Yummy Dough

Package of Yummy Dough

Yummy Dough (also known by its original German name Essknete) is a baking mixture, which requires addition of water and is then kneaded into a smooth dough.[1] It was invented in 2005 and was first introduced to the market in 2007. The product's consistency is similar to that of a modeling clay such as Play-Doh. It is edible raw and can be baked. Yummy Dough contains colouring agents which are vegetable-based.[2]

History

Yummy Dough was invented by Stefan Kaczmarek, an IT worker from Idstein, Germany, in 2005.[3] Kaczmarek credits his two daughters as having the original idea for the product because they "wanted to finally have dough they can play with as well as eat".[4] It was first mentioned in a radio broadcast by the Hessischer Rundfunk, which drew significant attention towards the product.[3] Kaczmarek reportedly had not planned to market the product, but decided otherwise following the positive reaction the broadcast went on to receive. [3] It was premiered as a commercial product at Anuga Alimentary Exhibition in 2007,[4] where it won the "Taste 07" award for innovation.[5] This sparked the interest of several large grocery and toy chains;[5] Kaczmarek declined an offer by German food manufacturer Dr. Oetker,[5] instead founding his own company, 123 Nährmittel GmbH, to distribute the product nationwide.[5] Yummy Dough was first sold by supermarkets in 2007, beginning with the German grocery chains Hit and REWE.[3] The product is produced by the RUF Lebensmittelwerk in Quakenbrück.[6]

In 2009, Yummy Dough became available in North America[7] and is distributed by Canadian-based toy distributor PlaSmart Inc.[8] The product was featured in season 4 of the Canadian version of Dragons' Den, in which Kaczmarek and his Canadian partner, Timothy Kimber of PlaSmart Inc., received C$500,000 from investors Kevin O'Leary, W. Brett Wilson and Jim Treliving, in exchange for a 3.5% cut of revenues, once the investment has been recouped.[9][10][11] Further plans also include marketing the product in Asia.[7]

Yummy Dough was pulled from the market and taken over by a German company with new branding and is only available in the EU marketplace.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Yummy Dough edible playdough". ToyHype. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  2. ^ "Yummy Dough - The Story". 123 Nährmittel GmbH. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  3. ^ a b c d Winter, Thorsten (16 October 2007). "Süße Weltneuheit aus der Familienküche" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  4. ^ a b Binder, Evelyn (12 July 2007). "Wie man mit Mehl Knete macht" (in German). Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  5. ^ a b c d Baumgart-Pietsch, Anja (9 November 2007). ""Essknete" sorgt für viel Furore" (in German). Wiesbadener Tagblatt. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  6. ^ Lawecki, Gero (2 February 2008). "Knetbares Essen" (in German). Handelsblatt. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  7. ^ a b Winter, Thorsten (9 April 2009). "Essknete lockt auch Amerikaner und Asiaten an" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  8. ^ Balkin, Adam (16 February 2009). "Toy Fair Kicks Off At Javits Center". NY1. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  9. ^ "Yummy Dough in Dragons' Den". CBC Television. Archived from the original on October 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  10. ^ "Putty in his hands". Archived from the original on November 4, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  11. ^ "Dragons' Den backs edible playdough". CBC News. 2009-10-29.