Premium brand / price - inferior product?
Discussion
Which foodie things have you had recently which fell substantially below par? I'll start:
M&S potted prawns.
(Moaned about on here before.) These claim to be seasoned with mace. Wrong, it was nutmeg and quite disgusting (unfortunately I can taste the difference), but when mace costs 10 times the price of nutmeg, I can see how suppliers are tempted to cut corners.
The Waitrose 'Unearthed' range of cooked meats.
All style, no substance, these. The packaging talks a good case, but the product is fundamentally cheap, fatty s
te.
Waitrose belly pork currently 'on offer' at £4.23/Kg.
Nowhere near the quality of the standard product. Wet and flabby. It will be fine for rillettes, but I can't think anyone would get an acceptable result roasting this.
Am I pissed off? YES I AM. I expect cheap crap at Asda. That's why I shop there: for honest cheap crap.
Frankly I'd expect more from M&S / Waitrose. However it seems that these aren't immune to taking the piss out of their customers if they think they can get away with it.
M&S potted prawns.
(Moaned about on here before.) These claim to be seasoned with mace. Wrong, it was nutmeg and quite disgusting (unfortunately I can taste the difference), but when mace costs 10 times the price of nutmeg, I can see how suppliers are tempted to cut corners.
The Waitrose 'Unearthed' range of cooked meats.
All style, no substance, these. The packaging talks a good case, but the product is fundamentally cheap, fatty s
te.Waitrose belly pork currently 'on offer' at £4.23/Kg.
Nowhere near the quality of the standard product. Wet and flabby. It will be fine for rillettes, but I can't think anyone would get an acceptable result roasting this.
Am I pissed off? YES I AM. I expect cheap crap at Asda. That's why I shop there: for honest cheap crap.
Frankly I'd expect more from M&S / Waitrose. However it seems that these aren't immune to taking the piss out of their customers if they think they can get away with it.
Simply put, the sophisticated pricing strategy that the supermarkets operate has much more to do with the wealth and attitudes of the punter than the quality of the product.
They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
Edited by BarnatosGhost on Tuesday 27th July 11:57
I thought this was going to be a thread about Bose or Merceded Benz....
However, I agree, this "taste the difference" badge just confuses me. I can't usually tell much difference except in price, so if I fancy spending a bit more on a nicer wrapping then I buy it. I can't taste the difference.
However, I agree, this "taste the difference" badge just confuses me. I can't usually tell much difference except in price, so if I fancy spending a bit more on a nicer wrapping then I buy it. I can't taste the difference.
Just to add... when you go to your fav. restaurant they are serving everyday catering grade products and you are paying premium prices for them going home saying "what a great meal".
95% of the time it's the cooking that makes the product not the fact it was hand reared by milk washed virgins half way up a mountain.
95% of the time it's the cooking that makes the product not the fact it was hand reared by milk washed virgins half way up a mountain.
BarnatosGhost said:
Simply put, the sophisticated pricing strategy that the supermarkets operate has much more to do with the wealth and attitudes of the punter than the quality of the product.
They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
Yes. I would struggle to articulate it more effectively myself.They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
Edited by BarnatosGhost on Tuesday 27th July 11:57
The thing is, some of the larger farm shops are just as bloody guilty.
All the supermarkets get the products in from the same suppliers, while working in sainsburys I got packs of Asda cocktail sausages in the box for Sainsburys cocktail sausages, both from exactly the same supplier.
Same as cheeses etc, can buy them with a fancy sticker on at the deli counter, same product on the shelves but usually costs a bit less off the shelf although you cant get whatever weight you want, and one of the brands like cathedral city but not also supplies exactly the same cheese to sainsburys as its premium and normal ranges.
Its all rubbish anyway.
Same as cheeses etc, can buy them with a fancy sticker on at the deli counter, same product on the shelves but usually costs a bit less off the shelf although you cant get whatever weight you want, and one of the brands like cathedral city but not also supplies exactly the same cheese to sainsburys as its premium and normal ranges.
Its all rubbish anyway.
Pferdestarke said:
BarnatosGhost said:
Simply put, the sophisticated pricing strategy that the supermarkets operate has much more to do with the wealth and attitudes of the punter than the quality of the product.
They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
Yes. I would struggle to articulate it more effectively myself.They are all selling you the same stuff, just in different ways and at different prices.
If they weren't then the only answer is self-destructive price wars that they simply can't afford to get involved with.
So they play ball with each other and stratify themselves. Asda, Lidl, Aldi, you take the 25% poorest punters. Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco, you take the middle 50%. Waitrose, Booths, M&S, you can have the top 25%.
Thus expensive price-based competition largely nullified, punters egos and self-images largely satisfied, profits largely, erm, large.
So, punters, choose one's preferred marketing stratum, and go and buy one's homogenous rubbish at the high/middle/low price you choose.
Edited by BarnatosGhost on Tuesday 27th July 11:57
The thing is, some of the larger farm shops are just as bloody guilty.
All food for thought, however what prompted the rant was that standards at M&S and Waitrose have noticeably slipped.
Waitrose particularly. I don't buy ready-meals and therefore can't comment on those, however I know good charcuterie when I see it. Waitrose have considerably narrowed their own label product range in the last year or so, replacing this with interlopers of inferior quality.
All to maintain profit margin of course, however do they really think the more discerning customer won't notice?
Waitrose particularly. I don't buy ready-meals and therefore can't comment on those, however I know good charcuterie when I see it. Waitrose have considerably narrowed their own label product range in the last year or so, replacing this with interlopers of inferior quality.
All to maintain profit margin of course, however do they really think the more discerning customer won't notice?
I always chose Waitrose for their fruit'n'veg more than anything else. It was better than the others. These days we get so much via Ocado that I only go for convenience.
Our local M&S is so solidly aimed at the lunchtime and leaving work 'crew' that it barely sells any actual food.
ETA- that was a touch unfair on M&S. They still seem to run a decent bakery, and their fruit'n'veg is decent. But I wouldn't consider buying this Friday's steak from them.
Our local M&S is so solidly aimed at the lunchtime and leaving work 'crew' that it barely sells any actual food.
ETA- that was a touch unfair on M&S. They still seem to run a decent bakery, and their fruit'n'veg is decent. But I wouldn't consider buying this Friday's steak from them.
Edited by grumbledoak on Thursday 29th July 00:32
Mobile Chicane said:
All food for thought, however what prompted the rant was that standards at M&S and Waitrose have noticeably slipped.
Waitrose particularly. I don't buy ready-meals and therefore can't comment on those, however I know good charcuterie when I see it. Waitrose have considerably narrowed their own label product range in the last year or so, replacing this with interlopers of inferior quality.
All to maintain profit margin of course, however do they really think the more discerning customer won't notice?
Waitrose particularly. I don't buy ready-meals and therefore can't comment on those, however I know good charcuterie when I see it. Waitrose have considerably narrowed their own label product range in the last year or so, replacing this with interlopers of inferior quality.
All to maintain profit margin of course, however do they really think the more discerning customer won't notice?
Money saved on product sold at the same rice as before goes straight to the bottom line.
If they estimate that they will lose the 1 in 20 who can discern the difference to the extent that they no longer buy it, but make an extra 10% margin from the remaining 19 punters then that is a good deal for them all day long and someone in purchasing is getting a christmas bonus.
This is their business - put the product in the optimum place on the price:demand curve for their particular punters. If one punter notices a fall in quality, 19 won't, and you're taking 10% off each of them. Net result: an extra 90% of one margin up over every 20 customers.
As ive said before shop with your eyes open,
Supermarkets are increasing prices so you have to be so careful not to get ripped off
I made a post previously about ham,
asda sliced ham
2 for £3 giving you 8 slices of ham - "special" offer
on the shelf below
1 pack of ham for £3 giving you 10 slices
looking elsewhere in store, Deli ham 20 slices for £4 - far better quality, lower water content, far tastier. (I think they may have changed the pack size to 16 slices now)
The supermarkets at the moment are being careless with pricing and playing on peoples perceptions.
An example - sirloin steaks, to go from low end to premium will only cost you £1-2 per steak, if you shop carefully you can probably get a slightly smaller premium steak for the same price as a larger low end steak.
As for watery bacon that really pisses me off, i always look for dry cured, and usually get it from lidl.
Ketchup - I think nearly all ketchup in the UK comes from the Heinz factory, different recipes but the same factory. Best ketchup ive tasted was morrisons own brand, really tomatoy a bit like a thin tomato puree, but they changed the recipe.
ETA - Im going to try to write down the things I see in supermarkets. Next year it wouldnt suprise me if Heinz, P&G etc all posted record profits.
Supermarkets are increasing prices so you have to be so careful not to get ripped off
I made a post previously about ham,
asda sliced ham
2 for £3 giving you 8 slices of ham - "special" offer
on the shelf below
1 pack of ham for £3 giving you 10 slices
looking elsewhere in store, Deli ham 20 slices for £4 - far better quality, lower water content, far tastier. (I think they may have changed the pack size to 16 slices now)
The supermarkets at the moment are being careless with pricing and playing on peoples perceptions.
An example - sirloin steaks, to go from low end to premium will only cost you £1-2 per steak, if you shop carefully you can probably get a slightly smaller premium steak for the same price as a larger low end steak.
As for watery bacon that really pisses me off, i always look for dry cured, and usually get it from lidl.
Ketchup - I think nearly all ketchup in the UK comes from the Heinz factory, different recipes but the same factory. Best ketchup ive tasted was morrisons own brand, really tomatoy a bit like a thin tomato puree, but they changed the recipe.
ETA - Im going to try to write down the things I see in supermarkets. Next year it wouldnt suprise me if Heinz, P&G etc all posted record profits.
Edited by Odie on Thursday 29th July 10:32
I still don't buy into the idea of all food being the same regardless of brand, value range, premium range etc. I can taste a difference between the offerings. Yes they may come from the same factory but that means feck all if the products are commissioned with different specifications.
eg. Cheapo biscuits are noticeably different in taste from more expensive ones.
Or as far as supermarket milk goes, M&S milk is noticeably nicer then the one available for £1.10 from Iceland.
I am not a food snob in the slightest, I will happily eat from the grottiest looking takeaways when I know the food is good. I buy certain things from Lidl and Asda, but I can recognise differences the offerings from different outlets.
eg. Cheapo biscuits are noticeably different in taste from more expensive ones.
Or as far as supermarket milk goes, M&S milk is noticeably nicer then the one available for £1.10 from Iceland.
I am not a food snob in the slightest, I will happily eat from the grottiest looking takeaways when I know the food is good. I buy certain things from Lidl and Asda, but I can recognise differences the offerings from different outlets.
Mobile Chicane said:
All to maintain profit margin of course, however do they really think the more discerning customer won't notice?
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