Food Thoughts, Matthews and Pillsbury Launch New Home Baking Products
New cake mixes, regenerative flours and a sourdough kit reach home bakers in the US and UK, with prices listed. See what each product costs and where it is sold.
Several brands have released new products for home bakers this autumn, according to a roundup from BakeryAndSnacks. The launches include cake mixes that need only oil and water, regenerative flours sold at Sainsbury’s, a children’s sourdough kit and a limited-edition caramel evaporated milk in the US.
Prices and retailers differ by country. The central figures are below.
The central figures
- 73%: share of more than 2,500 Food Thoughts customers who said they would consider buying a ready-to-use cake mix. The same group named time, mess, waste and doubts about the result as reasons they bake less often.
- £4.50 for 400g: recommended retail price of Food Thoughts’ new Beautiful Chocolate and Beautiful Ginger Cake Mixes. They need only oil and water and are sold through Sainsbury’s in the UK.
- £2.75 for 100g: price of Food Thoughts’ new Milk Chocolate Chips, which contain 41% single-origin Colombian cocoa.
- $79.99: price of the Sourdough Science kit from BaKIT Box and Sourhouse, made for children aged five to 12 and shipped within the US. Children grow a starter over seven to 10 days.
- £3 for 1.5kg: price of Matthews Cotswold Flour’s new Strong White, which contains 12.5% protein and suits sourdough. The Strong Wholegrain flour has 14.3% protein and costs £2.90 for 1.5kg.
- $2.19: recommended price of Carnation’s 12oz Caramel Flavored Evaporated Milk, sold online and at retailers including Walmart and Kroger.
Cake mixes and kits
Pillsbury Baking’s Gingerbread Stuffed Cupcake Kit has a cream cheese-flavored filling that bakes into the center of each cupcake, so bakers do not have to hollow them out. The 21.25oz kosher-certified box makes 24 cupcakes once water, oil and eggs are added. A 16oz Gingerbread Frosting tub, which is gluten-free and kosher-certified, covers about 24 cupcakes. Both are sold at Walmart and selected US retailers.
Food Thoughts is also adding Velvety Chocolate Flavour and Velvety Vanilla Flavour Frostings at £3.95 for 400g. The company says it developed the mixes with professional chefs, using recipes tested in hospitality. Five new lines are going into Sainsbury’s alongside a rebrand. The new chips join existing 70% Dark Chocolate Chips, Organic Cocoa Powder and Organic Cacao Powder.
Flours and starter kits
Matthews Cotswold Flour has launched five regenerative flours online and in selected Sainsbury’s stores. New Cotswold Crunch, which has a malty aroma, costs £3.25 for 1.5kg. Eight Grain, a blend of wheat flour with rye flakes, oat flakes, malted wheat, maize grits, linseed, sunflower and millet seeds, is £3.70 for 1.5kg. White Spelt is £4 for 1.5kg. The company says the grain comes from farms that use crop rotation and animal integration. Waitrose already stocks its regenerative Eight Grain, Pizza and Churchill flours.
The sourdough kit includes dry ingredients, a pint-sized starter jar, a Bread Blanket, instructions and a field notes journal. Recipes cover an Egyptian starter, an American sourdough loaf and Italian crackers.
Lovingly Artisan, a bakery based in Manchester and Cumbria, has relaunched its free Facebook Baking Club. It runs regular live broadcasts on starters, kneading, proving, shaping, scoring and storage.
Decorating and flavor products
- Rosie Rose of Hanover, Germany, sells edible dried flowers and glitter products with worldwide delivery. Glitter Dust icing sugar and cocoa powder start at €7.90, Easy Drip in Gold is €11.90, and a five-variety flower tasting set is €24.90.
- Rainbow Dust has added Gold and Black & Gold Twinkle Dust edible glitters, made in Lostock Hall, Lancashire, with E171-free formulas. They are sold through its online shop.
- Carnation is promoting its caramel evaporated milk with a Caramel Apple Pie Bars recipe.
- Simply Apple has put sweater-inspired limited-edition labels on its 52fl oz bottles and published an apple cider doughnut recipe.
- The California Prune Board is running a UK campaign that presents prunes as a baking ingredient.
Why it matters for home bakers
Most of these products are sold in only one market. The Food Thoughts and Matthews products are listed in pounds and sold through UK retailers, while the Pillsbury, Carnation and Simply Apple items are for US shoppers. BaKIT Box ships its kit to US addresses. Prices for the flours, mixes and chips are recommended retail prices, so shelf prices may differ.
Source: BakeryAndSnacks
