251. LION’S SODA CRACKERS by M.Y. San, Print Ads 1940-1987

Soda crackers or “saltines’ are thin, square cracker made from white flour, yeast, and baking soda, with surface perforations and with a distinctively dry and crisp texture. They were known as early as the mid 19^th century.

 

A very early pre-war LION SODA CRACKERS Ad

One Philippine cracker classic  is the LION BRAND SODA CRACKERS, manufactured by M.Y. San Co., Inc. The  Mar family, whose patriarch Mar Yuck San had come to the Philippines from Guangdong in 1900, had established a soda fountain business. Like Clarke’s Ice Cream Parlor, they put up a bakery headed by Mar Chew, a relative who had learned baking in Hawaii.

 

LION'S SODA CRACKERS, Print Ad, 1966 

One of the first such products that were served in the restaurant were soda crackers known for their crispy quality that were perfect for eating with jams, butter, and marmalade. By the ate 1930s, they were so popular that they were sold commercially under the brand name LION BRAND SODA CRACKERS, with the familiar lion trade character. The earliest advertisements came out in 1940.

 

LION'S SODA CRACKRS, print ad, 1969

The brand name was eventually shortened to LION’S SODA CRACKERS in the 1960s, and the LION brand was also used for its mixed biscuits offerings. M.Y. San the produced another line of soda crackers named ‘SkyFlakes” in the 60s that proved to be a bigger hit than LION.

LION'S SODA CRACKERS, Print Ad, 1971

LION’S SODA CRACKERS though continued to be produced all the way thru the 1990s, metamorphosing as LION’S Cream Crackers.  Nissin Monde now owns M.Y. San, as its subsidiary Monde M.Y. San, which continues to produce its bestsellers like SkyFlakes, Fita, Graham Crackers—but LION brand of crackers and bsicuits have been discontinued with the phase-out of the LION’S Cream Cracker line.

OMNIBUS M.Y. SAN Ad, with LION'S SODA CRACKERS, 1987