Cracker Jack started its “prize in every box” promotion on this day in history, February 19, 1912.
German immigrant FW Rueckheim first invented this now ubiquitous stadium treat in the late 19th century.
It was initially sold at his small candy and popcorn store, FW Rueckheim & Bro., says the website SnackHistory.com.
Caramel-coated popcorn made its official debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the website notes.
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Three years later, Rueckheim began marketing the snack as “Cracker Jack,” the Chicago Encyclopedia noted.
It would be almost a decade before another innovation would further boost the product's popularity.
A German immigrant named FW Rueckheim invented Cracker Jack in the late 19th century and sold it in his popcorn and candy store. (AP Newsroom)
In 1912, F.W. Rueckheim & Bro. It employed about 700 people at its Chicago factory, notes the Encyclopedia of Chicago.
It was on February 19 of that year when someone came up with the idea of putting a small “prize” in each box as a promotion, and sales skyrocketed.
Previously, prizes or coupons were only included in random boxes, said the Cracker Jack appreciation website known as The Art is Cracker Jack.
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The “prize in every box” strategy worked.
Cracker Jack has given away about 17 billion toys in more than a century, The Art is Cracker Jack site said.
“Cracker Jack was not the first company to use free premiums to promote its product. As its longevity has proven, it simply did it better,” the site stated.
Cracker Jack began including toys and coupons in random boxes before deciding to put a “prize in every box” on this day in history, February 19, 1912. (AP Newsroom)
Ten years after the debut of the “prize in every box” promotion, the company's name was officially changed to “The Cracker Jack Co.”
Early Cracker Jack boxed prizes were largely made of paper, metal or wood and mixed with the food product, The Art is Cracker Jack website says.
Cracker Jack “wisely began awarding certain prizes in a set or series.”
“It wasn't until decades later, in 1948, that Cracker Jack began handing out treats wrapped in waxed paper,” the site said.
In an appeal to collectors (and to increase sales), Cracker Jack “wisely began awarding certain prizes in a set or series,” according to The Art is Cracker Jack.
Initially, toys and treats in Cracker Jack boxes were unwrapped and mixed with the food product. (AP Newsroom)
“Cracker Jack's slogan may have been 'The more you eat, the more you want,' but for Cracker Jack's prize hoarders the slogan might as well have been 'The more you collect, the more you want to collect,'” the website said.
In 1946, Cracker Jack began handing out plastic prizes in its boxes, thanks in part to “Innovations in the injection-molded plastic process,” The Art is Cracker Jack said.
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These innovations “allowed for mass production of inexpensive items, opening a new era for the Cracker Jack prize.”
Cracker Jack Co. was sold to Borden Inc. in 1964.
The “arcade” features classic games, including a version of Connect Four.
Then in 1997, Frito-Lay Inc. bought Cracker Jack.
Nineteen years later, the “prize” inside a Cracker Jack box or bag was replaced by an app, “ending an era,” says The Art is Cracker Jack.
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Today, Cracker Jack buyers will find a sticker granting them access to the online “Prize Inside Arcade” on the Cracker Jack website.
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The “arcade” features classic games, including a version of Connect Four.
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