Rutland Rye Castleton Crackers Highly Recommended by Whom You Know!
It’s not easy to find a great rye cracker. Castleton Crackers has made a perfect one, though! Their Rutland Rye cracker is flavorful, but not overpowering. The herbs and seeds in the crackers add a great flavor and heartiness to the primary rye flavor. If you want to add something, try adding some cheese on the cracker – I tried a German Weiss kase, and it was great. They’ll also be great with your favorite dip or spread. If you’re a fan of rye and are looking for a great cracker, this is it!
There are so many unhealthy snacks out there. It can be a real challenge to find something good for you to eat! Thankfully Castleton Crackers has made it a bit easier. They offer delicious Rutland Rye Multiseed crackers. These are the perfect snack made with love and care from all-natural ingredients. They taste great with a bunch of grapes. It feels so good to snack healthy!
Vermont is a special State, filled with independent thought, crafty artisans, and really great products. One of our cheesier states, Vermont is known for its maple syrup as well. If you've ever taken a drive upcountry in the Fall, on a leaf sighting tour, you're familiar with the farmers markets, filled with apples, local produce, great maple syrup, and cheddar. Castleton Crackers has taken pity upon the rest of the country, and packaged that feeling for us. With caraway, sesame and poppy seeds baked into a superb cracker, their Rutland Rye lets you get your grains, and your whiff of Vermont in the Fall in one bite. Delicious, hand-cracked, and delivering new inspiration for serving a cracker, Castleton brings home-made into any kitchen, onto any table.
If you're looking for a way to add a ton of flavor to your meals with a minimum of effort, look no further than the Rutland Multi-Seed Rye Crackers from Whitney's Castleton Crackers. All-natural, handmade, and hand-cracked, these tasty treats are loaded up with caraway, sesame, and poppy seeds, and are a terrific accompaniment for all kinds of cheeses and dips. I topped them with scallion cream cheese and the combination of flavors was outstanding. In fact, I think it may be habit-forming! And not only do Castleton Crackers taste great, but thanks to the lack of preservatives and artificial ingredients, they're also better for you than just about any cracker you can find on the supermarket shelf. Highly recommended by this panelist!
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CASTLETON CRACKERS
By Whitney Lamy, founder
A Passionate Beginning
Five years ago, after losing my job in arts management, I realized that I love food and I love to feed people good food. My dream was to start my own food company. And not just any company, I saw a Vermont niche.
With my interest in art and baking, long ago I came across a recipe for homemade crackers from the 1800’s. Who makes homemade crackers I thought? I adapted the recipe to reflect the wholesomeness of Vermont. Most crackers contain refined sugars. I replaced the sugar with all natural pure Vermont maple syrup. Over the years I baked my homemade crackers for family and friends to much enthusiasm. Many would encourage me to sell the crackers. I always put the idea on hold until I started paying attention to the growth and creation of Vermont artisan and farmstead cheese companies around the state and the formation of the Vermont Cheese Council.
Thinking there might be a niche for a Vermont artisan cracker to complement all these wonderful Vermont cheeses I began my market research. I visited numerous gourmet and food co-op stores in Vermont and realized no company was creating a unique artisanal cracker.
This motivated me to start my own business producing all natural Vermont artisan crackers. With two daughters in college the family capital was pretty much spoken for but I was determined to move forward. I evaluated the pros and cons and new I was, “passionate” about my delicious crackers and that I was my number one asset.
A Recipe for Homemade Success
I took action and Castleton Crackers was born at the Rutland Winter’s Farmers Market. The farmer’s market turned out to be a wonderful resource for little investment. Every Saturday, I was face to face with potential customers getting feedback seeing if I got repeat buyers and testing price points. The exposure of Castleton Crackers at the farmer’s market led to retail interest around the state. Within several months I signed on with my first distributor of Vermont specialty foods.
I faced and continue to face the odds of a new food business success and failure rates, having to wear all the hats such as sales and marketing, production, and limited funds especially during an economic downturn. I stayed on track and was committed to my brand of crackers. I chose to work with a manufacturer to produce and fulfill my cracker line rather than invest in a facility, equipment and employees. Although I introduced a new product into a market that was already saturated with specialty crackers I stayed focused. I feel strongly that the Vermont brand of high quality and sense of place only enhances my product.
From My Kitchen to Stores and Homes Across the Country
Five years later, Castleton Crackers are now sold nationwide through eight distributors. Currently, stores the size of Whole Foods, Hannaford’s and Price Chopper carry Castleton crackers as well as small specialty cheese shops and co-ops. Sales have continued to grow 30% annually. Without a PR agent on the payroll, The New York Times promoted Castleton Crackers in an article, “Crackers With a Good New England Crunch” (Food Section, February 16, 2011) along with the popular Rachael Ray Show featuring Castleton Crackers as “the snack of the day” on May 16, 2010.
Feeding and Funding Great Success
In January 2013, Castleton Crackers was purchased by the Vermont Farmstead Cheese Company in South Woodstock, VT. I remain with VFCC and head up the Castleton Specialty Food Division, overseeing sales and marketing, production, quality control and development of new products.
Castleton Crackers
Castleton, Vermont
