The Iconic Brand That Launched Cracker Barrel Store-Bought Cheese Products

The Cracker Barrel brand is a staple in the cheese and dry goods section of your favorite grocery store. You may have walked past the brand hundreds of times without giving a thought to which brand actually created the dairy product. It's in the name, right? Wrong. 

Let's just start by dispelling that common misconception once and for all — the Cracker Barrel brand of cheeses is in no way associated with the restaurant chain by the same name. Now that we've got that sorted, let's dive into the cheesy history of Cracker Barrel. Producing a range of cheese products in blocks, slices, cracker cuts, cubes, sticks, and even pairing boards, the Cracker Barrel brand of cheese is associated with quality and consistency. You may not be surprised to learn that a major name in the cheese industry launched the brand. 

Cracker Barrel cheese was introduced by Kraft in 1954, though today it is produced by Lactalis Heritage Dairy following a 2021 acquisition. Lactalis may not be a familiar name, but it also produces dairy goods sold under the Breakstone's and Knudsen brands.

Cracker Barrel says on its website that it was "born from a love of quality cheese and a passion for cheddar-making heritage and values." Cracker Barrel cheddar is an award-winning cheese, so it makes sense that cheddar of various sharpness and hues is a primary focus. This high-quality cheddar is produced using proprietary heirloom starter cultures that the company has incorporated into its recipes for over 50 years. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Before the Cracker Barrel brand was born, the Kraft company was already a major player in the cheese industry. James L. Kraft began his business as a door-to-door cheese salesman in 1909 and successfully scaled his business to the food behemoth that is the Kraft Heinz company today. While the Cracker Barrel cheese brand is no longer produced by that company, it remains a preferred pick at supermarkets nationwide.