As a young adult in the early 1970s, running a first-of-its-kind bakery and deli in downtown Seattle, Marian Harris couldn't find just the right crackers to provide the perfect accompaniment to her homemade soups and salads. So — see where this is going? — she developed her own recipe and started making...
As a young adult in the early 1970s, running a first-of-its-kind bakery and deli in downtown Seattle, Marian Harris couldn't find just the right crackers to provide the perfect accompaniment to her homemade soups and salads. So — see where this is going? — she developed her own recipe and started making crackers herself. Those first crackers proved so popular, people were taking them home by the bagful, and, in fact, the crackers live on today as PARTNERS Toasted Sesame Flatbread Crackers. In the fall of 1992, after selling her restaurant, Marian sorted a batch of her crackers into eight different bags and in a single day visited eight local stores. She returned home to find orders waiting from seven of the them, and PARTNERS, A Tasteful Choice Company, was born. (Marian called the business PARTNERS because the crackers were a perfect "partner" for any food, "from peanut butter to pâté.")
By 1993, Marian’s son Greg and daughter Cara had joined the team. Marian, the lifelong baker and cook, conducted all research and development. Cara, the trained lawyer with the gift of gab, headed up sales and marketing. And Greg, the physicist, directed operations. To this day, the three collectively run the company in a truly collaborative fashion. The company now employs some 85 people in a 150,000 square foot eco-friendly facility outside of Seattle. Through it all, Marian, Cara and Greg have remained committed to sourcing wholesome, high quality ingredients, and when they can't find just exactly what they want, they make it themselves. And that’s still the way the cracker crumbles.
Their 150,000 square foot bakery and warehouse is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified Building. Paper board cartons made from renewable managed forest products certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative).
A Brand That Gives Back: Partner's Crackers champions the American Cancer Society, Bloodworks Northwest, Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, FareStart, Food Lifeline, Lenny Wilkens Foundation, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Northwest harvest, Olive Crest, Seattle Children's Theatre, Seattle Christian Schools, Seattle Humane Society, Woodland Pak Zoo and the YMCA.
