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Pretzel heritage and a love of food: How we made Twisted Pretzel Sticks

Our Food

New Snyder’s of Hanover Twisted Pretzel Sticks are here, and they’re a testament to the Campbell Snacks team’s agility, strong pretzel heritage, and love of food.

Under the lead of our Innovation team, a group of sensory and flavor scientists, product developers, and expert bakers got to work creating a twisted pretzel stick with out of this world big flavor.

The result? A collection of Twisted Pretzel Sticks in flavors like Seasoned, Sour Cream and Onion, and Jalapeño Ranch. They’re the perfect combo of rich, buttery pretzels with an explosion of bold flavors baked in like you’ve never tasted before. And, yes, you can find them in stores now.

Pivoting during the pandemic

The work began in March 2020, but the Innovation team was sent home soon after, with the pandemic impacting our typical methods of work.

So we took the project virtual.

“We met virtually as a task force every single day to discuss the product and map out plans for each possible outcome,” said Dina Reagan, Senior Director of Salty Snacks. “We put our heads together to quickly pivot and push forward, operating through phone and video calls, and tele-tasting from home.”

The agility of the team

Getting creative and scrappy isn’t anything new to the team in our Franklin, Wisconsin bakery, but their work bringing Twisted Pretzel Sticks to life presented an entirely new challenge. The pretzels were first created by our Research & Development (R&D) team in our Hanover, PA location—the hometown of Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels and the Snack Food Capital of the World—so the Franklin team had to partner closely with the R&D team to get the pretzels ready for production, amidst a pandemic.

“We wanted to make sure we delivered a delicious pretzel exactly how the R&D team had intended. Working on a new product within COVID-19 protocols had its challenges, but we were able to pull it off quickly without sacrificing employee safety or quality of the product.”  

– Jerry Kreider, Plant Manager, Franklin, Wisconsin

Hundreds of versions of the seasonings were evaluated, and, for months, the entire team working on Twisted Pretzel Sticks received daily shipments of the pretzels to taste test. You could call it a job perk, but we’re all passionate about making really good food!

A strong pretzel heritage

Amanda Thomason and Brad Viands, R&D leads from Hanover, made a 780-mile trek to Franklin by car. After following COVID-19 protocols, including quarantines and testing, they worked on-site to provide extra support for this critical project.

“The town of Hanover is built around pretzels and known as ‘The Snack Food Capital of the World,’” said Brad. “Most of our team is local to the area, so together our pretzel heritage is very strong.”

“Our team took such an entrepreneurial approach as we tinkered with the new pretzels to get them just right” said Dina. “This, combined with a love of the perfect pretzel, created a product we’re really proud of.”

With an openness to be creative, endless scenario planning, and strong communication, the team successfully completed the trials and the new pretzels were ready to launch.

“I’m a bit of a pretzel geek—I have pretzel t-shirts and even a pretzel Christmas tree ornament. I couldn’t wait to take a selfie with the new Twisted Pretzel Sticks that I helped make now that they’re on shelves!”

– Amanda Thomason, R&D Manager, Campbell Snacks
Amanda Thomason with the pretzels she helped develop

Snyder’s of Hanover Twisted Pretzel Sticks are now available for your own pretzel selfies!

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