Spotlight: A consumer panel rates Signature Desserts

FoodProcessing.com

For a boxed cake mix, this delighted consumers with innovation and great taste.

By Hollis Ashman and Jacqueline Beckley,
Consumer Understanding Editors

Cakes have been linked to celebrations and special events since the ancient Greeks. Chiffon cakes in 1927 were the first really new development in cake making. Harry Baker of the Brown Derby, a trendy restaurant of the time for the Hollywood set, invented the original chiffon cake in that year. His key was using vegetable oil in place of conventional shortening.

In 1947, General Mills bought the recipe and the secret ingredient vegetable oil. The cake mix was introduced in Better Homes and Gardens magazine in May 1948 and was a nationwide sensation during the 1950s.

The top flavors of cake mix today are white, yellow and chocolate. Fat is a key element for this recipe. With oil always in a liquid state at room temperature, one is able to have a chiffon cake stay soft and fresh longer. The fat coats the flour proteins and protects them from moisture and from forming gluten when mixed.

Chiffon cakes can be modified by processing, flavorings, frostings and additions. But can you take a box-mix chiffon cake and elevate it with a novel flavor and improved consistency to rival something out of a bakery?

Understanding the marketplace

In 2002, cake mix sales in the U.S. were $400 million, but they have been dropping 3 percent yearly since. Brownie mixes, not cake mixes, have been the star with a growth rate of 7 percent in 2003, according to Information Resources Inc. With the drop in consumer baking, baking mix companies have scrambled to create new products that appeal to a time-starved consumer with the taste of fresh, home cooking.

Betty Crocker (General Mills), Duncan Hines (Procter & Gamble) and Pillsbury were the major brands for many years. The recent story of Duncan Hines is typical in the food industry. Aurora Foods purchased Duncan Hines cake mixes in 1998. Earlier this year, Aurora merged with Pinnacle Foods. (Also of note: General Mills purchased Pillsbury, so those brands are under the same ownership today.)

It’s difficult to innovate when you’re being bought, sold and merged. The key issue for the folks at Duncan Hines is how to innovate while driving profitability. Duncan Hines is leveraging its cake mix expertise and brand name to create easy-to-make, indulgent dessert baking kits. And all this is happening in a marketplace that shows some signs of a lack of interest in sweet, grain-based consumables.

Cake mixes have been around for a long time with many consumers using them to feel as if they have “made a cake” (which they have). More than 30 percent of consumers will customize the mix to make it “theirs.” This customization can include frostings, added nuts, fruits and chips or changing the size or form of the cake (cupcakes, layer, pan, etc.). Most cake mixes do not always deliver a finished product that is similar to the beauty shot on the package.

The Duncan Hines brand is based on more than 50 years of trust. The brand is said to reflect the sprit of Duncan Hines, a respected food critic, and its products are designed to inspire the consumer’s love of baking. Its mixes are starting points that reflect the home baker’s personal touch.

This product delivers: "The consumer could definitely trust she would end up with a premium cake from this mix," say the authors.

Insights

Our Crave It!, Insight: Crave It! and It!s Convenient studies integrate more than 30 conjoint studies to generate databases that can be used to understand the experience of foods. They tell us sweets are at the top of the list of craveable foods.

Cheesecake, fresh fruit, ice cream, chocolate candy, donuts, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate chip cookies have all been tracked for craveability. Attributes that count the most for sweet dessert items are: premium quality, real with simple ingredients, melts in your mouth, smoothness with density, creamy, just to your liking, freshness, lots of flavor, a joy for the senses and home cooking.

Desserts are about the brand, fresh out of the oven, the texture (melts in your mouth). Desserts are very much about making them with or for someone significant. The key attributes are a mixture of product characteristics such as appearance, taste, texture and aroma, plus emotional attributes. Desserts are consumed after lunch, mid-afternoon or late evening.

While men and women alike are fond of desserts like cakes, the It!s foundation bases strongly show that more women will comment and discuss desserts than men (who tend to favor savory items like steak, roast beef sandwiches, and sausage).

Key trends are convenience and indulgence.

Convenience: Manufacturers are responding to hectic lifestyles by creating packaging kits that assist convenience. Product trends that have done well are “fresh from the oven” (less than 15 minutes) or products that kids can make easily or with a parent as part of a bonding activity. Ensuring all ingredients (except for wet ingredients) are in the package is a requirement.