Animal Cookies, Goldfish Crackers, and Baseball - Oh My!

Are you a fan of crackers in the shape of animals? While most of us are familiar with Mother's Circus Animals brand of cookies and Barnum's Animals brand of crackers/cookies, did you know that today is NATIONAL ANIMAL CRACKERS DAY?

There appears to be some confusion between the definitions of crackers and cookies, so let's take a look back at the history of animal crackers:

During the late 1800s, sweet biscuits shaped like lions, tigers, and other animals became a popular snack in Victorian Britain, produced by biscuit makers such as Huntley & Palmers and were exported abroad.

In 1871, several American bakery firms consolidated, which resulted in the formation of the National Biscuit Company (later Nabisco) to mass‑produce animal-shaped crackers for the American market.

In 1902, the National Biscuit Company developed Barnum's Animals, a product line of animal-shaped crackers packaged in circus-themed boxes that quickly became one of the company's best-known snack products.

In 1914, due to the implementation of the U.S. Food and Drugs Act and growing food regulation, trade definitions distinguished between crackers, biscuits, and cookies, which determined how products such as animal crackers were labeled and marketed.

In 2018, after pressure from animal-welfare advocates and changing public attitudes about circuses, Nabisco re-designed the Barnum's Animals box so that its illustration of animals roam freely instead of in circus boxcars.

While you might refer to Barnum's Animals as cookies rather than crackers (I do), there is a brand that rightfully owns the "animal cracker" category, and today, I'd like to celebrate its creative social media marketing. 

On March 26th, to celebrate the Opening Day of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, Pepperidge Farms' Goldfish crackers shared a post on Instagram featuring a family of four goldfish crackers on baseball seats wearing caps with snack bags of crackers underneath their seats. This was clearly a family because there were two large goldfish and two smaller goldfish.

Whether you celebrate today with cookies or crackers, bottom line, don't confuse your customers! 

SHARE THIS: Brands that align their products with trending news have the potential to be memorable. ~@DebbieLaskeyMBA #NationalAnimalCrackersDay #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credit: Pepperidge Farm/Goldfish Crackers via Instagram.