Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 11, 2009
Snack lovers nationwide giving chocolaty thumbs up to the Little Debbie Cupcake
David Laprad
You’re at the grocery store. You know better than to shop for food when you’re hungry, but you needed to pick up a few things for dinner on your way home from work, so you had no choice. As you wheel your cart past the end of the cookie aisle and make a turn, Little Debbie catches your eye, her rosy cheeks gracing boxes of Honey Buns, Nutty Bars and Oatmeal Creme Pies. Your stomach growls, and as you fight the urge to grab a few cartons, you see something new: chocolate cupcakes.
The package plays dirty. There you are, in a weakened state, and the picture of the cupcake, with its creamy filling and fudge icing, is making your mouth water. Finally, reason kicks in: you remind yourself it’s your patriotic duty to buy American, toss two boxes in your basket and head toward the produce section to buy some vegetables.
If this has happened to you, you’re probably not alone. Judging by sales data, this small drama is likely being played out across the county as people discover the latest Little Debbie snack from Collegedale, Tenn.-based McKee Foods, which after a mere two months in stores is already the top-selling cupcake in the nation.
But why? What has made Little Debbie snacks an irresistible temptation for 50 years? For starters, Mike McKee, president of the company and grandson of founder O.D. McKee, says McKee Foods has a history of making treats people enjoy.
“Our research and development department comes up with new products,” he says. “In the past, senior management would test the samples, but in recent years, we’ve taken a more professional approach.”
Because the cupcake required a huge investment of manpower and money, McKee Foods used consumer panels to make sure the product would be a hit. “That was a good thing, because after I’d eaten about a hundred cupcake recipes, I couldn’t distinguish between them anymore,” says McKee, laughing.
Despite the considerable effort McKee Foods put into nailing the recipe, McKee says he remained anxious until the first comments from the public rolled in. “You just don’t know until you get a product in the hands of consumers,” McKee says. “But they said the cupcakes taste great.”
McKee Foods doesn’t rely on a few top-selling products, either; rather, the company launches 15 to 20 new Little Debbie treats each year. The company usually lets consumers find out about its latest offerings while browsing a Little Debbie display at a grocery or convenience store. McKee Foods wanted to make a big splash with its cupcake, though, so the company unleashed a massive promotional campaign involving ads, coupons, a sweepstakes and a national share-a-thon.
The share-a-thon involves McKee Foods employees driving across the county in a Little Debbie trailer, giving away free cupcakes. Hundreds of people picked up their samples when the tour stopped in Collegedale on Nov. 17, 2009, despite rain. From Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Miami, the group has been on the road for nearly two months, and people can’t seem to get enough of the snacks.
Flavor is just one part of the Little Debbie formula, however, the other part is value. For years, McKee Foods has sold its Little Debbie treats at a price lower than other major players in the snack game. To do this, the company simply produces a lot of product.
“I remember my dad talking about the importance of productivity gains every year to keep our prices low, because that was one of the main competitive advantages we had,” says
McKee. “So over the ‘60s, ‘70s
and ‘80s, we made steady productivity gains.”
High volume allowed McKee Foods to sell single serve Swiss Rolls for a quarter for 25 years. Little Debbie family packs are an even better value: a pack of eight cupcakes cost $2.45 at Wal-Mart, for example, and consumers can print a coupon for 75 cents off the price through www.littledebbie.com. McKee Foods was the first bakery to sell wrapped snacks in a multipack carton. In the ‘60s, a carton of 12 treats had a suggested retail price of 49 cents. Separately, a dozen snacks would’ve cost 60 cents.
The appeal of Little Debbie goes beyond taste and value, though. People appreciate continuity in a world prone to rapid change. The late O.D. and his wife, Ruth, founded McKee Foods in Chattanooga in 1934, converting a simple cookie shop into a 5-cent bakery. Today, annual sales total $1.1 billion, but the company is still rooted in its history, with a third generation of McKees running the show. Even O.D.’s granddaughter, the girl whose name inspired the brand, is an executive vice president at the company.
And odds are you can taste this history in every bite of the new cupcake.
Visit www.littledebbie.com to enter a sweepstakes to win one of the Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcake Smart Cars currently on tour.
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