The New York Times Economics blog reported this week that Haagen-Dazs is using the recession as an excuse to skimp on the volume of its pints of ice cream, downsizing their standard pint to 14 oz from 16. WHAT THE?!?!
First of all, the price of milk has been going down since the recession hit, which if anything should have reduced costs for manufactures of ice cream and other dairy products by now.
And accordingly, first quarter earnings reported by General Mills, owner of Haagen-Dazs, indicate that the company is in fact doing just fine.
Finally, H-G's case isn't helped by the fact that good old Ben and Jerry's has vowed to keep offering the full 16 oz, acknowledging that “Now more than ever, you deserve your full pint of ice cream.” I happen to agree.
This trick has some precedent, but mostly in "gallon" sizes. It's desperate times, and apparently, stingy companies are getting bolder and bolder...
ps. generic brand Dolly Madison sells perfectly good pints for $1.50 at bodegas all over Brooklyn, so why anyone is still buying Haagen-Dazs is beyond me anyway.
Personally, I'm a partisan of Haaagen Daszsz chocolate. Chocolaty, but not complicated by add-ins and add-ons or alloys. BTW, I remember when B&J's cast themselves as the little upstarts compared to "established" HD, but they're not so different. HD was started by two polish immigrants in Brooklyn in 1961 (hence their Danish-sounding name). Ben an Jerry's is owned by Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch conglomerate with over 180,000 employees. I have a suspicion that both companies' pricing strategies have similar objectives... you guessed it!
ReplyDeleteHaha Nick I shoulda known you'd speak out - I remember how much you love that H-D Chocolate ... your one indulgence!
ReplyDeleteI know that B&Js is far from a small company now, but they are an impressive model as they had a great history of promoting socially conscious values and politics until pressured by shareholders to sell to Unilever in 2000.