lettering logo design, inspired by the round label inside his hat. In 2011, Ritz was identified in a YouGov poll as the "best perceived snack brand" among American consumers. A cartoon drawing of a box of Ritz Crackers can be seen in '' Mickey’s Surprise Party'' (1939), an animated theatrical advertisement/cartoon short produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

for Nabisco.

United States

Ritz Crackers varieties include Original, Roasted Vegetable, Honey Wheat, Garlic Butter, Reduced Fat, Hint of Salt, Whole Wheat, Everything and Ritz Fresh Stacks.Ritz Products, from the official site
/ref> They are also available as sandwiches with peanut butter and

cheddar cheese Cheddar cheese (or simply cheddar) is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white (or orange if colourings such as annatto are added), and sometimes sharp-tasting. Cheddar originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset. Ched ...

International

Ritz Crackers are available in the United Kingdom and Ireland in three varieties: Original and Cheese flavour are sold in 200 g boxes, and Ritz Cheese Sandwich (a cheese spread sandwiched between two Ritz Crackers) is available in 125 g roll packs and 33 g snack packs. They are also available as mini-crackers in 25g multi-packs. Ritz Crackers are available as dippers for Dairylea Dunkers and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Snack. Ritz Crackers are also available as part of a confectionery product made by

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

in which the crackers form a sandwich filled with

Cadbury Dairy Milk Cadbury Dairy Milk is a British brand of milk chocolate manufactured by Cadbury. It was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1905 and now consists of a number of products. Every product in the Dairy Milk line is made with exclusively milk choco ...

chocolate.

References

External links

* {{Mondelez, state=collapsed Products introduced in 1934 Nabisco brands Brand name crackers Mondelez International brands

History

United States

International

See also

References

External links