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After extensive product testing, Dairy Queen has decided to roll out a funnel cake dessert at its U.S. locations. A funnel cake is a fried batter staple of carnivals and fairs that is especially popular throughout the Midwest. Usually topped with powdered sugar, Dairy Queen sees it as the perfect base for its soft-serve ice cream.
Dairy Queen has test marketed its funnel cake desserts as part of its DQ Bakes!® Institute, and even flew in food bloggers to its Minneapolis headquarters to get their reactions.
“We do a lot of consumer research and test markets,” notes Dairy Queen’s president and CEO John Gainor.
The 76-year-old company has been aggressively adding to its menu, and in 2015 the company introduced its DQ Bakes! menu with nine products across three categories: Hot Desserts à la Mode, Artisan-style Sandwiches and Snack Melts. DQ locations across the U.S (excluding Texas) installed ovens to make the new menu items.
Gainor also points out that the funnel cakes fit right in with the “fan food” customer experience that Dairy Queen is known for. It’s a loyalty that has brought the company 10,472,082 likes on Facebook.
“A lot of our consumer research focuses on the emotional connection that you take out of the store,” Gainor says.
The new Funnel Cake a la Mode is planned as a year-round, permanent addition to the menu.
For more information read a Mazor’sEdge special report on Dairy Queen.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.