Patti LaBelle’s famous sweet potato pies sold at Walmart were actually created by food buyer and product developer Kinna Thomas, not by Patti LaBelle herself.

Who Created Patti LaBelle Pies?

  • The pies were developed by Kinna Thomas, an HBCU graduate who worked as a Senior Buying Manager/Director for Cakes and Pies at Walmart.
  • She used her own family sweet potato pie recipe as the base and then collaborated with Patti LaBelle to brand and refine the product for mass retail.
  • Patti LaBelle lends her name, image, and culinary legacy to the line, but the actual product concept and formulation came from Thomas’s work at Walmart.

How The Partnership Happened

  • Shortly after taking on the role of senior buyer for cakes and pies at Walmart, Thomas pitched the idea of a soul-food style sweet potato pie tied to Patti LaBelle’s name.
  • Within hours of floating the idea internally, she was connected with LaBelle’s team, and the product moved from concept to store shelves in just a few months.
  • The pies exploded in popularity after a viral review video, leading to massive demand and a major cultural moment around the “Patti Pies.”

What Happened Next

  • Following the success of the sweet potato pie, the line expanded into other desserts like peach cobbler, banana pudding, and bread pudding under the Patti LaBelle brand at Walmart.
  • At peak popularity, Walmart has reported selling tens of thousands of Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato Pies per day, making the product a long-running bestseller in their bakery section.

Meta description:
Wondering who really created Patti LaBelle pies? Discover how Walmart executive Kinna Thomas developed the now-iconic Patti LaBelle sweet potato pies and turned them into a viral, long-term retail hit.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.