Remember when noodles....

thor

Remember when Tesco's value noodle packs cost 7p each? It can't have been much more than a year ago. These days they have almost tripled to 20p. Admittedly the other supermarkets have rocketed their budget noodle prices similarly and it makes me wonder what could have caused such a huge increase.
Maybe the noodle harvest this year was a bad one;)

PLRFD

Heron Home Bargains B&M etc all have cheap noodles,6 for £1 at Heron B&M have multi packs of Maggi noodles really cheap.

Nobbie1967

I noticed this with a lot of the Sainburys Basics range. I think they were sold as a 'loss leader', but then they found that a lot of savvy shoppers were switching, so they've upped the price to reduce demand. A lot of the basics stuff is now the same price as Lidl standard stuff, such as digestives for 30p. It's only the ready salted crisps that I bother with now.

LadyCoupon

Sure they are only 11p in Morrisons.

AuntyCat

LadyCoupon wrote: »

Sure they are only 11p in Morrisons.

We had the same conversation last week.

I'm sure they were 11p last year but are now 20p, just checked my receipt from last week.

we got through loads as they are free on Slimming world and were a good price.

maman

Nobbie1967 wrote: »

I noticed this with a lot of the Sainburys Basics range. I think they were sold as a 'loss leader', but then they found that a lot of savvy shoppers were switching, so they've upped the price to reduce demand. A lot of the basics stuff is now the same price as Lidl standard stuff, such as digestives for 30p. It's only the ready salted crisps that I bother with now.

Interesting idea. I thought exactly that when bought Basics stock cubes yesterday. Over the last couple of years they've gone up from 10p a pack to 15p and now they're 25p. I think for no other reason than because they can!

geordie_joe

maman wrote: »

I think for no other reason than because they can!

It's supply and demand, or more accurately "What the market will stand".

There was a time when most people wouldn't be seen dead buying value stuff, and those that did tried to "hide" them under other things in their trolley/basket. So supermarkets sold them cheap to encourage people to buy them.

Now the "stigma" of buy value items is a lot less, or even non existent in places. More people are buying them and thinking nothing of it, so the price increases.

Supermarkets don't price items by what they are worth, they price them by what people will pay for them. And as there is little, or no stigma attached to buying value items now, people will buy them as long as they are a bit cheaper than other brands.

I can remember when Tesco value curry was 4p a jar and people in the old style board were clearing the shelves of it every time they went into a Tesco. Then suddenly the price shot up.

It was the same with Tesco value baby bath. It was 9p per bottle and someone in the old style board said it was very good as shower gel and soap. So lots of people tried it, well you aren't losing much at 9p a bottle. And we all found it was very good and bought it by the wagon load. I work across the road from a Tesco and was buying 11 bottles every time I finished work. Then the price went up to 46p overnight.

I am sure the only reason for the huge, and sudden price rises were because Tesco looked at the large increase in sales of those products and thought "Those items are popular, people must want them.....and if they want them they will be willing to pay more for them".

stephen77

I doubt Tesco made any profit when they sold noodles for 7p.


Logistics, packaging costs will take up most of the 7p.


Plus ingredients costs will not be that different from bachelor noodles that cost over twice the price.

geordie_joe

stephen77 wrote: »

I doubt Tesco made any profit when they sold noodles for 7p.

They wouldn't sell them if they didn't make a profit. Most people, if the cheapest were not available, would simple buy the next brand up. So every time someone buys a packet of value noodles Tesco lose a sale of the next brand up. So if they were not making a profit from the value one they would not sell them.

stephen77 wrote: »

Logistics, packaging costs will take up most of the 7p.

Packaging would be very cheap and logistics would be almost non existent.

stephen77 wrote: »

Plus ingredients costs will not be that different from bachelor noodles that cost over twice the price.

But Batchelors could be making a HUGE proft compared to the profit on value noodles.

stephen77

geordie_joe wrote: »

They wouldn't sell them if they didn't make a profit. Most people, if the cheapest were not available, would simple buy the next brand up. So every time someone buys a packet of value noodles Tesco lose a sale of the next brand up. So if they were not making a profit from the value one they would not sell them.
.

Lost leaders?


Hence that's why the price gone up as they want to make some profit.
Even if Tesco may be making a profit, the noodle supplier may not.

geordie_joe wrote: »

Packaging would be very cheap and logistics would be almost non existent.
.

Packaging for the wrapping is still going to be a relative big % of 7p. The foil price is going to be similar cost to the next tier up, just less colours used for it on printing. Plus the corrugated outer case they go in, will be the same as the next tier up and take up a much bigger % of the 7p.

geordie_joe wrote: »

But Batchelors could be making a HUGE proft compared to the profit on value noodles.

bachelors will be making a bigger profit.


Still the cost of making the noddles. I doubt there much difference in ingredients costs between value noodles and top tier dried noddles in ingredients and labour costs.

thor

stephen77 wrote: »

Lost leaders?


Hence that's why the price gone up as they want to make some profit.
Even if Tesco may be making a profit, the noodle supplier may not.

I also doubt that they made a profit at 7p BUT as you have pointed out, they were loss leaders. People would have come in to buy cheap staple items such as these noodles(I don't call them value anymore) and gone away with a couple of bags of things they bought incidentally while there. Now that there are a number of cheaper alternatives elsewhere I visit Tesco less often and hence spend less money there(Admittedly I did go last week but that was because they had their 4 fresh cream selection going for a quid. The first outstanding bargain they have had for quite a while). No wonder they are struggling at the moment. Which Einstein came up with the idea to raise prices when they are trying to attract customer s back.