Little Debbie mini muffins and mini brownies
McKee Foods' Little Debbie Mini Muffins and Mini Brownies now feature a Muffin Man character.

COLLEGEDALE, TENN. — McKee Foods Corp. has unveiled new “family-friendly” designs and revamped recipes for its Little Debbie Mini Muffins and Mini Brownies.

“The Muffin Man character on the new designs communicates the great, oven-baked taste of our muffins,” said John Petticord, creative services manager for McKee Foods. “What’s more, the Muffin Man harkens back to the McKee family’s roots as a small bake shop with one oven on Main Street in Chattanooga, Tenn., some 80 years ago.”

Erica Harrison, marketing specialist, added, “The Muffin Man is not just a design element; it also engages families in a number of ways. We included the famous nursery rhyme on one side of the carton and a fun game on the back. We also commissioned a free downloadable e-book that tells the story about how the Muffin Man got his name and makes for a sweet, sharable reading moment with your child.”

The link to the e-book is available at www.LittleDebbie.com.

To promote the design change, McKee said it will run a series of ads on television, digital and social media titled “The Moms of 7 A.M.”

Barry Anthony, McKee Foods, Little Debbie
Barry Anthony, director of marketing for McKee Foods

“This documentary-style campaign looks in on the real-life morning scramble of three families,” said Barry Anthony, director of marketing. “In these videos, we discover the real challenges, capture the real moments of spontaneous joy and see how Little Debbie Mini Muffins fit perfectly into these busy times.”

In addition to the new design features, McKee said Mini Muffins and Mini Brownies are getting a formulation makeover. The company said it mixed over 200 recipes and, guided by the feedback from hundreds of children and moms, refined them until they met expectations.

Cheryl Hilling, McKee Foods, Little Debbie
Cheryl Hilling, director of quality for McKee Foods
“One of the most interesting changes to the recipes should have been obvious,” said Cheryl Hilling, director of quality for McKee Foods. “Kids told us they preferred milk chocolate chips over semi-sweet chips because of their slightly bitter aftertaste. With ingredients like real blueberries and real cocoa, these new recipes are sure to please the entire family.”