United Airlines has recently announced that they will be adding a viral dessert to the inflight menu. United partners with The Magnolia Bakery, known for their famous banana pudding, to offer a new range of food for their customers.
In 1996, Magnolia Bakery opened its first location in the West Village of New York. They became known for their red velvet cupcakes and opened up many more locations. In the past few years, they’ve become known for another item, their banana pudding. Due to the social media app TikTok, their banana pudding went viral, and United is jumping on that
Want the banana pudding? Just jump on a United flight!
The pudding is available only to customers on certain flights. Currently, it is only available to those in first class on a flight that travels more than nine hundred and one miles. United customers will be able to enjoy the frozen version of the pudding. The bakery makes the frozen pudding with real bananas and whips it to the perfect consistency. It also has wafer cookie bits within the pudding.
Magnolia Bakery is excited about this partnership as it is the first time any of its products are being serviced on commercial flights. The CEO and chief baking officer of Magnolia Bakery, Bobbie Lloyd, shared her joy for this next step of the bakery’s business.
“As an avid traveller and baker, I know what an important role food can play in your travels, which is why I’m so excited to bring this new, innovative product to thousands of adventurers each year.
This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration for Magnolia Bakery and we could not be more thrilled to be working with United. Our team worked for three years to develop this new Banana Pudding and we’re delighted for guests to get a sweet taste of this beloved dessert in the skies.”
Evolution of inflight food
Overall, United is eager to offer a new and exciting food experience for their customers. Aaron McMillian, United’s managing director of hospitality, commented on what this deal means for customers:
“The only thing more iconic than Magnolia Bakery’s Banana Pudding is enjoying that pudding at 30,000 feet in United First — we know our customers are going to love it.
We’re changing the way travellers eat and drink onboard, offering more variety and more elevated options with partners like Magnolia.”
United’s deal with Magnolia comes a few weeks after Delta announced their partnership with Shake Shack. That deal is similar to United’s deal as Delta customers can only enjoy the burgers on select flights in first class. These two deals seem to indicate a new trend within airlines and the services they offer. To keep customers coming back to the services, these airlines are partnering with companies to give customers benefits exclusive to the airline.
Overall, this is an exciting partnership for both the airline and the bakery. For United customers, access to the most sought-after banana pudding is much easier.
What are your thoughts on the new partnership? Do you think it’s worth flying first class just to have the banana pudding? Let us know in the comments or on social media!