Celebrate National Pi Day With Sara Lee Frozen Bakery’s Craveable Pies

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery answers restaurant customer demand for top trending pie flavors

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#frozendesserts–No one knows pies like Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. The leading maker of frozen baked goods reported today that their Traverse City, MI bakery – built in 1962, has delivered over 1 billion pies to the marketplace – enough pie to circle the Earth 10 times. From popular restaurants and food trucks to pop-up specialty pie shops, pies are making a resurgence on menus everywhere. Nearly ¾ of U.S. restaurant operators indicate pies are important to their menu strategy – with more than 40 percent stating pie, cobblers or crisps are among their top-three best-selling desserts.

“I’m quite impressed by the increased pie enthusiasm we see in the market,” said Ryan Malone, Chief Marketing Officer for Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. “While there’s a nostalgic, simplistic elegance to classic pies, we’ve also been working on some fun, amped up creations that help chefs take their dessert menus to the next level, such as a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie with Citrus-Honey Sriracha Sauce. Our Seasonal Favorites program includes that recipe, along with many other culinary inspirations.”

A few pie facts:

• Nearly 1/5 of consumers report eating pie or cobbler one or more times a week (Technomic’s Desserts Consumer Trend Report, 2019)
• Apple pie is still the all-time American favorite pie flavor (Datassential 2019 Dessert Report). Apple pie plays an important role on the menu – it’s in the top three desserts, only surpassed by chocolate cake and brownies.
• Top trending pie ingredients at full-service restaurants over the past four years include Sea Salt (+164%) and Salted Carmel (+147%) (Datassential 2019 Dessert Report)
• In pie trends, Consumers say they would like to have more seasonal flavors available year-round, pies with more unique fruits, mini pies that can be eaten individually, and more pies with boozy flavors like bourbon (Datassential 2019 Dessert Report)

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery is encouraging restaurant operators to share the pie love with their customers and promote pie for dessert. Restaurants can leverage Pi Day by creating themed signage, charging $3.14 for a slice of pie, or serving a signature slice uniquely topped with candles, sauces or unique ice cream flavors. Restaurant operators can visit https://saraleefrozenbakery.com/foodservice/resources/seasonal-favorites to find fun and flavorful ideas on taking advantage of the pie craze year-round.

About Sara Lee Frozen Bakery:

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery is an industry-leading maker of frozen bakery and desserts, committed to delivering quality and value for every foodservice, retail and in-store bakery need. The company’s growing family of brands include Sara Lee®, Van’s Foods®, Chef Pierre® and Bistro Collection®, Superior on Main® and Cyrus O’Leary’s®. Sara Lee Frozen Bakery is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook Terrace with a state-of-the art Research & Development facility and bakeries in Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina and Washington. Using carefully sourced ingredients and time-honored recipes, the company is committed to making life’s moments a little sweeter, putting its customers first and discovering new ways to make everyone’s favorite foods even better. To learn more visit www.saraleefrozenbakery.com.

Contacts

Natalie Boscia, Natalie B Public Relations

Natalie@nataliebpr.com
773.317.1088