food

Jayden Daniels, Kid Cudi Mix It Up With Bisquick

 

Betty Crocker Bisquick, the Depression-era staple in many pantries, is looking for new ways to bring its comfy familiarity to the next generation.

To reach younger households, General Mills is banking on a series of celebrity-linked limited editions and social media cooking hacks to demonstrate how the baking mix, invented in 1931, is still key to fast and easy home cooking.

“Our product hasn't changed,” says Jenny Jonker, brand experience manager at General Mills. “Our branding hasn't changed. We’re just offering the same stability and versatility that Bisquick has always had. But we are reaching out to a newer, younger audience.”

One includes Jayden Daniels, the red-hot rookie quarterback for the Washington Commanders, who happens to have a Bisquick pregame ritual. “He makes two Bisquick waffles before every game,” says Jonker. “Not one waffle. Not three.”

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The brand whipped up a limited-edition Jayden Daniels Gameday Doublestack Waffle Mix, custom-designed Bisquick boxes it gave away in celebration of Daniels’ first home game.

Similarly, it recently partnered with rapper Kid Cudi, who is also a funnel cake connoisseur. That effort included a limited-edition Cudi’s Funnel Cake Mix custom box, which sold out in a day.

Earlier this year, it targeted fans of the latest season of “Fargo,” launching an LTO called Tiger Biscuits Bisquick, which honors the lethal skills of the character Dot. (That one was only sold in Scandia, Minnesota.)

Jonker tells Marketing Daily the main point of these deals is to get people to think about more creative ways to use Bisquick. “It’s more than biscuits or pancakes. It is a canvas for possibilities. We want people to think about across-the-meal spectrum, whether it's breakfast, dinner, desserts, or snacks.”

She says these partnerships help demonstrate creative agility. Reaching Gen Z and millennial audiences now, when they are having more meals at home, is important. “We want people to know how many solutions they can get out of one box.”

The point isn’t about trying to be hip. Bisquick "already stands for comfort and nostalgia,” Jonker says. “Now we want it also to be seen as a creative palette, especially as younger people are looking for more ways to experiment and spice up their at-home meal routines.”

Ads are running on social media, the first place this audience turns for hacks, tips, and tricks. Spots focus on young families, who often feel worn down by the relentless pressure to feed everyone. “Sometimes it’s nice to make a warm breakfast instead of just throwing a granola bar at the kids as you go out the door,” says Jonker. “And at dinner, instead of another microwave meal, it feels good to pull a warm biscuit out of the oven.”

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