The end is near for RyKrisp, the made-in-Minnesota rye cracker that once was a mainstay of dieters and Scandinavians.
RyKrisp’s owner, ConAgra Foods, has notified employees that in March, it will stop producing the hard cracker at the one and only production plant, which is in Southeast Minneapolis.
And then, after more than a century, RyKrisp will fade into history, a once-popular product that couldn’t survive changing consumer tastes.
“ConAgra bought them two years ago, and from what we know, they tried to sell it and didn’t have any luck, so they decided to close it up,” said Bruce Peglow, vice president of Local 22 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union, which represents the plant’s 15 workers.
“From their standpoint, it just didn’t make any business sense. But it’s too bad, because it’s a great history that came out of the local area.”
RyKrisp always has been produced in the Twin Cities, although its exact origins are a bit murky.
A company history says the cracker was launched in 1899 in downtown St. Paul, when immigrant Arvid Peterson began selling hard rye crackers like those in his native Sweden.
A different version places its founding in Minneapolis in 1904. And the current RyKrisp carton notes the “first baking” occurred in 1913.
Regardless, Peterson’s first rye crackers were round, not rectangular. The original name, Ry-Krisp, didn’t emerge until a few years later, when a pair of entrepreneurs took over the business and began selling nationwide.
In the 1920s, the Ry-Krisp plant was established in Minneapolis, where it has been ever since. And it hasn’t changed much.
“If you were to walk inside the plant, it’s like walking into living history,” Peglow said.
With nationwide distribution, Ry-Krisp prospered. It had a loyal following among Scandinavian immigrants who liked the taste of the old country. Later, it won favor with dieters who appreciated that one cracker had just 25 calories.
Ry-Krisp’s heyday came in the decades after World War II, the union said. But more recently, its popularity faded as consumer tastes changed, generations passed on and newer competitors emerged.
“The market share just isn’t there anymore,” said Ron Mohrland, president of Local 22. “There have been so many alternatives coming out. … I think the biggest customer they had were older people who grew up with it.”
ConAgra spokesman Dan Hare said Wednesday in a statement that the company decided to stop making RyKrisp crackers because of low demand.
According to the statement, RyKrisp employees could apply for other positions within ConAgra.
Most of the plant’s workers have worked at RyKrisp for more than 30 years, union officials said. Some will retire; some hope to land jobs at ConAgra’s other plants in the Twin Cities. All will receive a severance package when the plant closes.
“We’re sad to see RyKrisp go,” Peglow said. “When it goes off the shelf, there will be a little feeling of nostalgia.”
Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN.
