At a highly anticipated launch event Tuesday, Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser ended months of fervent speculation over the latest phase of the national discount chains massively popular and influential kitchen products line by unveiling the companys new foil baking pan. Granting a first look to members of the media and a select group of impassioned retail industry insiders, the chief executive touted Dollar Trees upcoming aluminum pan as a revolutionary combination of design, functionality, and style that represents a bold step in the ongoing evolution of bargain cookware. The pan will be listed at the suggested retail price of $1. The wait is finally over! Sasser said to a throng of roaring event attendees while gesturing toward a rotating image of the sleek new cooking accessory broadcast on a large projection screen in the companys cavernous, fluorescent-lit exhibition hall. With our latest release, we have completely rewritten the rules on what a foil casserole dish can be, and, in just a few short months, customers will have the future of non-metal sheet cooking at their fingertips. Weve done it! Sasser continued to thunderous applause and a barrage of camera flashes. Affordable bakeware will never be the same! Features of the new pan have dollar-store industry experts buzzing. Click to enlarge. The product announcement comes on the heels of last years award-winning soap-handle dish sponge, and, according to Dollar Tree officials, represents the latest innovation for a company that has already enjoyed tremendous success in the fields of cleaning products, shower curtains, mouse traps, swim goggles, Halloween decorations, and off-brand breakfast cereal. The groundbreaking piece of cookware, which will be available in both 9- and 11-inch models, reportedly boasts precision-crimped edges; an unprecedented 64 side ridges; the companys iconic, streamlined aluminum exterior; and a durable and incredibly lightweight design. Though Sasser said customers will not be able to enjoy the greatest cheap-baking-pan experience in humankind until its official launch date of October 22at which point it will be sold exclusively at Dollar Trees nearly 4,500 strip-mall locationsindustry analysts are reportedly already abuzz over what has quickly become the hottest item in discount retail. Theres a lot of chatter about the new rollout, and I can guarantee that Dollar Trees legions of followers are absolutely going to love this pan, said consumer goods reviewer Marcus Levine, who predicted the stores new release will once again set it apart from would-be competitors Dollarama and the 99-Cent Only Store. Ive been playing around with an advance copy, and I can say without hesitation that youll be seeing this dish in every customers shopping basket this holiday season, right between the three-liter bottle of Stars & Stripes grape soda and WWE trading cards. I expect lines to snake from Dollar Trees sliding doors all the way past numerous abandoned buildings that havent been occupied for years, Levine added. In order to market the product, Dollar Tree executives are reportedly planning an aggressive multi-platform promotional campaign that will include in-store circulars and newspaper inserts. Bargain cookware bloggers agree the confident approach seems to indicate Dollar Tree believes it has another winner, and that the baking pan will be an unfettered success once it joins the companys toilet brushes and wrapping paper Twin-Paks on store shelves this fall. However, some arent buying into the hype. It seems like every year we see some kind of new opened pack of pantyhose or Conan the Barbarian action figure thats supposedly the next big thing, said Philadelphia woman Meredith Culver, who claimed she was unimpressed by the new products lackluster feature set. If you look at the specs, it doesnt look like this thing is even deep enough to handle a loaf of Mamma Bella ready-bake garlic bread. And for the price of what Dollar Trees selling, I can go to the Save-A-Lot and get three perfectly serviceable baking pans without any of the flash. Besides, I bought one of their 9-inchers last year, and it honestly doesnt look like this new version changed much of anything, Culver continued. 