Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Carla King, from Mary’s Gone Crackers:
Q: For those who haven’t heard of it, what is the best way to describe Mary’s Gone Crackers?
A: Mary’s Gone Crackers offers amazingly delicious snacks with a variety of textures and flavors that are truly good for you. We are a certified organic, gluten free, allergen friendly, vegan company with a sole purpose of baking delicious, ultra-nourishing snacks for a wide range of needs including active, health conscious, allergen free and epicurean lifestyles. Focused on impeccable quality and taste, our products speak for themselves with their delectable, unique texture and flavor profiles which can only be accomplished by carefully baking whole, organic ingredients to toasted perfection.
Q: Can you tell us about the Mary’s story and how the brand got started?
A: The company was founded by a woman named Mary (Waldner) who, when diagnosed with Celiac disease, couldn’t find anything she could enjoy when dining out with friends. She created a cracker in her kitchen and she shared her creation with her friends. They all agreed she should offer these more broadly, so she started the company to do just that. We are continuing to build on her legacy.
Recommended: Q: What are the benefits of Mary’s products? What makes them unique?
A: All of Mary’s products are baked in the largest certified gluten free facility (that we know of) in the world. Our strict adherence to gluten free, Organic, vegan and Kosher standards benefits the consumers as well as the planet. Our snacks were created with taste and health in mind, by using a short list of whole ingredients so consumers can trust that when they eat our products, we’ve done everything possible to ensure the highest quality standards have been met to bring them the most delicious, feel good snacks possible.
Q: How does the brand source their rice and how does this play into your sustainability efforts?
A: We source all of our rice from California where innovative and collaborative efforts between farmers and conservationists have transformed 550,000 acres of rice fields into seasonal wetland habitats that are safe and sustainable havens for millions of migratory waterbirds. Our main source is a family owned and operated organic rice farm. We utilize millions of pound of rice each year and it’s all organic, sustainably grown by members of the California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation. We’ve partnered with this foundation and actively support wildlife conservation through organic farming and other non-profits working to sustain habitats for species otherwise threatened by the ag industry.
Q: What challenges did the brand face when scaling to meet demand as the gluten-free industry became mainstream?
A: In the old converted cannery warehouse that the factory used to be housed in, in northern California, we were unable to keep up with demand. That’s when the company refocused its sights on building a new, state of the art facility in Reno, NV, the largest GF facility in the country. Now, we’re able to supply the increased demand, and we’ve kept growing to support new production lines being built – we’ve still got plenty of room for more! The initial challenge was adjusting temps and times to create the same quality product at a much higher altitude!
Recommended: Meet DVC Shop – A Licensed Broker That Specializes In Disney Vacation Club Resale On The Secondary Market
Q: What are you most excited about in the industry at the moment and what future trends are you expecting to see?
A: I am very excited to see plant-based products become more sought-after and mainstream. Gluten free is no longer viewed as a trend and it is exciting to see innovation in that realm, as well. As we map our innovation strategies, we look at more exotic flavors (spicy, fruity, etc.) and even other categories. We see the rise of vegan cheese as something we can explore as well.
Activate Social Media:
