Kearny high schoolers are cooking up something unique for Auntie Anne’s.
The Lancaster, Pa.-based pretzel maker is allowing students in the New Jersey ProStart Program at Kearny High School to develop a new pretzel product for them, to be sold for a limited time at the franchise location in New Jersey Gardens Mall this spring.
This is the first time the brand has ever gone outside its own system to develop a new product.
According to Jackie Secor, vice president of operations for Auntie Anne’s LLC, the opportunity developed organically. She was invited by the New Jersey Restaurant Educational Foundation to tour a school that participates in ProStart, a nationally recognized two-year program for high school students that prepares them for jobs in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
Heart shaped pretzels from Auntie Anne’s. – AUNTIE ANNE’S LLC
She picked Kearny High School because her grandmother graduated from there years before.
“I was talking with the kids, impressed with the talent, ambition and confidence of the Kearny students, when one student asked me how we determine what sells in stores. Shortly after, several other kids chimed in and asked why they couldn’t try to create a new product for us,” said Secor. “Honestly, I paused for moment, and thought, why not?”
The students were set to receive Auntie Anne’s dough mixture on Friday to begin their quest.
In developing their product, they must pay attention to details beyond creativity and taste: How will it be priced? How will they market it? What demographics are they trying to feed? Auntie Anne’s Research & Development team will visit the school to support the development process.
“I told them not to be afraid to think big and think crazy, but to remember the real world lessons they’re learning in class and to apply them. In simple terms, it means what sells in New Jersey may not sell well in another state,” said Jessica Barone, culinary arts instructor at Kearny High School.
If the product proves successful for the New Jersey Gardens Mall Auntie Anne’s franchise, it will be evaluated by corporate.
“Our students are ethnically diverse and needless to say, proud of their heritage. It will be interesting to see how the students’ Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Hispanic, Irish, Scottish and British cultures all dovetail together,” said Barone. “To say I’m excited for them, is an understatement.”
