King Arthur Baking Company is the new name for the flour marketer that rolled out an updated brand during the busiest time in its 230-year history.
King Arthur Flour, as it was known for decades, changed its moniker to King Arthur Baking Co. in July. The move, says VP of Marketing Bill Tine, was 18 months in the making and just so happened to come after the coronavirus pandemic began and people were spending more time at home—making sourdough starters, cinnamon roll and banana bread.
“It felt like weekly that we were wondering how, if, we should make this change,” Tine says on the latest edition of the “Marketer’s Brief” podcast.
King Arthur Baking’s team decided the name update was more relevant given the increased interest in the employee-owned brand and in baking overall. “Baking seems to be taking the country by storm,” says Tine.
Flour sales spiked 154% in March and April versus the same period last year, according to a Profitero analysis of Amazon sales. The firm found that flour sales in September and October were down 48% compared to that March-April period, yet were still up 80% from a year earlier.
In October, King Arthur launched a campaign that draws on research conducted before the pandemic—that baking has the power to bring people together. The spot was shot during the pandemic and feels more poignant than it would have without the crisis keeping people separated. It shows bakers kneading dough and measuring ingredients while singer Ashley Nguyen DeWitt sings a song written by Alana Da Fonseca with lyrics including “Don’t it feel like the end” and “We will rise again.”