Dr. Kracker

From the September 19, 2007 edition of Supermarket Guru’s New Product Hits & Misses (JPG, PDF):

Doctor Kracker Pumpkin Cheddar Snack Chips

Taste	Value	Health	Ingredients	Preparation	Appearance	Packaging	Total
25	14	13	14	n/a*	4	3	83

It’s time to think Pumpkins! This company prides itself in making organic cracker snacks that are also packed with whole grains. Pumpkin seeds are one of the most flavorful and nutritious seeds around. The mixture of cheddar cheese makes a great combination. These extremely crunchy little snacks also contain 4 g of fiber. A surprisingly nice flavor for such a healthy little snack. Also available in Klassic 3 Seed, Sunflower Cheddar, Seedlander, and Seeded Spelt. Retails for $0.99/1.0-oz bag.

The following was originally printed in the September 14, 2007 edition of The Austin Chronicle (PNG):

Food-o-File

Sweetish Hill Bakery (1120 W. Sixth, 472-7370; 98 San Jacinto, 472-2411) is joining forces with Doctor Kracker to promote a healthy diet containing whole grains during the month of September. Any Sweetish Hill customer who buys a sandwich made on whole-grain or multigrain bread or purchases a loaf of those breads gets a free bag of Doctor Kracker’s snack chips. The chips come in five whole-grain flavors…

LoveToKnow.com Camping: Backpacking Meal Suggestions (PDF)

Snacks

When selecting snacks, it is a good idea to focus on sources of protein and complex carbohydrates. Dried fruit and nuts are excellent choices, whether eaten alone or in a trail mix or gorp mixture. Chocolate covered peanuts or other nuts are acceptable for candy lovers, unless it is so hot that the candy will melt and make a sticky mess. Beef jerky and protein bars are also good choices for backpackers. For crunchy snacking, Dr. Kracker whole grain crackers and snack chips are a nutritious option.

The following was originally printed in the August 7, 2007 web edition of San Antonio Express-News:

Eye on the Aisles: Dr. Kracker Snack Chips

Dr. Kracker is now packing its healthful, tasty crackers in 1-ounce grab-and-go packages for quick, ready-to-eat snacks. Perfect for school or work lunches, each single-serving package of snack chips has about 4 grams fiber, 5 grams protein and 120 calories. The crunchy snacks are made with 100 percent whole grain spelt or whole grain white wheat flour and come in Klassic 3-Seed, Seeded Spelt, Seedlander, Pumpkin Seed Cheese and Sunflower Cheese varieties.

The single serve packages of crackers have a suggested retail price of 99 cents.

Doctor Kracker Flatbreads–love these things! (PNG)

I recently discovered Doctor Kracker Flatbreads at my local co-op–there were several flavors. I’ve got the “pumpkin seed cheese” one and I’m really enjoying it. The first two ingredients are organic whole wheat flour and organic wheat flour…and also has cheddar cheese, pumpkin seeds, oat, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and sea salt (all organic, except the sea salt.) I love these things! Crunchy, with real flavor rather than tasting like cardboard as some other whole grain flatbreads can.

From Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery (PNG):

Last Cracker Standing

Stand-up comedy isn’t for sissies. If you can’t coax a laugh out of the audience, you run the risk of getting heckled … or worse, as “Last Comic Standing” reveals each season. Cable comedy specials, cash prizes and, oh yeah, the admiration of the nation are at stake.

Even household-name comedians can’t rest on their laurels, as Jerry Seinfeld noted upon re-entering the stand-up world after his TV series ended.

“Just the fact [that the audience members] get to see you live in a theater is going to wear off if you’re not doing well,” he pointed out. “It all boils down to this: You’ve still got to be funny.”

And in the cracker world, well, it doesn’t matter if you’re Keebler or Nabisco — you’ve still got to bring your best to the table with one-of-a-kind (but not too weird) flavor profiles, products that appeal to the whole grain and gluten-conscious crowd, and variations of the ever-popular graham cracker.

With well over a dozen new crackers introduced to the market recently, it’s brutal out there (but still tasty).

Stand up for Grains

“We’re hearing from more and more people that they want whole grain alternatives,” says George Eckrich, director of sales and marketing for Dallas-based Dr. Kracker.

As comedian Red Skelton supposedly remarked: “Give the people what they want, and they’ll come out for it.”

Just three years old, Eckrich’s company makes seven kinds of crispy, 25-g. (.88-oz.) flatbread crackers, including “klassic” three-seed, pumpkin seed cheese, seeded spelt, sunflower cheese, muesli, graham, seedlander and veggie spelt. The most popular format so far: the bite-size Snacker Krackers, available in 8-oz. tubs. Eckrich is working to get another package size — 1-oz., 120-calorie bags — into the market.

In addition, Dr. Kracker just introduced Klassic Snack Flats, soup crackers available in classic, seeded spelt and pumpkin cheese.

“My goal is to have it in every soup and salad bar in the U.S. at some point,” Eckrich says. The spelt version, in particular, is “a good alternative for people that suffer from wheat sensitivity issues,” he adds.

Another young, small company that caters to the wheat-sensitive or -allergic consumer: the two-and-a-half-year-old Mary’s Gone Crackers, a Gridley, Calif.-based operation that produces only organic, whole grain, gluten-free crackers.

“We like to focus on the fact that our cracker is a gourmet cracker that happens to be gluten-free,” says founder Mary Waldner. “We’re the fastest-selling cracker in the country in the natural crackers market. It’s been an incredibly quick rise.”

The Mary’s Gone Crackers line includes original, black pepper, caraway, herb and onion. Waldner is working on a new flavor, but — like a comic guarding her latest material — she will say only that it will feature “a different seed profile and different spices.”

Last fall saw the launch of grainsfirst brand whole grain crackers from Canadian company Dare Foods, Kitchener, Ont. The two grainsfirst varieties are Spring Harvest, which uses soy and sunflower seeds, and Autumn Harvest, a heartier cracker that incorporates black sesame and poppy seeds. Each five-cracker serving has 2 to 3 g. of fiber.

Pepperidge Farm, Norwalk, Conn., added Blazin’ Buffalo Wing Flavor Blasted Goldfish crackers to heat up its line. It also came out with Goldfish Starfish crackers as a part of the brand’s partnership with the City Year Organization. The group organizes youth-based programs such as the Starfish project to promote the concept of national service.

The company notes that linking the brand’s 100 Calorie Packs, single-serve packs and the sunglass-toting Fin and Friends combines portion control with personality, and that’s a winning combination. Not surprisingly, the company reports that sales of the Goldfish brand have been climbing at a double-digit rate.

“Goldfish crackers have been growing well because they offer a terrific bundle of benefits to consumers,” says Pat Callaghan, president of Pepperidge Farm. “They’re a wholesome, fun, convenient, delicious snack that kids love to eat and moms love to serve. What could be better than that?”

Maybe, having a party? Beginning this month, Kashi, La Jolla, Calif., will supply the TLC All-Natural Party Crackers (but you’ll have to bring your own balloons). Each of the three varieties — Stoneground 7 Grain, Mediterranean Bruschetta, and Roasted Garlic and Theme — provides 8 g. of whole grains and 3 g. of fiber.

Lest the smaller companies make off with all the whole-grain applause, in January, Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich., launched All-Bran Crackers in multigrain and garlic herb. The bite-size crackers are packaged in 10-oz. boxes that retail for $2.99 in grocery stores nationwide. Also new from Kellogg: Keebler Club Puffed Multi-Grain Vrackers (also available in original) in 9-oz., $3.59 boxes.

So which crackers will be the last ones standing? There are so many from which to choose, the joke’s really on the consumer making that decision. SOI

Editor’s Note: Dan Malovany contributed to this report.

Spotlight on Grahams

If you compare the cracker-and-cookie aisle to the comedy world, graham crackers are the crossover artists. Are they cookies? Well, they’re not not cookies. Are they crackers? Well, sort of. With all the tasty options, maybe it’s best to just hush up and eat your honey grahams:

Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods’ Nabisco’s Honey Maid Grahams Honey Bees were introduced in February, and feature bee-shaped grahams in a 16-oz. box. Each 15-cracker serving contains 8 g. of whole grain.

Nabisco’s Mini Teddy Grahams Cinnamon Cubs bring the popular 100-calorie format to the children’s cracker/cookie market.

Dallas-based Dr. Kracker launched Dr. Kracker’s Krispy Graham Kribbons about a year ago. A 5-oz. serving offers 3 g. of fiber.

Applaud Fresh Flavors

What’s the difference between a cracker and a comedian? Nobody likes a cheesy comedian.
Okay, that was a cheap shot. But in the cracker market, it’s hard to overestimate what the American Dairy Association likes to call “The Power of Cheese.” Or, for that matter, the power of veggies, although fruit-and-vegetable organizations don’t seem to be throwing that phrase around just yet.

Cheddar and White Cheddar Sunshine Cheez-It Stix from Kellogg Co. came on the scene in January and contain 0 g. of trans fat. The 9.5-oz. boxes hold about nine 35-stick servings.
As Kraft Foods’ Nabisco brand notes, Wheat Thins Toasted Chips Parmesan and Asiago Cheese (launched in March) have 60% less fat than regular potato chips. They’re also a precursor of sorts to another, forthcoming Nabisco product, Garden Harvest Toasted Chips, expected in stores this August.

Already available from Nabisco is the latest addition to a Triscuit lineup that uses olive oil’s healthy halo to appeal to snackers. Triscuit Fire Roasted and Olive Oil Wheat crackers join Rosemary & Olive Oil and Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil varieties. All sell in 9.5-oz. boxes and feature a respectable 3 g. of fiber per 10-cracker serving.

Meanwhile, Kashi, which is owned by Kellogg, is holding its own with new Fire Roasted Vegetable TLC snack crackers, flavored with red and green peppers, carrots, onions and tomato.

Please, hold your applause.

New Routine for Sweet Crackers?

Things in the cookie and cracker aisle seem to be getting a little cozy. How else can you explain the new breed of dessert-like crackers that stray from the familiar graham cracker world?

If you don’t believe us, check out what George Eckrich, director of sales and marketing for Dallas-based Dr. Kracker, is developing. He’s working on a chocolate-covered version of the company’s classic cracker that he hopes to have available by Valentine’s Day.

“You get a real nice mix of texture and then also the underlying notes of the caramelization that takes place in the crust of the cracker,” he notes. “And that blends in real well with the chocolate.”

If it takes three products to make a trend, this dessert-cracker format is two-thirds of the way there. In March, Nabisco introduced Wheat Thins Lightly Cinnamon crackers in a 9.5-oz. box for $3.19.

Two reviews on GoDairyFree.org!

Doctor Kracker Muesli Kribbons (Vegan, Soy-Free) (PNG)

Doctor Kracker Snacker Krackers - Review #2 (Vegan, Soy-Free) (PNG)

Doctor Kracker Snacker Krackers - Review #1 (Vegan, Soy-Free) (PNG)

The following was originally printed in the April 24, 2007 edition of The Washington Post:

EAT BETTER HEALTHFUL HABITS

More students make smart choices — if they are asked
A report suggests kids will consume more fruit if cafeteria workers suggest it.

Sally Squires
The Washington Post

April 24, 2007

You know how hard it can be to say no.

But our tendency to accept what we’re offered may have positive value when it comes to encouraging children to choose — and eat — more-healthful food at school. A new report suggests that there’s a simple, low-cost approach: Just offer it to them.

That’s the conclusion of a pilot program in Guilford, Conn., where school cafeteria servers were trained to ask elementary-school students, “Would you like fruit or juice with your lunch?” Ninety percent of the children said yes. What’s more, 80 percent then consumed the fruit or juice they put on their trays.

Compare those numbers with students at a nearby school who also participated in the study. At lunch, the same fruit and juice was available, but it wasn’t personally offered to the kids. The difference? Just 60 percent of these students reached for fruit or juice on their own.

These findings “have pretty significant implications,” says the pilot program’s designer, Marlene Schwartz, director of research and school programs at Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. They suggest, she says, that if the National School Lunch Program were to modify its regulations and had servers actually encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables, their consumption might increase.

It’s that kind of simple strategy that school administrators, government officials and parents need to help stem the childhood obesity epidemic. An estimated 16 percent of children and teens are overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture pays for 9 million breakfasts and 30 million lunches for students. But experts say the quality of some of those meals is in question. School cafeterias aren’t required, for example, to serve food that meets the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines — a situation that the USDA says it hopes to change this year. The USDA also plans a multibillion-dollar effort to expand the consumption of fruit and vegetables served in school cafeterias through the next 10 years.

But none of those changes addresses what many say is a major hurdle to improving school nutrition: the sale of so-called competitive foods in school vending machines, stores and snack bars, and at school fundraisers and sold a la carte in school snack bars. There are no USDA regulations dictating the quality of these foods and beverages.

To help close that loophole, Congress has commissioned the Institute of Medicine to write the first set of recommended guidelines for the sale of competitive foods in schools. That report, from an expert panel, will be released soon.

Some schools haven’t waited.

At the Promise Academy in New York’s Harlem, the school’s nearly 700 students, mostly low-income, dine daily on meals that are low in sodium and fat. Breakfast offerings include hot whole-grain cereal, whole-wheat waffles or French toast with turkey sausage. Rather than syrup, students get fruit toppings.

Lunch includes healthful fare such as whole-grain pasta with meat sauce and baked free-range chicken with yellow rice and zucchini. For snacks, students get fruit, vegetables and other healthful offerings, because “there are no vending machines in the building,” says Marty Lipp, communications director of this public charter school. “There’s also no cake, ice cream or cookies and no outside foods are allowed in.”

As might be expected, “there certainly are kids who complain about this or that, or won’t eat certain things,” Lipp says. “But it is an educational process. Some kids are seeing foods for the first time, like spinach pasta or even things like broccoli.”

Promise Academy officials point out that helping students and their families improve their eating habits is a matter of health: 42 percent of the 176 middle school students — more than three times the national average — are overweight or obese.

In California, chef Ann Cooper is director of nutrition services for the 16 schools in the Berkeley Unified School District. “We don’t serve food that is very out of the ordinary,” Cooper notes. “We just do it healthier.”

So roast chicken or “oven fried” chicken that contains no added fat has replaced greasy chicken fingers; baked and roasted potatoes are served in place of french fries. There are organic granola bars, fresh and dried fruit, whole-grain pretzels and organic crackers with occasional cheese for snacks.

“Kids don’t necessarily like change,” Cooper notes. “Nobody does. So you really have to work with them.”

And she notes, “The food has to taste good.”

Washington Examiner and Baltimore Examiner (Wednesday, March 21, 2007) SHELF LIFE: Delectable finds for foodies

Trick kids into eating healthfully. Dr. Kracker’s Veggie Spelt Krackers are made with flax and quinoa seeds, organic vegetables (tomatoes, peas, corn and carrots). Organic butter and agave nectar syrup give the toddler crackers a slightly sweet taste. Available at select health food grocers.