COVID-19 Lock Down Cooking Fun: Pumpkin Pie KD!

No, that’s not a misprint. I said Pumpkin Pie Spice Kraft Dinner. And I’m still trying to figure out whether that’s something to cry about, or something to shed tears of joy over. One assumes that someone in the Kraft/Heinz Test Kitchens actually tried it before sending it to manufacturing…

PSKD: Apparently, you’re supposed to sprinkle the contents of the Pumpkin Spice
Booster Pack over the top of the special KD. We’ll let you know – if we’re
lucky enough to receive one of the 1,000 limited edition PSKD kits…

I’ll warn you in advance that this ‘recommendation’ comes with a great big caveat and an all-upper-case NOVELTY ALERT!

Thought it was some kind of joke…

I thought, when I first read it on one of my food industry newswire feeds, that it was a joke, or a hoax. But, no: It’s another cunning food industry seasonal promotion designed to leverage the good-natured ribbing folks now give the annual Pumpkin Pie Spice celebrations mounted by most Fast Food and Snack purveyors.

What they’re doing

The official KD Pumpkin Pie Spice Web page teases: “Ever wondered what KD with Pumpkin Spice would taste like? Like if your mac and cheese had hints of cinnamon, dashes of allspice, and layers of ginger, nutmeg, and cloves all slathered in KD cheese? Probably not, but we made it anyway. And if you want to be one of the 1000 lucky Canadians to try it, totally for free, then sign up here and we’ll let you know when it arrives later this fall.”

This very special Kraft Dinner includes the usual KD Cheese Powder, a Pumpkin Spice Boost Pack, a fork and a signature Coffee-style Cup with your name on it – misspelled, of course, just like at Starbuck’s!

The takeaway

“KD has always been known for its one-of-a-kind cheesy taste and after years of watching Canadians get excited for Pumpkin Spice season, we felt that it was time to combine the two iconic flavours and create Pumpkin Spice KD,” said Brian Neumann, Senior Brand Manager, Brand Building & Innovation, Kraft Heinz Canada. “Canadians have always made KD their own way and not many people would expect KD to be part of the PSL conversation, but that’s the whole point. Only 1000 will be made. So, move over lattes and muffins, PSKD is the must try new flavour this fall.”

So, I visited the sign-up page…

… And signed up. The online form didn’t reject my effort (like your body would reject a bad transplant organ) so I’m either one of the lucky first 1,000 Canadians to register, or I’m in a draw for one of the limited-edition PSKD kits.

The news release says further info will be coming in October, so I’ll let you know…

Meanwhile…

There are lots of great COVID-19 Lock Down recipes on the main KD Canada website and I’ll be sharing a few of those in the coming days and weeks. And there’s also a new Quarantine Essentials What’s Cooking – Kids’ Edition Book you can download for free, which I’ll be reviewing in this space soon.

My take

Like their eternal competitor, French’s, Kraft/Heinz Canada can always be counted on to provide some seasonal fun and funky food silliness!

~ Maggie J.