MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills, Inc. has partnered with Dallas-based 7-Eleven, Inc. to offer Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, the convenience store chain’s first warm bakery offering and the first Pillsbury branded fresh-bakery item with a convenience retailer.
The cinnamon rolls will be available with hot foods as well as in the fresh bakery case at participating stores for a suggested retail price of $1.69 per individual roll.
“Partnering with 7-Eleven gives General Mills an opportunity to bring the fresh-baked goodness of a ready-to-eat Pillsbury-branded cinnamon roll to millions of people,” said Randy Johnson, market manager for General Mills. “I believe the aroma in the stores and rich taste of these warm cinnamon rolls will make them a hit with 7-Eleven’s customers.”
7-Eleven said its fresh food innovations team worked for more than a year on the development with Pillsbury to ensure consistent product quality. Local bakeries across the country prepare and bake the cinnamon rolls daily. They are delivered overnight to stores.
“Our goal in partnering with Pillsbury was to create an indulgent cinnamon roll that looked and tasted homemade,” said Kelly Buckley, vice-president of fresh food innovation for 7-Eleven. “For more than 100 years, Pillsbury has been ‘the’ name in home-baking. Now, 7-Eleven can offer the homemade taste in a convenient, grab-and-go setting.”
Participating 7-Eleven stores will offer individual warm cinnamon rolls, as well as cinnamon rolls that are available in in mini bakery boxes. Additionally, customers may choose to select an unheated roll to eat later. Rolls take 10 seconds to heat in a microwave oven in the bakery boxes, 7-Eleven said.
7-Eleven, Inc. is the largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses nearly 10,200 7-Eleven stores in North America. Globally, 7-Eleven has more than 51,100 stores in 16 countries. During 2012, 7-Eleven stores generated total worldwide sales close to $84.8 billion.