531. Brand Stories: SUNFLOWER CRACKERS by Croley Foods Mfg. Inc.

The first crackers available in the Philippines were soda crackers—those tasteless, lightly salted rectangle or square-shaped biscuits with the signature pinprick holes and break marks. They were so named because they were simply made with white flour and leavening agent, baking soda,  to make them crispy.

 Popular local soda cracker brands included those made by Fibisco and Lion Brand that were commonly available in most stores in the 1950s era. In 1962, M.Y. San shook the cracker market when it introduced Skyflakes, a more flavorful and crispier saltine cracker that has a creamier taste. It took off and became a hit, favored by students, office workers and snack lovers to instantly assuage hunger, Skyflakes came in handy cellophane packs for individual enjoyment and in tin cans.

For nearly2 decades, Skyflakes dominated the saltine cracker market—until a family owned bakery in Manila, established way back in the 50, became big enough to grow into a biscuit company in the 60s, calling itself the New London Biscuit Manufacturing Company.

In the late 70s, the biscuit plant, located in Novaliches, developed a wafer-thin, extra-crispy cracker that was more savory. Even the biscuit’s color, a shade of yellow-orange, appeared more appealing. It was priced much cheaper too, and the first batches were bagged in cellophane packs. The product, when launched, was called SUNFLOWER CRACKERS.

The massive response to these flavorsome crackers—crunchier than Skyflakes, tastier and cheaper too—was unexpected. Suddenly, crackers were no longer boring, they can have great appetite appeal too! Much like munching potato chips, you can’t eat just one! And you really can,  because SUNFLOWER CRACKERS were very much affordable.

The new brand in the market posed as a real threat to the market leader, latching on to its superior taste, rather than on plain crispness, which Skyflakes flagged in it slogans. In the 1980s. the company was restricted and re-branded as Croley Foods Mfg. Corp., with modern machines and new biscuit technology, The first major initiative was to claim the “taste” positioning among biscuit brands by introducing flavored variants.

LISTEN TO SUNFLOWER CRACKERS RADIO HERE:

By 1984, SUNFLOWER CRACKERS were available in Chicken, Adobo, Pizza, Onion & Garlic—as well as sandwich cream versions: Lemon and Strawberry Sandwich. Today, Croley Foods continue to expand its cracker, biscuit and cookie line under several trade names. Some of the flavor offerings have been streamlined to include Original, Chicken flavor, Pizza, and Cheese flavor. There are more crea-filled sandwiches flavors too with the addition of Mango Sandwich, Blueberry Sandwich, Coconut Sandwich and Orange Sandwich.

SUNFLOWER CRACKERS is now one of the top exports in UAE countries  catering to Filipino expatriates. It is also doing well in China. It may not have dislodge Skyflakes which continues to be the market leader to this day, but like Skyflakes, it is well on its way to becoming an icon brand, having established itself as a major and significant player in the biscuit industry for its commitment to food excellence, in its desire  to satisfy and enrich the diverse tastes of Filipino consumers.

SOURCES:

Croley Foods website: https://croleyfoods.com/company/

Croley Foods: Filipinos’ choice for mildly sweet cracker snacks, https://filipinotimes.net/news/2019/08/01/croley-foods-filipinos-choice-mildly-sweet-cracker-snacks/