Pillsbury went national on the launch of Pillsbury Cooker Cake Mix in the southern markets in November. Pillsbury Cooker Cake Mix has created a new category of its kind, what with the product fully empowering the housewife to make a cake on her own in a pressure cooker. The product is currently available in 45 towns across the country, and plans are afoot to extend it further. "The initial response to the concept has been phenomenal, and a small sample base study done amongst consumers across the four metros shows high repeat purchase intention. The offtake at the retail end corroborates this fact," said Mr Ravi Sivaraman, president, Godrej Pillsbury.

Pillsbury has also launched Namaste Pillsbury - a national toll-free number, accessible from 35 towns. The company says that it has seen more than 50 calls coming in per day.

The product innovation for Cooker Cake Mix bears its roots in the finding that as against in western countries where baking is a day-to-day task, the eastern culture is more of the steaming types when it comes to cooking.

Baking cake mixes of Pillsbury in India cater to just about three per cent of the urban Indian households, and is thus a niche product. The new innovation wherein the Indian household can steam a cake aims at targeting the large middle class population and at driving volumes. "Stir, Steam and Serve" is the base line of the Pillsbury Cooker Cake mix ad. The product has been priced at Rs 25 for the 300 gm cake in the baked form.