Nancy Potter of Potter's Crackers
When baker Nancy Potter wanted to start a food business, she considered how cheese making in Wisconsin has grown exponentially in quality and variety over the last couple of decades—and what pairs better with cheese than crackers?
“One of my biggest reasons for picking crackers was that I saw the Wisconsin cheese industry getting better and better,” Potter says. “Why get a fine $20-per-pound cheddar, and then put it on a Ritz?”
Her choice led to the formation of Potter’s Crackers. The business is based in the Common Wealth business incubator on Madison’s East Side, but Milwaukeeans can easily find Potter’s Crackers at Outpost Natural Foods, Beans & Barley, Sendik’s, Larry’s Market, Kettle Range Meat Company or online. After owning and operating New Glarus Bakery for many years, Potter left the bakery business and worked for two years in marketing, but she missed the food business and being her own boss. She considered making candy, but candy, like bakery, she thought was too seasonal or holiday themed. She wanted to produce a product that would be in demand year-round. She mentioned the possibility of cracker production to her kids during a Thanksgiving gathering.
“Everybody thought I was nuts, but then my son Peter called a few weeks later and suggested that it would be a good idea, and he would go into business with me,” Potter said. Peter was an undergrad at UW-Madison at the time, and he eventually went on to grad school at UC-Davis, in Sacramento. After Peter finished grad school, he opened a division of Potter’s Crackers in California that made gluten-free crackers. Today production is solely in Wisconsin. Peter is still a partner in the business.
Potter’s Crackers no longer makes gluten-free products, but the company focuses on seven varieties of crisp, hearty crackers. Winter wheat (which is vegan), six seed and classic white all pair well with most kinds of cheese. There’s applewood smoked, in which the crackers are smoked in wood from organic apple trees; Wisconsin rye, made with rye flour from Lonesome Stone Milling in the Driftless Region; caramelized onion; and herbes de provence, lightly seasoned with rosemary and thyme. The latter pairs well with goat cheese or other lighter, creamy white cheeses.
“The smoked applewood has a really distinctive flavor. When you open the package, it reminds you of a campfire,” Potter said. She’s also received many compliments on the rye; customers from Milwaukee remarked that Potter’s rye crackers reminded them of the full-flavor, true rye bread that used to be served with fish fry dinners years ago.
Potter’s Crackers also makes crisps in flavors such as cranberry hazelnut, caramelized onion, and rosemary thyme; and oyster crackers, which are always fun to toss into a steamy bowl of soup on a cold winter afternoon.
Because Potter’s Crackers uses organically produced ingredients, Potter wanted to have the packaging be as environmentally friendly as possible. The crackers are packaged in a biodegradable tray and attractive recyclable sleeve, which lists pairing recommendations for each variety.
For more information, visit potterscrackers.com.
