THOMASVILLE, GA — For the first time in its 101-year history, Wonder Bread is joining the lineup of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 24 in New York City.
The Flowers Foods brand will debut its float entitled “The Wondership.” Designed to appear like it’s floating above the clouds, the airship-styled float is detailed with red, yellow and blue balloons.
John Steed, SVP of legacy brands at Flowers Foods, shared that the float is meant to pay homage to the hot air balloon race that originally inspired the bakery’s branding and its founder, Elmer Cline, more than a century ago.
“With a name inspired by the ‘wonder’ of the International Balloon Race at the Indianapolis Speedway and iconic balloon-shaped imagery to match, Wonder celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2001 with a hot air balloon that visits states from Florida to California,” Steed shared. “While that iconic tradition continues, we wanted something special to celebrate more than 100 years of bringing joy, wonder and innovation to families across the country.”
In an exclusive interview with CNN Business, Ashley Smith, brand manager at Wonder Bread, shared that the company hoped that the brand’s participation in the parade will remind viewers that the brand is alive and well, despite consumers trending towards private label products and low-calorie options.
In addition to the brand’s inaugural participation in the parade, Wonder Bread is also partnering with Feeding America to donate 10,000 loaves of Classic White Bread to food rescue organization City Harvest.
“This builds upon Flowers’ ongoing annual support of Feeding America and independent food banks, soup kitchens, and other groups providing food and meals to those in need,” Steed noted. “Last year, through our network of bakeries, we donated $7.5 million in bakery foods toward this effort and were recognized as a Feeding America Guiding Partner.”
The parade will take place on Thursday, Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. across all time zones and will be aired nationwide on NBC and available to stream on Peacock.
