A new development from Sister Schubert’s is causing panic in grocery store frozen bread aisles the South over. The beloved Alabama-born baked goods company has discontinued its sausage wrap rolls, a yeast-roll-meets-pig-in-a-blanket that has crowned holiday breakfast tables for decades.
“Typically, we discontinue an item when it isn’t selling well, which is what was happening with the sausage rolls,” says Kristy Gross, a representative from Sister Schubert’s consumer services department. “So, we switched them out for the sausage pinwheels.” While the products have a similar ingredient list, the pinwheels are larger than their predecessors and feature mozzarella and cheddar cheese, as well as smaller sprinklings of sausage rather than links.
The company also made a switch from its bite-sized frozen cinnamon rolls to a larger version that comes with squeeze-over cream cheese icing. “That’s essentially the exact same product, though, just bigger,” Gross says.
Unsurprisingly, there has been some pushback, and for many diehard fans, the replacements are not cutting it. “We’ve definitely gotten some feedback lately,” Gross says. “The switch happened a few months ago, but I think people are just now realizing as the holidays are coming around.”
“Growing up in the South, Sister Schubert’s has been a staple at every family event, and hearing that one of my favorite items was discontinued the week before Thanksgiving is upsetting,” says Marisa Midis, one of the unhappy consumers who has called the company to voice her complaint. “It’s more than the loss of a roll, but the loss of a family tradition as well—checking the oven every minute and fighting with my siblings over who gets the middle pieces.”
But in the spirit of holiday cheer—and the fact that it wouldn’t be a Southern Thanksgiving or Christmas without Sister Schubert’s at the table—perhaps the pinwheels and updated cinnamon rolls will become a new holiday tradition for families across the South. But for those still resistant to change, fear not: Sister Schubert’s flagship Parker House Style yeast rolls aren’t going anywhere.
