Is it Buckwheat’s “Time?” Maine Crisp Says Yes With New Branding, Snacks

Maine Crisp’s main grain is steadily becoming the face of the brand.

The Winslow, Maine-based company, formerly known as The Maine Crisp Company, is now known as Better With Buckwheat following a full company rebrand announced last week. Alongside the new identity, the company is also launching its first new line, crackers as part of a broader strategy shift to build out a buckwheat-based snack platform.

“Now is the time to make this [expansion] actionable – consumers are craving more buckwheat,” said Lewis Goldstein, who joined the company as CEO in November 2022. “We hope the playfulness of the new look for the snacking crackers and the name will make our products the choice for families who want to give their kids the snacks they crave in the healthiest format they will eat.”

The crackers are available in Sea Salt, Everything, and Rosemary & Herb flavors and carry a range of dietary related attributes including grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. Better with Buckwheat crackers will launch nationwide at Sprouts stores in November for $5.29 per 4.25 oz box.

The company’s flagship line of seed and ancient grain crisps will now be known as Better With Buckwheat’s Maine Crisp line but will otherwise remain untouched.

“The time, attention and knowledge that goes into making these delicious [crisps] is very artisanal in nature and we wanted to keep that feeling on the packaging,” said Goldstein. “As consumers become more comfortable with the new Better With Buckwheat brand we will continue to add more elements of the new core brand [to Maine Crisp]. Our strategy is to go slow and steady.”

Although the crisps will begin to carry the new logo in December, the company does not currently plan to roll out the new “playful and family friendly” cracker pack design to its original products. In recent years, Maine Crisp has updated and overhauled its brand look numerous times with the goal of highlighting key attributes relevant to its consumers, said Goldstein, including flavor-related ingredients and dietary attributes like gluten-free and non-GMO. That messaging will now center around attributes derived from its hero ingredient.

These changes underscore the big bet the company has made on buckwheat. Late last year the company opened a new production facility with the stated goal of expanding into new snacking occasions and building out a platform of buckwheat-based treats. It is hoping that investors will share its vision as it seeks to raise a Series A funding round in addition to the state and local grants that have fueled its growth thus far.

The company plans to continue expanding beyond the latest line up as well and build out a premium, buckwheat-based bakery and snacking platform brand. Its hero ingredient may serve as a point of differentiation in the grain-free cracker set, which is fairly well-established with a wide range of almond, cassava, and coconut flour-based offerings. While Goldstein couldn’t share what future innovations lie ahead, he stated: “the buckwheat chocolate chip cookies that [our founder] Karen [Getz] makes in the test kitchen for the staff are crazy delicious.”

“Our mission is to bring the nutritious and delicious super seed buckwheat to more people around the country and to do that we needed to expand beyond our current crisp crackers into other snacking occasions,” said Goldstein “[We want to] communicate to consumers we have more buckwheat products in addition to the Maine Crisps they have loved for years and that has been the foundation of growth for the company.”

A recent survey conducted by The Oldways Whole Grains Council found that consumer awareness of buckwheat is second, with quinoa still in the lead, when ranked among the broader space of whole and ancient grains. The U.S. is the 4th largest global buckwheat exporter and the crop also has numerous climate-friendly attributes that are also steadily gaining traction with consumers including its drought-resistant nature and common use as a cover crop.

“Consumers have told us that first they are looking for delicious products that have the qualities that they are moving their diet towards,” said Goldstein, about buckwheat’s nutrient résumé. “Times are changing and we are so excited to be on the forefront of this trend. I think the time can be summed up in a quote from a key national buyer who recently said “I always knew buckwheat would have its time, I just didn’t know when it would be.”