Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 4]

[captain_cynic]

How do stores (Tesco, Morrisons, et al.) produce biscuits so cheap?

I'm currently enjoying Tesco Brand Custard Creams and I've got a packet of Tesco Jam Sandwich Creams (Jammie Dodgers) at home, both packs cost about 40p. Jammie Dodgers are usually a quid a pack.

Checked the pack and it says it was produced in the UK so there goes my theory of them being made from the crushed dreams of 3rd world kids.

[Timmy45]

captain_cynic said:

How do stores (Tesco, Morrisons, et al.) produce biscuits so cheap?

I'm currently enjoying Tesco Brand Custard Creams and I've got a packet of Tesco Jam Sandwich Creams (Jammie Dodgers) at home, both packs cost about 40p. Jammie Dodgers are usually a quid a pack.

Checked the pack and it says it was produced in the UK so there goes my theory of them being made from the crushed dreams of 3rd world kids.

I bet all of the components are produced in SE Asia, then air freighted to the UK for final assembley allowing them to be sold as 'made' in the UK.

[SpeckledJim]

extremely cheap raw materials.

[Shakermaker]

Timmy45 said:

I bet all of the components are produced in SE Asia, then air freighted to the UK for final assembley allowing them to be sold as 'made' in the UK.

"I've got a consigment of Jammy Dodger fillings here and I need it to get to the UK ASAP!"

[Timmy45]

Shakermaker said:

Timmy45 said:

I bet all of the components are produced in SE Asia, then air freighted to the UK for final assembley allowing them to be sold as 'made' in the UK.

"I've got a consigment of Jammy Dodger fillings here and I need it to get to the UK ASAP!"

There was a program on TV last night celebrating 50 years of the Boing 747, what they didn't mention is that Boing was commissioned to produce a huge 'Jumbo' sized jet to freight biscuit fillings from SE Asia to the UK. It was only later that someone thought of using it for passengers.

[Shakermaker]

Timmy45 said:

There was a program on TV last night celebrating 50 years of the Boing 747, what they didn't mention is that Boing was commissioned to produce a huge 'Jumbo' sized jet to freight biscuit fillings from SE Asia to the UK. It was only later that someone thought of using it for passengers.

Was this because the plane was suddenly too big when they made Wagon Wheels smaller?

[captain_cynic]

Timmy45 said:

I bet all of the components are produced in SE Asia, then air freighted to the UK for final assembley allowing them to be sold as 'made' in the UK.

SpeckledJim said:

extremely cheap raw materials.

Now you've made me think of it, possibly shipped to the UK in "ready to bake" form and made by machines. The CKD kit of biscuits.

There was a bit of a furore in Australia a few years ago when it was revealed that "baked in store" bread in supermarkets was made from frozen dough shipped in from some part of Asia. They didn't stop doing it, just waited for the furore to die down. Could easily be the same kind of thing.

[DRFC1879]

captain_cynic said:

How do stores (Tesco, Morrisons, et al.) produce biscuits so cheap?

I'm currently enjoying Tesco Brand Custard Creams and I've got a packet of Tesco Jam Sandwich Creams (Jammie Dodgers) at home, both packs cost about 40p. Jammie Dodgers are usually a quid a pack.

Checked the pack and it says it was produced in the UK so there goes my theory of them being made from the crushed dreams of 3rd world kids.

There's a fair chance they'll be made by Fox's in their Batley factory. The margins are very tight on own label but there's a European producer that's won a fair amount of own label contracts recently so the UK producers are having to go in keen on cost.

[V8mate]

captain_cynic said:

How do stores (Tesco, Morrisons, et al.) produce biscuits so cheap?

I'm currently enjoying Tesco Brand Custard Creams and I've got a packet of Tesco Jam Sandwich Creams (Jammie Dodgers) at home, both packs cost about 40p. Jammie Dodgers are usually a quid a pack.

Checked the pack and it says it was produced in the UK so there goes my theory of them being made from the crushed dreams of 3rd world kids.

Truly bonkers, some foodstuffs. I bought these moody Snickers from Aldi this morning. 59p for six; less than 10p each!

Lose the VAT, the wrapping, the distribution and haulage, the store overhead, the company overhead, the profit and... how much was spent on the product?

52 of them and I'd hit my daily protein target - for a fiver.

[Flibble]

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

[captain_cynic]

Flibble said:

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

I had to Google that. It gave me a chuckle to read:

"In the eyes of UK law, biscuits and cakes are necessities and are zero rated."

Chocolates and chocolate covered biscuits are not VAT exempt, but chocolate covered cake is.

[Flibble]

captain_cynic said:

Flibble said:

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

I had to Google that. It gave me a chuckle to read:

"In the eyes of UK law, biscuits and cakes are necessities and are zero rated."

Chocolates and chocolate covered biscuits are not VAT exempt, but chocolate covered cake is.

Hence the Jaffa Cake legal case, which determined that they are cakes (and thus zero rated) not biscuits.

[Timmy45]

Flibble said:

captain_cynic said:

Flibble said:

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

I had to Google that. It gave me a chuckle to read:

"In the eyes of UK law, biscuits and cakes are necessities and are zero rated."

Chocolates and chocolate covered biscuits are not VAT exempt, but chocolate covered cake is.

Hence the Jaffa Cake legal case, which determined that they are cakes (and thus zero rated) not biscuits.

But that's crazy, where do you find them, not in the cakes area they're in the biscuits area rubbing shoulders with digestives and hob knobs.

[Dr Jekyll]

Timmy45 said:

Flibble said:

captain_cynic said:

Flibble said:

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

I had to Google that. It gave me a chuckle to read:

"In the eyes of UK law, biscuits and cakes are necessities and are zero rated."

Chocolates and chocolate covered biscuits are not VAT exempt, but chocolate covered cake is.

Hence the Jaffa Cake legal case, which determined that they are cakes (and thus zero rated) not biscuits.

But that's crazy, where do you find them, not in the cakes area they're in the biscuits area rubbing shoulders with digestives and hob knobs.

But if you leave a Jaffa until it's stale it goes hard not soft. Therefore cake not biscuit.

[Timmy45]

Dr Jekyll said:

Timmy45 said:

Flibble said:

captain_cynic said:

Flibble said:

Bear in mind that some biscuits are VAT exempt (though not those snickers bars I suspect).

I had to Google that. It gave me a chuckle to read:

"In the eyes of UK law, biscuits and cakes are necessities and are zero rated."

Chocolates and chocolate covered biscuits are not VAT exempt, but chocolate covered cake is.

Hence the Jaffa Cake legal case, which determined that they are cakes (and thus zero rated) not biscuits.

But that's crazy, where do you find them, not in the cakes area they're in the biscuits area rubbing shoulders with digestives and hob knobs.

But if you leave a Jaffa until it's stale it goes hard not soft. Therefore cake not biscuit.

Ah but if you put a Jaffa cake in a pond it will sink, the same as a biscuit. Therefore a biscuit. A cake will float due to it's tiny air pocket buoyancy.

[captain_cynic]

Timmy45 said:

But that's crazy, where do you find them, not in the cakes area they're in the biscuits area rubbing shoulders with digestives and hob knobs.

As strange as it sounds it's quite true... Jaffa Cakes are cake for taxation purposes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Categori...

I heard (on QI, so I make no claims as to its veracity) that ultimately it was decided because a Jaffa Cake starts off soft and goes hard when it's stale like a cake (biscuits are the other way around, starting off hard and goes soft when stale).

[talksthetorque]

captain_cynic said:

As strange as it sounds it's quite true... Jaffa Cakes are cake for taxation purposes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Categori...

I heard (on QI, so I make no claims as to its veracity) that ultimately it was decided because a Jaffa Cake starts off soft and goes hard when it's stale like a cake (biscuits are the other way around, starting off hard and goes soft when stale).

So cookies are cakes then?
I refer to the four/five in a bag variety from the supermarket bakery that you couldn't possibly eat a whole bag full of in one sitting.

They start off soft and go hard.
( doesn't matter to the Vat Man as the chocolate is not on the outside if it has any at all)

[captain_cynic]

talksthetorque said:

So cookies are cakes then?
I refer to the four/five in a bag variety from the supermarket bakery that you couldn't possibly eat a whole bag full of in one sitting.

They start off soft and go hard.
( doesn't matter to the Vat Man as the chocolate is not on the outside if it has any at all)

Then I bloody well hope we're not paying VAT on them.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

talksthetorque said:

you couldn't possibly eat a whole bag full of in one sitting.

[gothatway]

Timmy45 said:

Ah but if you put a Jaffa cake in a pond it will sink, the same as a biscuit. Therefore a biscuit. A cake will float due to it's tiny air pocket buoyancy.

That's outrageous. Who the hell puts cake in a pond ? Shooting would be too good for them.