Animal crackers with which we are all familiar were not a brand.  Animal crackers are a commodity with many different manufacturers over the years, even a few now, but the niche category has been all but owned since 1902 by Nabisco with its Barnum Animal crackers.  WHY??

In 1902, Nabisco created a special package of Barnum’s Animal Crackers, the circus wagon box as a one-time Christmas promotion.  The box had a string so that when empty it could be hung on a Christmas tree.

Up until then the crackers were sold only in bulk in barrels in store.  You bought them by weight.

The circus wagon package was so popular, and the string became popular because kids carried the box by the string, that over time Nabisco came to own this category with its Barnum Animal Crackers, which clearly are a KILLER BRAND.