Teddy Grahams are bear-shaped graham cookie snacks created 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 ...

. Introduced in 1988, Teddy Grahams come in two distinct shapes: bears with arms up and legs closed, and bears with legs open and arms down. When first introduced, Teddy Grahams were available in honey, cinnamon, and chocolate flavors. Since then, they have added chocolatey chip as one of the 4 main varieties. They also had vanilla, banana, birthday cake, mixed berry, strawberry banana, and apple flavors but they have been discontinued. Nabisco has also put out various other products under the Teddy Grahams brand, including various Disney character shaped grahams.

Nutritional information

considers Teddy Grahams to be a healthy snack choice. In a 1992 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' article, Eating Well,

Marian Burros Marian Burros (born in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a cookbook author, and food columnist for ''The New York Times'', a position she has held since 1983. Previously, Burros was ''The Washington Posts food editor and a consumer reporter for an NBC ...

pointed out that Teddy Grahams use more bleached flour than actual whole wheat graham flour. In response, Nabisco increased the amount of whole grain flour used in the snack. The snacks also contain no trans fat and are also considered a good source of calcium with a significant amount of iron.

History

Teddy Grahams sold more than $150 million worth in its first year. It was "the biggest new-product success in the industry in more than 25 years. It became the third-best-selling cookie, after Chips Ahoy! and the market leader,

Oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and split ...

, both from

Discontinued Products

Dizzy Grizzlies were a variant of Teddy Grahams, and were so called because they would "become dizzy" due to the snacker looking at each side again and again, as the backside is covered with chocolate and sprinkles. These were also themed in

extreme sport Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

s such as

in-line skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

. A chocolate chip, birthday cake and oatmeal variety were introduced as a cereal called Teddy grahams Breakfast Bears in the 90s however this cereal got bad reviews because it got too soggy in milk. Teddy Soft Bakes were baked treats with either a vanilla or chocolate filling. They were discontinued around 2019.

Mascot Change

The original

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

was a light brown bear who had no clothes. Later, Nabisco changed the mascot and added a shirt depending on what flavor of the teddy grahams. In 2017, they changed the mascot again to a brown bear with a blue and white striped shirt.

Media references

At times Teddy Grahams have enjoyed a place in the spotlight, being used as a prop on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'', were referenced on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'', and were referred to in a

Strong Bad Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game ''Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-creat ...

email. The snack was also referenced in the song "Ridin' Rims" by

Dem Franchize Boyz Dem Franchize Boyz was an American hip hop group from Atlanta, signed to E1 Music. The group had four members: Parlae (born Maurice Gleaton), Pimpin' (Jamal Willingham), Jizzal Man (Bernard Leverette), and Buddie (Gerald Tiller). They were best ...

, and on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' by the character

Stefon Stefon Meyers (''né'' Zolesky), simply referred to as Stefon, is a character created by Bill Hader and former ''SNL'' writer John Mulaney, played by Hader on ''Saturday Night Live'', who appeared as the New York City correspondent for ''Weekend ...

References

External links

* {{Teddy bears Products introduced in 1988 Nabisco brands Mondelez International brands