More and more consumers seek out pumpkin flavored foods and beverages earlier each year. In fact, the popularity of pumpkin is expected to grow +17% over the next few years.1 Starting to prepare for pumpkin season now can set your operation up for success and add incremental profit potential. Promoting your pumpkin offerings early helps keep them top of mind when consumers are choosing where to dine or order delivery or takeout from this fall.
The unmistakably fresh, earthy-sweet flavor profile of pumpkin makes it perfect for seasonal desserts and sweet snacks. Since 64% of consumers who’ve tried pumpkin like or love it,2 you have a delicious opportunity to create a dessert menu your guests will crave. There’s no better treat to start with than pie! As a consumer favorite, pumpkin pie is one of the fastest growing year-round pie flavors, up +33% in the last 4 years.3
Sara Lee Frozen Bakery offers a sweet selection of Chef Pierre® pumpkin pie options to make your seasonal menu memorable. Our pre-baked pumpkin pies save valuable baking time, allowing staff to prepare more whole pies in less time to satisfy both onsite and offsite dining occasions. Ideal for operations experiencing labor shortages, our 100% yield pre-baked, pre-sliced pumpkin pies save labor and reduce waste with plate-ready, perfectly portioned slices. For made-from-scratch appearance and decorating versatility, try our un-baked and un-sliced pumpkin pies. Back-of-house staff can easily customize and platescape individual slices with toppings and garnishes for visually appealing plated desserts and take-home treats.
Pies To-Go Deliver ProfitsCrafted from time-honored recipes, our restaurant quality pies offer an indulgent solution for your seasonal take-home dessert selections. Sara Lee Frozen Bakery provides your operation everything it needs to establish a pie take-home program – from operator planning guides and quick to-go container reference to impactful promotional materials and program tips sheet that help attract new and existing customers. Discover the profit potential offering pies to-go can create for you with our ROI calculator and explore more helpful resources here.
LTOs Draw Customers in and Drive Them BackSeasonal LTOs allow you to keep your dessert menu fresh and guests coming back often to try new items. In the 2022 Datassential Dessert Keynote Report, dessert charcuterie boards have evolved beyond the typical meat-centric board to take on a sweet spin. There are a few ways to leverage this new trend. Create a “piecuterie” board with decorative pumpkin pie slices featuring complementary toppings. Try nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg, sauces, whipped topping, edible glitter, and colorful sprinkles to give slices that wow factor guests seek. Make a bite-sized pumpkin pie platter with mini pie squares and include dippable sauces and garnishes as a shareable dessert snack option. Consider offering pre-decorated dessert boards as a take-home opportunity for guests to easily grab and go from your retail dessert case.
Creating innovative dessert LTOs using pumpkin pie as a foundation is easier than ever, and these delightful pie builds work perfectly on dessert boards and as whole pies or slices to-go. Try this recipe for Pecan Crumble Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Turtle Pie Bowl, both featuring decadent ingredients such as pecans, chocolate and caramel sauce. Give a sweet twist to dessert beverages by creating a signature Pumpkin Pie Milkshake, or craft a savory-sweet Spicy Candied Bacon Pumpkin Pie. Find more culinary inspiration here.
Consumers Want Clean LabelsToday’s consumers are paying closer attention to food labels and are willing to pay more for clean labeled foods. In fact, 40% of consumers are interested in clean label foods, 43% are likely to purchase them over items without clean labels, and about half of consumers are willing to pay a 5-10% premium for items with clean labels. Sara Lee Frozen Bakery Chef Pierre® pies proudly hold the clean label that customers seek – all with no artificial flavors or colors and no high fructose corn syrup.
Contact your Sara Lee Frozen Bakery representative for more ideas and resource to help you prepare for pie season this fall.
1Datassential Dessert Keynote, 2021