Cole’s Quality Foods takes its garlic bread flavors on the road during its Tasty Tailgate Tour. Courtesy Cole’s
Cole’s Quality Foods has come up with yet another way to do garlic bread.
The Grand Rapids-based baking company, known for inventing frozen garlic bread in 1973, is celebrating its upcoming 70th anniversary by releasing four new flavors in a national rollout.
Tasty Tailgate Tour
The launch includes a five-month Tasty Tailgate Tour from Michigan to Key West, Fla., when a 42-foot Airstream Skydeck Bus will make 21 stops at NCAA and NASCAR events, offering samples of the new flavors to more than one million people, said Ian Barrie, Cole’s creative director.
The Tasty Tailgate Tour stops will include the NCAA Russell Athletic, Gator, GoDaddy and Senior Bowls and NFL (New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins) and NHL (Detroit Red Wings vs. Florida Panthers) games.
People visiting the tour can also win $2,500 in tailgating gear by sharing photos on Instagram.
As far as garlic bread goes, this is an unprecedented tour, Barrie said.
“We’re inviting America to join our tailgate party, taste these fantastic new products and make Cole’s part of its tailgate tradition,” said Cole’s President Scott Devon. “We might even convince a few burger fans to give their old-fashioned buns the boot and try our savory flavored breads instead.”
Garlic bread re-visited
Cole’s Quality Foods’ new flavors reflect a partnership with Hidden Valley and a Texas theme: Hidden Valley Ranch Cheese Sticks, Hidden Valley Ranch Texas Toast, Chipotle Barbecue Texas Toast and Spicy Buffalo Texas Toast.
The new flavors are intended to attract a younger and male market, Barrie said, adding that new the flavors are designed to allow a traditionally indoor-baked-based product to be used as an outdoor-grill product.
Barrie said that Cole’s is able to cross markets and stay relevant in the food changing industry by listening to its customers and watching what’s happening.
“When we thought of a couple of these products, we were really trying to expand beyond just your regular garlic bread,” Barrie said. “It’s really about listening to our customers. We’re very active on social media. We’ll throw out little questions like, ‘What could Cole’s bake for you?’”
The new breads will soon be available in Meijer, Walmart, Kroger and Spartan stores. Depending on the retailer, the new flavors will sell for somewhere between $2.99-$3.79.
