10 Things Supermarkets Won't Tell You

[Food Network Fan]

10 Things Supermarkets Won't Tell You


by Jim Rendon, SmartMoney
posted: 13 HOURS 38 MINUTES AGO



1. “Feel the squeeze? Actually, so do we.”
When the economy slows and businesses begin to feel the heat, grocery stores are often exceptions to the rule. That’s because when consumers cut back on frills like eating out, they tend to make even more trips to the supermarket. Still, all bets may be off in the wake of the crash of 2008.

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[Pluff Mudder]

Not only are the sizes of boxes, jars, etc shrinking, they're going up in price too. One being sugar. Most are now in 4 lb. bags instead of 5 and the price has gone up. It's like getting hit with a double increase.

[Food Network Fan]

I might have to start buying the big bags of sugar at Sam's again and filling the container up then storing the rest in the back of the pantry.

[Pluff Mudder]

The other day at Costco I checked the price on sugar there. They've got 10-lb. bags for a much better price per lb. than my local mega-mart. That's where I'm going to start getting mine.

The price for unsalted stick butter was about 1/2 the price of what's at the grocery. At the mega-mart it's around 2-lbs for $6 to $7, depending on the brand. At Costco, I can get 4-lbs for that same price.

[BerryBaby]

At a specialty store yesterday I was given a half pound of Irish butter for free! I just asked the young woman if she ever tried it before and she said, "No, have you?" I said I hadn't but was curious about it. With that she marked the package and said, "Here, you try it and let me know what you think."

What a nice surprise...and, yes, it is different than our butter. Much creamier and probably more calories. Very delicious!

[bakerman]

I have had the Irish butter and it was fabulous. I believe that it is cultured butter and just has a ton of flavor, great for spreading on fresh bread.

I have also noticed how sugar seems to be marketed more in 4lb. bags, they are trying to make the price look more appealing. I paid $2.19 for 5 lb. the other day at ALDI. Most grocery stores are creeping toward $3 for the 5lb. store brand these days.

I noticed that the article mentioned our sister chain Hannaford, I used to work for them. We have adopted the guiding stars program in our stores, and it is the single easiest system to understand among our local chains.

[juancarlos22]

Thanks for the info!

[ping]

What I hate is when they raise the price on something and them immediately put it on sale making you think you are getting a deal.