Author Topic: Seen in the freezer aisle  (Read 6977 times)

sheepstache

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Seen in the freezer aisle
« on: October 12, 2015, 06:18:00 PM »
Unfortunately with my dumb phone I couldn't take a picture but I wanted to share with y'all.

There was an advertisement on the freezer door for Ben & Jerry's. A B&J pint is talking to an 'Other Brand' 14.6 oz. container.

B&J: Don't worry, it happens to some, it's called shrinkage.
OB: Oh! Has it happened to you?
B&J: No.
OB: ...

Tagline: 'Ben & Jerry's! Always giving you the full pint you deserve!'

...From the brand that pioneered getting people to buy ice cream in pints for the same price as a half-gallon!

Mr Money Mutton Chops

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2015, 07:09:37 PM »
You have a dumb phone? Smart move on your part given phone costs. Back on topic, yeah, people pay way to much for store bought ice creams, especially considering how easy and cheap they are to make yourself (and much better, both tasting and for your health)

commodore perry

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2015, 07:56:20 PM »
don't disagree that B&J is too expensive.

...but I hate the downsizing that food companies do to increase cost. They decrease size but keep the absolute cost the same so cost/weight or cost/volume goes up. General population is too dumb (non-mmm-ers) to do the math and will buy on absolute price not $/unit-weight-volume so food companies easily get away with it. It takes a ton of time/energy/$ to implement a new size rather than putting those resources to something more productive. In the end you have more packing/food ratio and a higher actual price. If the motive were positive (healthier portions or whatever) that's one thing, but it's margin improvement.

I don't know why B&J is sticking to a pint but I respect it. Imagine if beers were 10 or 11oz!

MgoSam

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2015, 09:09:20 AM »
I do like that my grocery store puts unit prices near the product. So if  a bag of something is 24 oz and another is 20 oz, you can see what their price is per ounce without having to do the math. It makes things a little easier.

mm1970

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2015, 09:28:30 AM »
Like frozen vegetables at 10 to 12 ounces now.

Eff you.  I'm not buying it.

sheepstache

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2015, 09:52:42 AM »
You have a dumb phone? Smart move on your part given phone costs.

It's true, although ironically a friend offered me their old smart phone and I realized if I took the opportunity to switch to a pay-as-you-go service, that happens to include data, I'd actually save money over the "discount" talk & text plan I have with a national carrier.

don't disagree that B&J is too expensive.

...but I hate the downsizing that food companies do to increase cost. They decrease size but keep the absolute cost the same so cost/weight or cost/volume goes up. General population is too dumb (non-mmm-ers) to do the math and will buy on absolute price not $/unit-weight-volume so food companies easily get away with it. It takes a ton of time/energy/$ to implement a new size rather than putting those resources to something more productive. In the end you have more packing/food ratio and a higher actual price. If the motive were positive (healthier portions or whatever) that's one thing, but it's margin improvement.

I don't know why B&J is sticking to a pint but I respect it. Imagine if beers were 10 or 11oz!

Ha ha it's true, and I was thinking about it even as I posted because, since when I remember B&J coming onto the scene, regular ice cream downsized to 1.5 quarts from a half-gallon. At least with B&J it was obvious to people that they were buying a smaller size.

teadirt

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2015, 10:49:34 AM »
don't disagree that B&J is too expensive.

...but I hate the downsizing that food companies do to increase cost. They decrease size but keep the absolute cost the same so cost/weight or cost/volume goes up. General population is too dumb (non-mmm-ers) to do the math and will buy on absolute price not $/unit-weight-volume so food companies easily get away with it. It takes a ton of time/energy/$ to implement a new size rather than putting those resources to something more productive. In the end you have more packing/food ratio and a higher actual price. If the motive were positive (healthier portions or whatever) that's one thing, but it's margin improvement.

I don't know why B&J is sticking to a pint but I respect it. Imagine if beers were 10 or 11oz!

Red Stripe and Full Sail's Session are both 11oz bottles :( So when you buy a 12 pack, they're keeping 1 beer.

Helvegen

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #7 on: October 15, 2015, 11:04:50 AM »
I do like that my grocery store puts unit prices near the product. So if  a bag of something is 24 oz and another is 20 oz, you can see what their price is per ounce without having to do the math. It makes things a little easier.

It is interesting where that info comes in handy. I had an odd experience at Winco once where I got some generic baking soda out of the bulk bin and figured that had to be the cheapest way to buy it there. Well...no. Actually a 16oz box of Winco baking soda was somehow a few cents cheaper an ounce. Weird but true at the time. 

MgoSam

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #8 on: October 15, 2015, 11:19:02 AM »
don't disagree that B&J is too expensive.

...but I hate the downsizing that food companies do to increase cost. They decrease size but keep the absolute cost the same so cost/weight or cost/volume goes up. General population is too dumb (non-mmm-ers) to do the math and will buy on absolute price not $/unit-weight-volume so food companies easily get away with it. It takes a ton of time/energy/$ to implement a new size rather than putting those resources to something more productive. In the end you have more packing/food ratio and a higher actual price. If the motive were positive (healthier portions or whatever) that's one thing, but it's margin improvement.

I don't know why B&J is sticking to a pint but I respect it. Imagine if beers were 10 or 11oz!

Red Stripe and Full Sail's Session are both 11oz bottles :( So when you buy a 12 pack, they're keeping 1 beer.

Talk about a reverse baker's dozen.

teadirt

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #9 on: October 15, 2015, 01:12:48 PM »
how about a brewer's dozen? :)

CmFtns

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #10 on: October 15, 2015, 01:27:46 PM »
I would never ever ever never ever buy B&J at full price for a pint... However when it goes on Buy one Get one I sometimes cant help myself lol. Also B&J seems like a really dense ice cream to me so maybe it is actually better deal by weight that initial impressions would tell you. Some other brands have a lot of volume but are really airy.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #11 on: October 15, 2015, 01:28:34 PM »
Even the 5 quart pail (commonly referred to as a gallon) of ice cream from Aldi is recently down to 4.5 quarts.  Don't forget how much air they can whip into ice cream as well...

jinga nation

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #12 on: October 15, 2015, 02:33:09 PM »
Red Stripe and Full Sail's Session are both 11oz bottles :( So when you buy a 12 pack, they're keeping 1 beer.

You beat me to it. Those damn stubbies with filled with wonderful amber liquid. I always feel shorted, but forget once I'm on the third bottle in a few minutes on a hot day. That may be the sales trick.

gt7152b

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #13 on: October 16, 2015, 09:15:43 AM »
Try ordering a pint of beer in a bar/restaurant and actually measuring how much you get. It's usually quite a bit less than 16oz (American pint).

Gone Fishing

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #14 on: October 16, 2015, 09:25:28 AM »
Try ordering a pint of beer in a bar/restaurant and actually measuring how much you get. It's usually quite a bit less than 16oz (American pint).

Yeah, most pint glasses are 16 oz to the absolute rim and due to the geometry they look pretty full with only 12 oz of liquid.  Get a rookie that pours 1.5 inches of head, and you get even less.  The sad part is all the beer (in the form of foam) that just gets poured down the drain because keg pressures are off.

jacksonvasey

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #15 on: October 23, 2015, 01:09:09 PM »
Just a fun fact, the amount of air churned into ice cream is called the overrun.  In order to call it ice cream, the maximum overrun is 100%, or 50% air by volume and 50% milk, etc...

Another factor in ice cream quality is the emulsifier(s) and stabilizer(s) used (or not used).

Stabilizers and emulsifiers are not necessarily a sign of bad quality (especially since egg yolks are an emulsifier).  Really you can find an inverse relationship between the number of ingredients and the cost of the ice cream.  Stabilizers are used mainly to allow the ice cream to be transported, so it stabilizes the emulsion when the temperature increases (so you don't get chunky ice crystals when it refreezes).

If you look at a pint of Haagen Dazs, you'll see there are no stabilizers.  They literally handle the entire supply chain to ensure that the ice cream stays frozen, and obviating any need for stabilizers.  Pretty bad-ass, in a sense.  Adds cost for little reason, in my opinion.

Mr Money Mutton Chops

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #16 on: October 24, 2015, 07:51:54 PM »
If you look at a pint of Haagen Dazs, you'll see there are no stabilizers.  They literally handle the entire supply chain to ensure that the ice cream stays frozen, and obviating any need for stabilizers.  Pretty bad-ass, in a sense.  Adds cost for little reason, in my opinion.

It sells well, no? People think it sounds good to say "no stabilizers", so people pay more. But I do question the value of it as well.

Drifterrider

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Re: Seen in the freezer aisle
« Reply #17 on: October 28, 2015, 05:04:14 AM »
don't disagree that B&J is too expensive.

...but I hate the downsizing that food companies do to increase cost. They decrease size but keep the absolute cost the same so cost/weight or cost/volume goes up. General population is too dumb (non-mmm-ers) to do the math and will buy on absolute price not $/unit-weight-volume so food companies easily get away with it. It takes a ton of time/energy/$ to implement a new size rather than putting those resources to something more productive. In the end you have more packing/food ratio and a higher actual price. If the motive were positive (healthier portions or whatever) that's one thing, but it's margin improvement.

I don't know why B&J is sticking to a pint but I respect it. Imagine if beers were 10 or 11oz!

10oz beer exist.  Known as St Mary's specials.  Been around since WWII.  AND..... almost the same price as 12oz.  Best excuse I heard was "I don't want my beer to get warm"  to which I replied "Well, STFU and drink faster".

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!