For over 95 years, Valley Lahvosh has put its heart into its crackers—literally! Renowned for its fun cracker shapes, including Stars, Christmas Trees, and, of course, Hearts, Valley Lahvosh’s longstanding family tradition and crackerbread recipe continue its legacy in the cracker aisle of supermarkets everywhere. With a trail of crumbs stretching back to 1922, Valley Lahvosh is switching it up this year and bringing a new tradition into the fold: revamped packaging across its product line.
I caught up with Valley Lahvosh’s Marketing Manager Jenni Bonsignore to find out more on the redesign and company history.
“We haven’t changed our packaging design since the 90s, so we wanted to update our look,” Jenni tells me. “The redesign is eye-catching and is sure to make a great display on the shelf with the added graphics and color. It’s simplified with a cleaner look to reflect what’s in style and popular now. We’re excited to have fresh new packaging, and so far, the response has been great.”
Available now nationwide, the new packaging features what the company holds closest to its heart: its history and its crackers. With new bold logos in the shape of the crackers each bag or box contains, the new redesign shows off the delicious crackers inside on the front and tells Valley Lahvosh’s story on the top panel.
“In 1922, master baker Gazair Saghatelian fled Armenia to escape persecution,” Jenni says of Valley Lahvosh’s origins. “As he settled into American life, he returned to his profession–making bread, like Lahvosh and Peda bread, which is still baked fresh every day at Valley Lahvosh headquarters. From there, the lahvosh business expanded. He then passed the business onto his sons and daughter Janet, who pioneered the heart-shaped cracker. Janet’s daughter, Agnes, is the current owner, making her the third generation to run the bakery. Today, the original bakery first established by Gazair still stands in Fresno, California, in its historic location, but we have added on to it over the years to meet our expanding needs.”
With the redesign taking shape now, Jenni tells me the Lahvosh cracker remains at the forefront of Valley Lahvosh’s endeavors. Healthy and with a recipe similar to bread, the Lahvosh cracker has unique qualities that sets it apart from other crackers on the shelf. For example, if you wet Lahvosh, rolling or molding it, the Lahvosh cracker will become pliable and can change shape. This recipe spans between the company’s 2-inch Rounds to its 15-inch Rounds—which Jenni notes is Valley Lahvosh’s most popular product in foodservice and retail.
“Our 15-inch Round is also a great alternative to pizza crust, and our Hearts and other shapes are a perfect fit for the deli as they are ideal carrier crackers and go with lots of cheeses and meats,” Jenni explains. “Not to mention, if retailers are selling the larger cracker Rounds in the deli, then everything you need to make sandwiches and pizzas is in the same section, so it’s the perfect product for cross merchandising and recipes.”
The heart wants what it wants, and our hearts want Valley Lahvosh now and forever. For more on what’s giving us heart-eyes in the deli, dairy, and bakery world, keep checking back with Deli Market News for the latest.
