Pillsbury soft-baked cookies roll out
General Mills takes baking brand to another part of grocery
For the first time in its more than 150year history, Pillsbury will have ready-to-eat treats in the cookie aisle, reflecting a nation that’s over its pandemic baking craze.
Nearly a year after laborious baking projects, like sourdough bread, took over America as a form of distraction during new pandemic lockdowns, the pendulum is swinging the other way.
Research shows consumers are weary from cooking and cleaning up three meals a day and are craving shortcuts and convenience.
Pillsbury, owned by Golden Valley, Minn.based General Mills, is best known for its premade refrigerated doughs, but even that requires dirtying a baking sheet.
Like many baking ingredient companies,
General Mills saw a huge spike in sales for its flour last spring before stabilizing at moderately elevated levels as the pandemic went on.
The company isn’t reinventing the wheel with its shelf-stable soft baked cookies. Instead, it’s directing Pillsbury’s baking prowess toward a product for consumers who want a sweet treat now — not in 1014 minutes.
“We focused on launching Pillsbury Soft Baked Cookies for that quick treat, knowing there is not always time for baking,” Jeff Caswell, president of General Mills’ snacks division, said in a statement.
Pillsbury’s 18-pack of cookies will come in four varieties: chocolate chip, confetti, sugar with drizzled icing and peanut butter with chocolate drizzle. They will be available at retailers nationwide over the next two months.
U.S. mortgage rates rose for a fourth straight week, with higher borrowing costs threatening to crimp the housing rally.
The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 3.05%, up from 3.02% last week and the highest since July 2, Freddie Mac data showed Thursday. Rates have surged this year from a record low 2.65% in January.
Rates are rising as vaccines and a massive stimulus package drive a bet that inflation will accelerate as the U.S. economy picks up steam. Even with the recent spike, rates remain low by historical standards. This time last year, the average for the 30-year loan was 3.36%.
The housing rally that began last year after social-distancing initially froze the market was built on low borrowing costs. Rates dipped below 3% in July and stayed there for seven months, boosting buying power as Americans looked for larger properties in the suburbs.
With inventory of homes lacking, home prices have surged across the U.S. Still, a gradual jump in rates won’t do much to quell demand, said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities.
Sales will soar this year as Covid-19 infections decline and the $1.9 trillion stimulus package fires up the economy, he said.
“The record low rates are probably in the rearview mirror because they only existed at the time when the news of the pandemic was at its absolute worst,” Vitner said. “The economy is clearly on the mend so it makes perfect sense that interest rates have increased.