Mary’s Gone Crackers founder: We realized we were more than a cracker company
The gluten-free snack company invested in a year-long brand overhaul – redesigning its packaging across its entire portfolio which includes crackers, cookies and pretzels. The fresh-faced products have just started rolling out across stores.
Mary Waldner, founder and chairman of Mary’s Gone Crackers, said consumer confusion had sparked the move.
“People were looking at the packaging and seeing the word ‘crackers’ in large letters on a box of cookies and it was confusing. It made me realize that we were way more than a cracker company and when we developed our original logo that’s all we say back then,” she told BakeryandSnacks.com.
The company had reduced the emphasis on ‘crackers’ in the logo, she explained, but had also taken the revamp as an opportunity to “lighten up the packaging”.
She said the overhaul would definitely have a positive impact on business.
Savvier consumers
Waldner said the revamp also considered how the consumer mindset had evolved.
“We are reaching many more people all over the country and now other countries as well than when we first designed our look 10 years ago. People are more aware of gluten-free, of organics, of whole grains – there’s been a huge consciousness shift in the same time frame,” she said.
Whereas before, the company had worked to educate consumers on the ingredients deck, the new design had eased up on that, she explained.
“We are able to take a higher level approach now because more people know about the importance of whole, real food, and they know or at least have heard of quinoa, chia seeds, flax seeds etc. We are still calling out gluten-free and organic, which are very important to us.”
