When Coca-Cola tinkered with its world-famous formula, the public turned its nose up at the new recipe.
So, will the same thing happen if the Park City-based Mrs. Fields Cookies changes the way they make their world-famous cookies?"We don't think anyone will be able to tell the difference," said Martha A. Shepherd, vice-president of research and development for Mrs. Fields. "If they can, they will like it better."
The new cookie comes from a frozen cookie dough, manufactured in Carson, Calif., and shipped to selected stores along the Wasatch Front.
Mrs. Fields Cookies has long touted the fact that each batch of cookies is mixed and baked in the individual store to ensure the highest quality. Company officials insist the single-site mixing "is not a mass production sellout" and the same quality standards will apply.
The company has tested the frozen dough at several stores along the Wasatch Front, as well as undisclosed sites outside Utah. Public reaction to the new cookie - which has the same ingredients as the individually mixed batches - has been positive, Shepherd said.
Those who have been able to notice a difference like the taste of the new cookies better, she said. Most, including company founder and president Debbi Fields, cannot tell any difference between the frozen dough and fresh-mixed dough.
Mrs. Fields Cookies is the only major cookie producer not to use frozen cookie dough, and company officials say six years of research has gone into the new method for mixing and freezing the dough. A patent on the technology is pending.
Guy Colton, director of marketing, said the new technology was designed to make the cookies stay fresh longer, while a central mixing location will allow for greater accessibility of product and better variety of cookies.
"This is the first process that can meet the quality requirements," he said.
The center of operations will be the Carson plant, which is currently being sold to Van Den Bergh, a subsidiary of the Unilever Group. However, Mrs. Fields will retain the portion of the plant that makes the cookie batter "to ensure quality control," Shepherd said.
In the initial testing of the technology - which is as much a secret as the recipe for the cookies - researchers presented Debbi Fields with one batch of cookies made from scratch and the other made from frozen batter. She could always tell which one was frozen.
"When we reached the point she couldn't tell the difference, we knew we had the product quality she demands," Shepherd said.
They say the new product is more expensive, but company officials hope the increased freshness of the product will result in increased sales to offset the costs.
Even though the cookies stay fresh longer, the stores will continue the policy of donating to charitable organizations all cookies that are not sold within a couple of hours after they come out of the oven, Fields said.
Company officials denied reports that the new frozen cookie batter is a cost-cutting and staff-reduction measure. They also denied reports that the sale of the Carson plant is to satisfy a serious cash-flow problem.
A year ago, the company closed 85 of its 500 international cookie stores in the South and Southeastern part of the country. Officials say the company is now on sound financial ground.
Debbi Fields rose to national fame when her unique cookie recipe - which emphasizes quality over cost - became a national sensation. Revenue from her cookie business, and other ventures, grossed $170 million in 1988.
Debbi Fields was ranked by Savvy Magazine as the 11th leading female business owner of 1989.