J.M. Smucker Co. carries on the Pillsbury brand’s baking-contest tradition with a kids’ baking contest this fall.
Smucker acquired the Pillsbury baking mixes business in June 2004 when it bought International Multifoods Corp. for $840 million. (General Mills, which bought The Pillsbury Co. in 2001, owns and runs the famous Pillsbury Bake-Off. The 41st rendition of that contest wrapped up in June.)
The Kids Bake It Fun! contest ran for the first time last year via International Multifoods. This year, Smucker asks kids ages five to 15 to submit a recipe and photo of an original dessert made with Pillsbury baking mixes or frosting. Ten finalists win $1,000 and their recipes appear on www.pillsburybaking.com in February; site visitors vote for their fave. The top vote-getter wins a $25,000 grand prize.
The first 5,000 eligible entrants get a Radio Disney Ultimate Jams music CD from Orrville, OH-based Smuckers. The 2003 winner, Tyler Modjeski, appears with his mom in national print ads and an Oct. 17 FSI touting the contest.
The Pillsbury Co. sold its baking mix and frosting business to International Multifoods in 2001 as Pillsbury prepared to merge with General Mills. The Securities & Exchange Commission required Pillsbury to sell the business before it would approve the merger to keep General Mills from acquiring too big a share of the baking mix category.
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