Auntie Anne’s DIY pretzel kit tested by Yahoo Finance

As food services and restaurants across the country gradually reopen businesses, many are still forced to rely on takeout and delivery to bring in revenue.

As a result, the current environment has pushed companies in the food industry to get creative with how they reach customers. Do-it-yourself kits have become all the rage, and one of the companies offering do-it-yourself kits for loyal fans is Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

After an exclusive offering on National Pretzel Day, the pretzel chain brought back its DIY pretzel kit at the beginning of May due to popular demand, according to the company.

“We heard from our guests loud and clear that they are missing our hand-rolled, golden brown pretzel snacks, and quite frankly, we’re missing our guests, too!,” Auntie Anne’s President Heather Neary said in a statement May 4.

“The DIY At-Home Pretzel Kit is not only a great way to satisfy those pretzel cravings, but also creates a fun activity for families to enjoy together while remaining at home,” she added.

Yahoo Finance put the Auntie Anne’s DIY pretzel kit to a test to measure overall ease to make and taste of the final product.

The box came with almost all of the ingredients that were required, with the exception of butter to brush on top of the cooked pretzels and all-purpose flour to lightly flour the surface before kneading the dough.

While not exactly easy for any average person to do, it’s not impossible and certainly is made easier with all of the ingredients measured out. The cooking time is short, but the preparation is what was the most time consuming. Regardless of pretzel size and thickness, the finished product yielded evenly cooked pretzels that tasted surprisingly good.

Overall, judging based on ease and taste, Yahoo Finance rated the DIY pretzel kit four stars out of five (one star being not tasty at all to five stars representing excellent). Note: Yahoo Finance had no previous pretzel-making skills before attempting the test.

The pretzel kit retails for $30 online and yields approximately 10 pretzels.

Most states across the country have reopened their economies. However, Auntie Anne’s, owned by FOCUS Brands, is often located in airports, schools, indoor malls and outlets, which are only starting to see foot traffic increase. FOCUS Brands has been attempting to shift away from those locations, according to CEO Jim Holthouser.

“We have been trying to diversify away from malls for a couple of years,” Holthouser told Yahoo Finance in an interview May 21.

“Probably like every other business, this pandemic came at us so quickly,” he said. “Two months into this, I am pleased to tell you that the malls are coming back, albeit slowly.” 

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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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