Vintage roadside

[Fading Fast]

Solidarity Forever. And while you're at it, tell them I WANT MY FRIGGIN UNEEDA BISCUITS BACK.

I've been boycotting Nabisco/Kraft for years now without even trying -- they've discontinued everything they made that I liked.

I put my NR comment in there specifically for you. I've held out so far, as I'm that angry at their stupidity, but I would love a Nutter Butter. And I'm with you on UNEEDAs - with butter and a pinch a salt you have a quite tasty snack. The problem is the industry has so consolidated that a company-wide boycott would take out way too many things. Might have to have some Saltines today as you put vintage crackers on my mind and we always keep some in the house.

 

[3fingers]

Solidarity Forever. And while you're at it, tell them I WANT MY FRIGGIN UNEEDA BISCUITS BACK.

I've been boycotting Nabisco/Kraft for years now without even trying -- they've discontinued everything they made that I liked.

This is my position with Post cereals. I know I've carped about this before, but when they discontinued Post Toasties I was done. I wouldn't buy anything from them if it contained the secret of eternal youth. How many flavors of Honey Bunches of Oats can the market actually support? Pencilnecked pinheaded idiots.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It was a sad day in the grocery store when the "brand line extension" theory took over the packaged-food business.

 

[Fading Fast]

It was a sad day in the grocery store when the "brand line extension" theory took over the packaged-food business.

Is that because it knocked out a bunch of the one-off brands we are talking about here - just making sure I understand your point?

And what the heck happened to Gaucho cookies - not as good as Nutter Butters, but the elephant on the package was wonderful branding? Also, I'm all for a robust and competitive marketplace for peanut-butter cookies. Maybe if Gauchos still existed, Nabisco wouldn't have been so cavalier about giving up the peanut-shell shape of Nutter Butters.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Brand line extension" is basically a technique that packaged-food corporations use as a way of controlling the maximum amount of shelf space in a supermarket. When you walk down the cracker and cookie aisle, for example, you don't see a dozen different flavors of Triscuits because the public is demanding, I dunno, sage-and-aniseed flavored whole wheat crackers. It's because Kraft can use the power of the Triscuit brand to demand X feet of shelf space from the corporations that control the supermarket business -- thus ensuring that space doesn't go to Keebler/Sunshine, which in turn is pushing a dozen different flavors of Cheez-Its, even though nobody particularly wants wasabi-and-anchovy flavored cheese crackers. It's all about leveraging a recognized brand name to control shelf space.

Who really gets frozen in these situations are the small local manufacturers, who have to fight among themselves for what little space remains after Big Cookie, Big Soda, and Big Snack Food have marked out their share. And likewise the consumer gets the shaft -- suppose Sally Shopper decides she likes sage-and-aniseed Triscuits, but the company, because brand-line-extension theory demands a constant churn of sub-brands to ensure that none of that hard-won shelf space is lost, replaces them after six months with Toasted Kale flavor Triscuits. Tough luck, Sally, because it isn't about you and your preferences -- it's about bulk sales to supermarket chains based on allocations of shelf space. And the individual consumer is the one who gets it in the neck. "When elephants fight, ants are trampled."

 

[Fading Fast]

"Brand line extension" is basically a technique that packaged-food corporations use as a way of controlling the maximum amount of shelf space in a supermarket. When you walk down the cracker and cookie aisle, for example, you don't see a dozen different flavors of Triscuits because the public is demanding, I dunno, sage-and-aniseed flavored whole wheat crackers. It's because Kraft can use the power of the Triscuit brand to demand X feet of shelf space from the corporations that control the supermarket business -- thus ensuring that space doesn't go to Keebler/Sunshine, which in turn is pushing a dozen different flavors of Cheez-Its, even though nobody particularly wants wasabi-and-anchovy flavored cheese crackers. It's all about leveraging a recognized brand name to control shelf space.

Who really gets frozen in these situations are the small local manufacturers, who have to fight among themselves for what little space remains after Big Cookie, Big Soda, and Big Snack Food have marked out their share. And likewise the consumer gets the shaft -- suppose Sally Shopper decides she likes sage-and-aniseed Triscuits, but the company, because brand-line-extension theory demands a constant churn of sub-brands to ensure that none of that hard-won shelf space is lost, replaces them after six months with Toasted Kale flavor Triscuits. Tough luck, Sally, because it isn't about you and your preferences -- it's about bulk sales to supermarket chains based on allocations of shelf space. And the individual consumer is the one who gets it in the neck. "When elephants fight, ants are trampled."

I get - and pretty much (not in such detail) was aware of - the above, but one thing doesn't quite make sense to me. All this churn is costly to Big Soda, etc., so if enough people like the same thing Sally does, doesn't it become a permanent offering on the shelf, say, the way I've noticed double and mega-stuffed Oreos are - at least they are always on the shelf in our local supermarkets?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Or what will happen is the item will be "rotated" among various other flavors so they only have to do one production run a year, and don't have to build any more factories or take on any other production workers. This is why certain flavors of Doritos, for example, only seem to appear on your store shelf now and then. Only the "Cool (Vile) Ranch" and "Nacho (Slightly Less Vile) Cheese" flavors remain constant -- the "Tacos at Midnight" "American Burger" and "Mongolian Yak Sweat" flavors all appear only once every year or so, if that, but often enough to keep the shelf space warm.

 

[Zombie_61]

...This is why certain flavors of Doritos, for example, only seem to appear on your store shelf now and then. Only the "Cool (Vile) Ranch" and "Nacho (Slightly Less Vile) Cheese" flavors remain constant -- the "Tacos at Midnight" "American Burger" and "Mongolian Yak Sweat" flavors all appear only once every year or so, if that, but often enough to keep the shelf space warm.

Ugh, Doritos. Frito-Lay has so thoroughly convinced people that their "flavored" chips are so much better that you can't even get their original "tastes like a ground corn chip" flavor around here any more. I've tried a number of their "flavored" chips over the years, and they all taste pretty much the same to me: "extra salty".

 

[Frunobulax]

Ugh, Doritos. Frito-Lay has so thoroughly convinced people that their "flavored" chips are so much better that you can't even get their original "tastes like a ground corn chip" flavor around here any more. I've tried a number of their "flavored" chips over the years, and they all taste pretty much the same to me: "extra salty".

Hey, the original taco flavor is still good, or it at least it evokes teenage memories.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I would give a very great deal for a bag of the original 1960s-early 70s Taco Doritos that didn't have that weird cheese-powder seasoning. The original Taco flavor had no cheese, no sour cream, and a general dollop of torula yeast extract.

 

[Zombie_61]

Hey, the original taco flavor is still good, or it at least it evokes teenage memories.

Those are my wife's favorite. Finding them around here used to be "hit and miss", but they've apparently gained in popularity in recent years because they're regularly stocked at our local supermarket now. Not bad, but I still much prefer the original "toasted corn" flavor. And lest anyone think I'm paranoid or lazy, even Frito-Lay's website says they aren't available within a 50-mile radius of our house. I guess I'll have to make do with Fritos.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The "toasted corn flavor" shows up here generally once every three or four years, and are still pretty good. I'll grab a bag if I see them hidden among the SUPER BLAZED HYPER POPPIN PEPPER X-TREEM or whatever else they're pushing at the moment.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

I'd love to be able to buy the ORIGINAL formulas of Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific, the green Herbal Essence (singular), and Body on Tap shampoos again. GYHST actually is still in production because Jergens sold the formula to another company. Unfortunately, the company is located in the Philippines, so that's the only place you can buy it. On the bright side, sort of, I've read it's still a very popular product there. There's an online store that sells their own version of GYHST, but evidently the original contained deer musk, which is now banned,
so they use synthetic musk. I bought a bottle, but it didn't smell anything like the original.

 

[Fading Fast]

Apparently, my one-man boycott is having no effect whatsoever (an interesting compound word) on Nabisco as the stupid hateful round Nutter Butters are still all my supermarket is stocking. I'm sensing my Norma Rae moment is coming.

Now - in the second month of my one-man boycott of the (stupid, hateful) round-shaped Nutter Butter (Nabisco's keeping a brave face, but I know they're getting scared) - I decided to try the peanut-butter Oreo which always seemed unimportant to me as Nutter Butter had perfected the peanut-butter sandwich cookie.

Also, of course, Nabisco owns both brands, so what was I really accomplishing? But I decided to justify it (to myself with tautologically flawed logic) that Nabisco cares about each brand in its family doing well and my boycott of Nutter Butter (a smaller seller) would hurt more than my patronizing of Oreo (already a monster brand). With that excuse in place, I bought a package of peanut butter Oreos today.

I was mildly surprised. The plus: good peanut butter taste and not too sweet (Oreos are not shy about sweetness) / The bad: the chocolate cookie was overwhelmed by the peanut butter flavor. All that said, I want a Nutter Butter, but am not ready to crack as I'm sure (and deluded) that Nabisco is about to crack.

 

[Frunobulax]

I love the peanut butter Oreos. At one time, they test marketed dulce de leche Oreos around here. Those things were divine.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I saw the peanut-shaped Nutter Butters in our local stoopermarket today -- they were the "NAB Pack" style, packaged for multi-unit sale. Keep up the pressure, you may be closer to goal than you think.

 

[Fading Fast]

I saw the peanut-shaped Nutter Butters in our local stoopermarket today -- they were the "NAB Pack" style, packaged for multi-unit sale. Keep up the pressure, you may be closer to goal than you think.

"What do we want?"
"Peanut-shaped Nutter Butters!"
"When do we want them?"
"Now!"

I love the peanut butter Oreos. At one time, they test marketed dulce de leche Oreos around here. Those things were divine....

I had them again for the second time today and they are growing on me. The peanut butter filling is good and the cookie is not cloying. My only quibble, same as yesterday, is that I don't get much of a chocolate flavor from them. That said, I'll being buying another package this week - I like them.

 

[1mach1]

"What do we want?"
"Peanut-shaped Nutter Butters!"
"When do we want them?"
"Now!"



I had them again for the second time today and they are growing on me. The peanut butter filling is good and the cookie is not cloying. My only quibble, same as yesterday, is that I don't get much of a chocolate flavor from them. That said, I'll being buying another package this week - I like them.

I'm not sold on the PB Oreos just yet.

But the Nutter Butters. That's a damn shame. I feel the round ones just don't have the same flavor. Maybe that's just my mind playing tricks on me.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm not sold on the PB Oreos just yet.

But the Nutter Butters. That's a damn shame. I feel the round ones just don't have the same flavor. Maybe that's just my mind playing tricks on me.

As a standalone cookie, I'm getting there on the PB Oreos, but not as a replacement to peanut-shell-shaped Nutter Butters.

As to the taste of the rounds NBs, I don't know as I'm still boycotting them. Lizzie's earlier post has given me hope.

 

[Zombie_61]

I've eaten peanut butter cookies in the past, but I honestly couldn't say whether or not I had ever eaten even one Nutter Butter cookie so out of curiosity I picked up a package while my wife and I were shopping over the weekend.

As you can see, they're peanut shaped. They did stock something called Nutter Butter Bites that were round (at least according to the photo on the packaging), but they appeared to be "bite size" and I wanted the genuine article (or, at least, as close to it as possible). Now that I've tried them, I'm 99.9% certain I've never eaten them before. It's too soon to tell whether or not they'll become a favorite, but I like them.

Oh, and no peanut butter Oreos to be had.