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The Near-Fatal Mistake of the Cake Mix
Today, 188 million use it — all because of one ingredient
Imagine a product that promises to do everything for you. You don’t even have to lift a finger. Wouldn’t you love it?
Apparently not. At least that’s what the companies that invented the cake mix discovered.
In 2019, more than 188 million Americans used mixes instead of flour to make cakes. This was up from 60 million users in 2016. But when invented, the cake mix almost flopped.
Towards the end of the 1940s, ready mixes made it easy for people to bake cakes, pie crusts, and biscuits. They simply had to add water and voila!
These mixes made their way into people’s shopping carts, and ultimately, their homes. But while the mixes to make pie crusts and biscuits sold like hotcakes, sales of cake mixes (which used the same ingredients) stagnated.
Marketers speculated that the cakes tasted artificial, which was partly true. But there was more.
A team led by market research pioneer, Dr. Ernest Dichter, discovered that cake mixes simplified the baking process so much that women felt the cakes weren’t “theirs.”
Unlike biscuits and pie crusts, cakes are a self-contained course. They represent a special occasion and carry great emotional significance. Cake premixes made women feel guilty for cheating their family out of the specialness of a home-made cake. Women also risked disappointing their guests who would feel as though they were not treated to something special.
Dichter’s solution? Just add an egg.
So Pillsbury removed eggs and other ingredients from the premix. Once women had to add fresh eggs, oil, and milk along with water to the cake mix, sales shot up. The advertisements also read, “Betty Crocker cake mixes bring you that special homemade goodness because you add the eggs yourself!”, implying that the women were still in charge.
When women had to put in “extra” effort, they became more comfortable with cake mixes.
