SNACKWELL'S TO MAKE BAKERY PIES

LOUISE KRAMER

KENT, Wash. -- The powerful SnackWell's name is coming to the in-store bakery in the form of reduced-fat fruit pies from Plush Pippin here, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nabisco. Plush Pippin, which has been supplying upper-end gourmet bake-off pies to in-store bakeries, introduced the line at the annual convention of the Retail Bakers of America held in San Francisco March 11-13. Several retailers at the convention singled out the pies as a potentially hot item given the success of the reduced-fat cookies and crackers in the SnackWell's line in the grocery aisles. "Now your customers can enjoy all the flavor of delicious Plush Pippin pies... with half the guilt," the promotional literature says. The bake-off pies, which are featured in window boxes with Snackwell's signature green packaging, are currently available in two flavors: cherry and apple. More flavors, and more dessert items developed for the in-store bakery, are expected down the line, a company representative said. Although he declined to confirm other products in the pipeline for the bakery, he did say that cheesecake is one possibility. The 8-inch fruit pies have 50% less fat than other fruit pies, according to the company's promotional literature, which also states that a 30-day in-store test showed that the reduced-fat pies sold two-thirds as much volume as regular Plush Pippin apple and cherry pies. Asked if the pies might cannibalize sales of SnackWell's items in the grocery aisles, a company representative said they will not, because the customer for the in-store bakery items is seen as different from the grocery shopper.