Thanks to a recent viral marketing campaign, we now know exactly how many Goldfish crackers 7’4″ Dallas Mavericks center Boban Marjanović can cram into his oversized mitts: 301.
But unless he’s faster in the snack aisle than he is on the court in the NBA, the 32-year-old big man won’t be able to get his hands — which are estimated to be the biggest in pro basketball, with a length of 10.75 and span of 12 inches — on the new collaboration between Pepperidge Farm and one of America’s most popular hot sauces.
Available starting this month while supplies last, limited-edition Goldfish Frank’s RedHot crackers are a hot item both literally and figuratively. Made with some of the same ingredients that make Frank’s a popular base for most Buffalo wing sauces, the crackers contain notes of vinegar and cayenne that are balanced out quite nicely by the classic cheddar taste Goldfish deliver. As for the spice level? “Based on a heat scale of 0-10, Goldfish Frank’s RedHot crackers rank at a level of 6.5,” Campbell Snacks chief marketing officer Janda Lukin tells InsideHook.
A 6.5 is a fairly healthy heat level for a cracker that’s a staple of grade-school snacktime. That’s at least partially because, unlike previous collaborations Goldfish has done, the sauce-seasoned crackers weren’t made with children in mind.
“This all started with an insight that nearly 50% of Goldfish crackers are actually eaten by adults aged 18 and older,” Lukin says. “Over the years, Goldfish has had partners including Disney to release fun and kid-friendly limited-edition crackers, but those collaborations weren’t as totally unexpected as this one. This is our first brand partnership that targets a more mature audience, and we are eager to explore in that space. We never really catered to the older audience palate despite hot and spicy being a highly requested flavor. We’re always listening to our fans. It starts with the consumer spark.”
The amount of requests for Goldfish to make a hot version of their classic cracker isn’t too surprising considering that recent survey data has shown spicy snacks are gaining in popularity among consumers. “Nearly half of all U.S. adults — 52% — say they purchase spicy packaged snack foods, such as crackers, chips or popcorn,” Lukin says. “That percentage is even larger for youth: 73% of Gen Z and 69% of Millennials. I’m personally a big fan of Frank’s RedHot sauce and love making the Goldfish brand more inclusive for everyone in the family, no matter their age.”
So is there any chance the limited-edition crackers could become permanent editions to the Pepperidge Farm in the same way that Old Bay decided to make its hot sauce a constant condiment choice after seeing overwhelming demand and sales?
“This was a collaborative and fun project for us over the past several months. Both Goldfish and Frank’s worked together seamlessly to deliver the best-tasting experience,” Lukin says “It all really depends on what our fans really want. We’re very optimistic about the future of Goldfish and we are excited to keep experimenting with some of the projects we have in the pipeline.”
Given our affinity for Frank’s, spicy snacks and all thing cheese, Goldfish has found a fan in this writer. Hook, line and sinker.
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