Product Reinvention: Triscuits
Something I have taken an interest in over the last couple of years is product reinvention. I’ve been thinking about this lately because of something Triscuits has done. I grew up in a Triscuits household. Two things we ALWAYS had in stock when I was growing up were granola and Triscuits. Don’t ask…my friends used to tease me about this because it was something that never failed. Anyway…take a look at Triscuits. All they have done over the last ten years is change the amount of salt and sodium in their product – that’s incredible boring if you ask me. But look at Triscuits now…
Just recently I have come across two new ingenious variations of their crackers: Rosemary and Olive Oil (which is awesome), and Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil (which is even better…I can’t believe how good these taste).
These new offerings have totally reinvigorated how Triscuits are positioned in my mind. Sadly I went to their website to learn more and find links to point to in this post and was utterly disappointed by the uselessness of their marketing collateral…no dedicated pages for each new product, links that are confusing, hard to find and, in some cases, barely work. Classic flash driven advertising agency approach to usability…no wonder ad agencies are in trouble these days. And to top it off, Nabisco has not domain-proofed their brand by buying Triscuits.com. But I digress…
Despite all that, if you are a Triscuits fan, it’s time to go shopping. And may I recommend some Brie cheese with the Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil for your delight? Happy snacking.
sends more invoices than there are 
12:55 am
I’d like to request removal from all future posting which reference food items I’m unable to purchase in this country.
I am right now dying to try cracked pepper and olive oil triscuits.
I am seriously considering cancelling my Freshbooks account because of this irresponsible posting. Have a heart.
jonathan
5:20 am
Hey guy-
I was shopping , and found this site…. found the Triscuts thingy too!
Might I add ….. take the new triangular shaped triscut, and wrap a piece of salami that you use as a ‘chip’ across a vat of whipped cream cheese….
Voila! wap the salami around the triangualr Triscut, and no more crumbs in the keyboard!
6:08 pm
[...] Product Reinvention By Mike – April 26/2007 As posted on the FreshBooks blog: [...]
8:56 am
Last night my dad (50) ate a half plate of Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil and felt really sick an hour later. This is the third time this has happened.
9:08 am
Max I’m sorry to hear that…hope your dad is feeling better.
3:01 pm
[...] Freshbooks, which is headed up by my friend, Michael Macderment, writes a blog post about Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuit. One of its customers, Oceanic in Fiji, leaves a [...]
10:03 am
Three times, Max? A very thorough man. But if he tries it a fourth time, I’d suggest not leaving him on his own!
Triscuits rock.
11:40 am
[...] while back I wrote a post about Triscuits, and Jonathan – who lives in Fiji – commented here on the FreshThinking blog to say: I’d like to [...]
3:51 pm
I realize this post is pretty old, but I had to come comment at you. Thanks for recommending the Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits! A certain someone (who will remain nameless!) in my household really doesn’t like Triscuits, so I don’t usually buy them. But today I decided I simply must, and now I’m happily snacking. I think next time I’ll grab some Brie to go with them.
4:03 pm
our pleasure Candice…I’ve got five boxes at home right now…and try not to let my stores fall much below that level at any one time
Happy 2008.
12:05 pm
I love the Triscuits Garden and Herb. On line it list all the stores around me that carry it. I’m at the store once maybe twice a week to look and none of the stores ever have any. Can you help?
8:47 pm
I was looking for a site to tell you how very much I love the Rosemary/OO Triscuits and then I read all the comments about the Cracked Pepper. Can they really be better than the Rosemary/OO. Hard to believe but I’mcertainly going to do a very dedicated taste test!
5:31 pm
Cracked Pepper/OO triscuits go wonderfully with a Jalepeno Havarti cheese, as does the rosemary/oo! and yes, if you like one, you will definitly like the other, it’s nice to mix them up now and then! happy munchies!
10:43 pm
Max, I know you posted a while ago but should you stop back — your dad might have had a reaction to MSG (modified food starch) which is a common food additive that many people are allergic to. I noticed that some flavors of Triscuit contain this junk and now I no longer buy Triscuit just on principle. They see fit to use a well-known allergin? I see fit to avoid their crackers. Symptoms range from mild headaches to migraines, nausea and worse. Read labels everyone…steer clear of anything with MSG, partially hydrogenated oils and HFCS (hi-fructose corn syrup).
10:35 am
I am glad to see low sodium Triscuits back in stores again. I could get them 15 years ago, then they disappeared, now back called “hint of salt”
Other than the very expensice price tag, Triscuits are great and I would buy more if they were’nt so high priced.
3:31 pm
In response to the comment from Shelley concerning MSG. I have searched for a definitive connection between the ingredient “modified food starch” and MSG as being identical. I cannot find anyone that says they are always the same. Many sites state that there are many varieties of modified food starches. The irritation that arises from people posting things without doing the research…
3:40 pm
We are currently at anchor on the French/Dutch island of St. Martin / Sint-Maarten in the Caribbean. I was shocked to see Triscuits for $4.00/box and today I bought 2 boxes for $3.60 each. I was surprised when I did a Google search and found out that $3.60 was around the “normal” price. Wow!
They’re good, but… OUCH!
7:15 pm
Going back to my comment Apr 06, 09;
Still too much salt. After the store ran out of “Hint of Salt”, there has not been anymore.
DON’t YOU KNOW OLD PEOPLE DO NOT NEED THAT MUCH SALT?????
One would think the world travels on salt. Triscuits don’t have to. Do something about the salt content.
1:14 am
I just buy the “Hint Of Salt’ Triscuits. All other varities are so salty I can’t eat them. It’s terrible as I wish I could enjoy some of the other varities.
11:22 am
We live in UK but have recently become fans of Triscuits after visiting family in the US. We brought back some packs but I’m desperate to find some more on sale here – and not at over £4.00 a pack! (As in “the American Sweet store”) Any suggestions anyone?
4:37 am
Regarding garden herb triscuits and MSG…it’s been bugging me that a few years back, I made a decision to stop eating my beloved triscuits because MSG was on the ingredients list. Now, it’s suddenly fallen off the list with the newer packaging, meanwhile the cracker still packs the big punch of “flavor” it always has. I feel strongly that MSG is still in the product, in my opinion. Maybe the oo and cracked pepper have it too yet undisclosed, which explains why people are getting sick time and time again. Food for thought, that’s all. I find truth in labeling to be important, especially now that companies are trying to get on the “healthy” bandwagon, potentially cutting corners at consumers’ expense.
8:00 pm
i am totally addicted to the Triscuits with rosemary and olive oil. Eat almost a box a day. However, as anyone noticed that about half of the crackers do have the rosemary and olive oil flavoring, but the other half taste just like the original Triscuits. Somehow, I don’t think that should be the case. Let me know if anyone else has noticed this defect.
2:52 am
MSG does not mean ‘modified food starch’. In fact, the majority of the foods you buy that contain starches that are “modified”, and it has not a thing to do with MSG, which is actually monosodium glutamate. It seems a small section of the population experiences an adverse response to MSG, while the majority of people do not. If you experience MSG illness, there is no reason to be concerned; simply avoid foods that contain MSG. If you do not experience MSG illness, there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about MSG containing foods at all.
I hope this is clarifying, as the MSG info posted here up to this point is completely uninformed.
12:59 am
Travis is 100% correct. And for those who avoid MSG “on principle” — don’t ever cook meat alongside sodium, because some of the molecules will interact with naturally occurring glutamate and independently form MSG molecules.
Oh wait… meat already has sodium in it because it’s muscle or organ tissue.
3:53 pm
we took an unofficial pollat a recent cocktail party and it was unanimous, wewould buy more Triscuits if you could get low fat /low sodium in the flavoured varieties. We don’t want all the salt or fat!
2:13 am
triscuits are way too salty. i remember trying it for the first time and had to spit it out right away. disgusting.