Innovation Insight: Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix
Gama this week looks at an interesting on-the-go concept in the world of baking mixes – Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix, a single-serve dessert which can be cooked in just one minute in the microwave.
Looking to extend convenience benefits into the baking mixes category, Portuguese manufacturer Condi Alimentar has unveiled Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix, a new launch for the European market. Although in many ways similar to conventional cake mixes, the product, in both its appearance and functionality, also bears comparison with single-serve desserts, with the specific advantage that it can essentially be eaten on the go. The dry mix is contained at the bottom of a board cup which is closed with a heat-sealed film. To prepare the cake, the consumer adds 50ml of water to the dry powder – the dome-shaped lid acting as a measuring device – mixes the batter, and then ‘bakes’ the cake in the microwave for less that one minute. Packs also come with a plastic fork, meaning that, once cooked, the cake can be carried and eaten on the go.
With its position half way between baking mixes and ready-to-eat desserts, Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix is able to tick a number of important boxes in terms of current consumer appeal. It maintains the element of ritual inherent in baking mixes and other ‘kit’ products, giving the consumer the sense of creating something for themselves, even if based on ready-prepared ingredients. At the same time that ritual is quick and convenient, and the product’s portability lends itself to on-the-go occasions.
A further benefit – returning to the theme discussed in last week’s Innovation Insight – is that of warmth and indulgence, which together can approximate to the notion of comfort. In this sense Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix shares the advantages of an on-the-go hot drink – to which it also bears a clear resemblance through its ‘coffee cup’ style packaging.
Condi Gold Chocolate Cake Mix hints at the future potential for convenience formats in the baking mixes category. By combining the nostalgic or ritualistic elements of home baking with the appeal of quick and easy, on the-go formats, producers can exploit the demand for moments of indulgence and comfort that that fit into consumers’ increasingly mobile lifestyles.