Cinnabon Branches Out Into C-Stores

The branded products will soon appear on grocery and convenience store shelves.

October 26, 2016

ATLANTA – Cinnabon is moving beyond the bun, BakingBusiness.com reports. The cinnamon roll maker has developed cookies and cappuccinos, as well as other branded products. “Cinnabon is a brand that deconstructs well,” said Kristen Hartman, senior vice president of marketing for the Snacks Group at parent company Focus Brands. “It has ingredients that really apply to a lot of different product formats—so the cinnamon and the cream cheese frosting. But then it also deconstructs well in that people have an emotional connection to the brand, so when they see those core elements in other forms and formats, it’s the kind of thing they naturally gravitate to.”

Cinnabon debuted its new lineup for grocery and convenience stores at the NACS Show last week. “The thing that we know about Cinnabon is people absolutely love the brand, but they tell us all the time that they want more access,” Hartman said. “So we decided to develop a line that extends from our core that gives people a little taste of Cinnabon and to do it in a way that allows them to get it in convenience stores or travel plazas.”

The cookies and pastries will be available at in-store bakeries as well as on store shelves. New packaged products include a cream cheese, frosting-filled streusel muffin, a Caramel Peacanbon cookie, a marble pound cake with a cinnamon swirl, and a cinnamon chip cookie. The line will include doughnuts in the near future.

The chain will also sell Caramel Pecanbon cappuccino and a cinnamon roll frozen cappuccino. “Consumers right now love indulgent beverages, so when they think about Cinnabon they think that sounds like a delicious indulgent beverage, and the flavors pair really well with coffees, with shakes,” Hartman said. “We have a Cinnabon flavored shake in Sheetz. So the flavors pair really well with beverages, and it’s also that indulgence people are looking for.”

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