What makes Auntie Anne's pretzels so good that they continue to stay relevant, despite
trends like low-carb diets and declining malls?
There's more to it than you think.
Here's a look at why Auntie Anne's pretzels are so delicious.
A big part of the Auntie Anne's appeal is how fresh the pretzels are.
A lot of massive chains of this kind rely on shipping frozen items to be reheated in
the store — but not Annie.
The employees receive a "signature flour mixture" that they combine with yeast and water on
site.
After the dough rises, they bake them right there in-house.
A person claiming to be an Auntie Anne's employee confirmed with comments in a Reddit thread,
"We make all the dough from scratch… it's not frozen dough or pretzels.
The mix is like flour, sugar, etc.
Then we put it into a mixer with yeast and let it rise on the oven for 15 minutes."
An added bonus is that none of the baked items sit out for too long.
The same employee told Reddit,
"Everything gets replaced every 30 minutes to ensure freshness."
And that's what everyone needs to kick off their day.
What is it about the Auntie Anne's dough that launched the brand into worldwide pretzel
royalty?
It's something in the dough… but exactly what is a closely guarded secret.
Company founder Anne Beiler told The Washington Post in 2008 that her husband Jonas was the
one who added the secret ingredient on a day when a delivery of ingredients got screwed
up and they had to improvise with what they had.
Just what the ingredient is remains a mystery, but the experts at The Daily Meal analyzed
the pretzels and determined that's it's probably… sugar.
Hey, that makes sense.
After all, what tastes better than sugar?
"Where you hidin' that sugar at?!"
"That's his catchphrase."
Baking soda is a common ingredient in baked goods — but not the way Auntie Anne's uses
it.
Instead of including baking soda in the dough itself, Auntie Anne's mixes the baking soda
with hot water until the baking soda dissolves, then they dunk the pretzels in that solution
prior to baking.
Why?
Well, according to The Daily Mail, it's that baking soda solution that gives the pretzels
their signature Auntie Anne's crust.
Baking soda isn't the only thing applied to the pretzel to give it that signature Auntie
Ane's look and taste, though.
The company has confirmed that each pretzel also receives a yummy butter glaze after baking
too.
"These pretzels… they're MAKING ME THIRSTY!!"
And don't worry — if the pretzels make you thirsty, they sell beverages too!
The smell of an Auntie Anne's is unmistakable.
But that alluring scent isn't just a happy byproduct of pretzel baking — it's a calculated
marketing ploy by many food vendors to get you in line at their store.
It turns out "scent marketing" is a thing.
Joe Hubert, a business consultant, confirmed to Inside Edition,
"You buy with your nose before you buy with your eyes a little bit.
Every time you open the oven door you get great gush of great pretzel smell."
So part of why that pretzel probably tastes so incredible is because you're satisfying
the immediate craving that arose from that signature Auntie Anne's smell.
Sneaky!
Though the traditional pretzel is always a favorite, Auntie Anne's has to adapt to a
changing marketplace, just like every company.
For instance, their bite size pretzel nuggets have proven so popular that in 2016, Auntie
Anne's president Heather Neary told BizJournals the nuggets now outsell regular pretzels!
And then there are all the unusual flavors available.
For example, Auntie Anne's in Japan offered Matcha green tea cheesecake pretzel rolls
in 2016, while Singapore locations have seaweed pretzels.
In the U.S., limited time offers like Pumpkin Spice Pretzel Nuggets and the Sriracha Pretzels
have been fan favorites, and the company ran a contest in 2019 allowing fans to decide
on the next weird choice.
The winner?
Birthday cake pretzels.
Melanie Auxer, Auntie Anne's culinary director, told QSR,
"We have a menu innovation team.
It's an internal team that's responsible for leading all of our new-product development
and testing.
It's not just the culinary team's responsibility; we take a collaborative approach."
Finally, we know Auntie Anne's pretzels are delicious because Oprah says so.
And that's how the world works, isn't it?
Yes, in 2018, director Ava DuVernay revealed to E! Online that Oprah had been blown away
by the existence of Auntie Anne's pretzels.
"One day I came in and I was like, 'This pretzel is so good.
She's like, 'Oh my God this pretzel is incredible!
What chef?
What bakery?"
Turns out Oprah had never encountered Auntie Anne's before, so DuVernay had to explain
that the chain had locations in malls and airports.
“She's like, 'the airport?'
I was like, 'Yeah so like regular people have to walk through an airport to get to the flights,
usually."
It just goes to show that you don't have to be rich to enjoy the finer things in life.
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