The Global Brand Behind Store-Bought Cracker Barrel Cheese

Cracker Barrel cheese, a store-bought cheese that consistently ranks high in flavor, is a go-to choice for American families' wine and cheese parties and holiday hosting. Die-hard fans know the difference between Cracker Barrel the cheese company and Cracker Barrel the restaurant — both of which have gone to great lengths to clarify that they're not related. The true story behind Cracker Barrel cheese, its global legacy, and where it comes from is worth learning about.

Lactalis Group, the France-based international company behind Cracker Barrel cheese, has owned the brand since its acquisition in 2020. According to its website, Lactalis Group is a third-generation family owned dairy business established in 1933. The company expanded from France across Europe in the 1950s and has been doing business in the U.S. since 1980. Lactalis American Group — the corporation's U.S. arm — currently has more than 1,600 employees. Other common household names under the Lactalis American Group umbrella include yogurt brands: Siggis, Stonyfield Organic, and Green Mountain Creamery; and cheese brands: Galbani, Parmalat and Président (which joins Cracker Barrel on our list of cheeses ranked highest for quality).

Prior to joining the Lactalis family of products, Cracker Barrel cheese built its name for more than six decades in the U.S. The company was established in 1954 under the umbrella of global food giant Kraft Foods Group, which merged with H.J. Heinz in 2015 to become The Kraft Heinz Company. Cracker Barrel cheese claims it was named after the cracker barrels featured at general stores in the mid-19^th century. Like the modern water cooler, people would gather around these open-topped barrels, which were often filled with soda crackers, to catch up and tell stories.

During this era, Cracker Barrel cheese grew from simple beginnings to a distinguished, artisanal cheese among The Kraft Heinz family. A timeline on the website shows it originally came in a wedge shape with aluminum packaging in the 1950s and '60s. Advertisements of that era show the cheese came in "extra sharp" or "mellow" flavors and paired nicely with pie. In the 1970s the company developed a cheese spread as well as the rectangular and square blocks we know today. Advertisements from the 1980s showed the cheese growing to elevated status among consumers, placing it next to a glass of wine with text that read: "The cheddar others would like to be when they grow up," via the Cracker Barrel website. Through time and acquisition, the company says it has maintained its original proprietary recipes and processes.