I will say, however, that there is NO REASON for coffee to be as high-priced as it is. I have been monitoring the commodities markets, and coffee has done nothing but slide for the past year.
Just saying.
Anyway, my point, and I do have one, is this.
I am breaking up with you, Biscoff.
Suddenly, Biscoff disappeared completely. For months. When it reappeared, the price had shot up to what you see, above. I shopped around, but Biscoff was now ridiculously priced everywhere. So I did what I always do; I researched it. And here's what I found:
"'Responsible' price hikes and rising volumes earned Lotus Bakeries new record figures: for the first time, the Belgian company’s turnover surpasses half a billion euros in the first six months of a year. With turnover up more than 20 % to 501 million euros in the first half of the year, Lotus Bakeries speaks of a “new milestone”. ..Biscoff biscuits (+ 20 %)...advanced strongly. Net profit went up 15.9 %. The figures are better than what analysts had expected.
According to the biscuit baker, the strong results came as “responsible” price increases combined with an 8 % increase in volumes. The tariff increases the company implemented early this year to counter rising costs led to a double-digit price effect. Lotus Bakeries stresses that the price increases over the past two years were always aligned with actual costs, and were unavoidable due to unprecedented increases for raw materials, packaging, transport and wages, among others. The company claims that the price effect has now reached its peak."
Well, la di da, Biscoff people. Whatever.
I'm just now okay with being gouged for bananas. I'm not okay with being gouged for cookies, even if they're as delightful as Biscoff. This is going to take some time, and maybe Forever. Breakups are painful and sad. It's a Process, and in the meantime, I need a Rebound Cookie. And some Support Outrage.
Help me out in Comments.
I reserve my biggest outrage for lettuce. I remember a few months/years ago when there was a lettuce shortage (bad crops?) and my local grocery put iceberg lettuce ON SALE for 2 for $7. No. That is not okay. Iceberg lettuce should cost $.99 a head. Maybe $1.29 in the off season. OKAY, I would pay $1.59 in the dead of winter. But $3.50 per?! ON SALE?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteCars, I think, have had an astronomical bump in sales price. It's bonkers. BONKERS. I know this and feel particularly grumpy about it because I just leased a new car and it was a price I never in a million years thought I would pay for a vehicle.
Suzanne--First, let me say I Hear You. I broke up with not only iceberg lettuce but bagged salads years ago when my sister introduced me to the wonder that is Romaine Lettuce. I can get three heads of Romaine lettuce for $2.59 at my grocery store, on average. The appeal there is that Romaine Lettuce has a terrifically long life in the crisper. I switched and have never, ever looked back.
DeleteCars now cost what my first house cost me back in 1985. We bought a fixer-upper Craftsman home in a really good neighborhood for $37, 500.00. Thankfully, my husband is a carpenter and general handyman, and we had over a month to make major renovations to a few rooms before moving in. It's now appraising for five times that amount. My point is that new cars (and some used) are going for more than my home cost back then. It's insane. Can you even buy a car that doesn't have a bigass tablet sticking out of the dashboard anymore? Good heavens.
Oh man. I remember that you've only recently discovered Biscoff. This is ridiculous. I admit that I don't really pay attention to food prices. I notice when things are on sale, but my list is lengthy and I'm in a hurry and I notice my total amount is gag-me high but we must eat, so I power through. I don't think there is any one food that I've broken up with though.
ReplyDeleteBUT - if you want to talk about the prices for flights, then I will tell you that I'm about to lose my mind over the price of flying Tank home for college. What if we want to travel somewhere warm at some point? Prices are silly. Just silly and prohibitive.
Ernie--Your food bill must be spectacular. Please do not share, or I'll feel stupid.
DeleteI haven't priced a flight in years. I simply refuse. Flying is a nightmare anymore. It feels like intake at a prison facility. So demeaning and negative. So restrictive and time-consuming. I'd rather drive, no matter how long it takes. And pack all my FULL SIZE TOILETRIES SO THERE.
I have to fly next week for a funeral, so dates are not negotiable. I get an advertisement email from the airline saying, 'flights as low as $59 each way'. Guess what they were for MY flight from San Francisco to Portland? $257. Plus the taxes and fees, plus $30 if I want to check a bag. UGH. My BFF however is currently in Ireland, and got a $15 flight to Paris, so guess who's popping over to Paris for a couple of days? Sigh.
DeleteI love those cookies too but haven't been buying them lately. Now I feel that was a good choice given they are experiencing record profits. Some companies have used the shortages of last year as an excuse to rise prices whether it was justified or not.
ReplyDeleteJean--Exactly. At some point, I have to stand on principle. The Lotus Biscuit Company can stick it.
DeleteI lived without Biscoff for decades, and I can do it again.
I agree the price of coffee is OUTRAGEOUS and they are getting away with it because they know we (me, I mean me) can't live without it.
ReplyDelete$4.99 for a package of Biscoff cookies is insane. I am as outraged as you are. I bet you could find a recipe online that would scratch the Biscoff itch.
Gigi--That's the problem. They charge whatever they want for whatever it is and we're all stuck paying it, whether it's for coffee, gas, cars, or cookies. Do I sound like a crabby old lady? Well, get the hell off my lawn.
DeletePlease do find a recipe online for a Biscoff Rip-Off. Then bake several batches and send them to me. I'll email you my address. ;-)
I agree, the companies are taking advantage of the situation, and we are suffering for it. So maddening. Blueberries are crazy around here, though I have found them for $7 a pint recently, less than the $11 ones I posted a bit ago. Gas is over $5 a gallon in California, sometimes closer to $6. The only milk that my husband's stomach can handle is $5 a half gallon on sale, more like $7 regular price. Like Ernie, I don't really comparison shop much, I buy what we need, but we certainly have fewer extras these days. It feels almost impossible to get out of the grocery store for less than $100.
ReplyDeleteJ.--I keep forgetting to check the price/availability of blueberries here and to report back to you. I'll do my best to do so this week.
DeleteGas here is about $3.09 a gallon, but I can get it as a member of a warehouse club for under that; however, is it worth the extra miles and traffic frustration through endless construction here to save 15 cents a gallon in my Prius? Not usually, unless I'm headed out that way for another errand.
I agree that it's usually $100 for groceries (weekly) just for my husband and me. But, I admit that I often stock up on anything that's a really good buy, and my grocery store also has other things. Sometimes I come home with a rug or a baking dish or a pair of slippers from the closeout aisle.
Two words ......cat food.
ReplyDeleteDee--I hear you. I can't get out of the pet store for less than 80 bucks anymore. It's horrendous.
DeleteI have a recipe for maple cookies as well as the pie. Maple syrup is selling here for $18.99 a litre, up from about $16.00 in the last two years. That's peanuts (hello jays) compared to what the Biscoff people have added.
ReplyDeleteBut, as you may have noticed, Canadian prices are inflating about as fast as a helium balloon. Or one's waistline on a diet of maple, value added or not.
Bummer. But, lucky us that we can actually afford to pay for our treats, even if it hurts a lot. I live in a community where there is a lot of food insecurity, and I keep an eye on the finances of the local food bank.
Mary--I use very little maple syrup, but I know how expensive it is. Even the Amish stand near our lakehouse has raised its prices on everything, including their maple syrup and honey. I, too, donate cash often to our food banks. Isn't it ridiculous that our countries have hungry families?
DeleteMy price outrage is directed at avocados. Which I love. And they are so good for you. Walmart sells very, very small ones for 60 cents each. They are rock hard, the pit takes up 75% of the volume, and they go from rock hard to mushy and half-spoiled in a nanosecond once you think they have softened enough to eat. Sometimes I sniff around at Whole Foods (a.k.a., Whole Paycheck) for one of their sales where you can get 4 small ones (very good quality) for $4. Best option is usually the local Hispanic supermarkets. If I cruise in there when there is a sale, a very large, awesome-tasting Hass avocado ready-to-eat is a dollar.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with your Biscoff outrage. I just googled it, and Walmart is selling the 8.8 oz. package for $9.99. WTF?! My local Tom Thumb supermarket (weird name, owned by Safeway), which is *much* pricier, sells them for $5.49. Another head-scratcher. Thankfully, cookies are never on the menu in Casa Ortiz. Mr. O. has Type 2 Diabetes. He also has a sweet tooth you can't imagine, which is why he got the diabetes for sure. Luckily, I discovered that Hershey's now makes snack-size little chocolate candy bars with zero sugar. Also pricey, but better than having him dip into the forbidden stuff. Just found a recipe for Biscoff cookies. A pain to have to make them yourself, but... maybe now and then... https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-biscoff-cookies/
Ortizzle--I have learned that avocados stay usable longer (once ripened) if I put them in a plastic container with a tight lid and refrigerate them. They last at least a week or two longer. It's astonishing. Makes me very happy since Rick is not a big avo eater and I love them so.
DeleteRight now, we're getting Hass avos for about $1-1.25 apiece. I'm addicted to them on toast with tomato.
Thanks for the link for homemade Biscoff. I'll save it in case I ever make cookies ever again. Right now, I don't see it, but who knows?
XO
I was just talking yesterday about how pleased I was to find the coffee creamer I like "on sale"--for more than it used to cost when not on sale! Everything is crazy, and we remind ourselves regularly how lucky we are that we can afford things. But it's still frustrating.
ReplyDeleteccr--Honestly, I understand exactly what you mean. I do the same thing. I use half-n-half in my coffee (don't tell my cholesterol), and I used to get it for $1.78 a quart. It shot up to $2.58, then $3.28. It's back down to $2.58, and I'm thrilled. Sigh.
DeleteYes, we are fortunate to bitch about these rising prices AS WE PAY THEM. There are those who have cut out some items entirely because they can't afford them. But yes--still frustrating and offensive.
Huh. I don't know what the solution is here. Maybe a homemade cookie? But, honestly, with the price of butter (why am I paying $6/pound?!), that may not end up being any cheaper in the long run!
ReplyDeleteNGS--Oh, I was hoping for the name of a similar cookie. Failing that, I just wanted to bitch and get some support. There really is no solution...unless Someone wants to bake me some Biscoff Ripoff cookies and send them to me. LOL
Delete(And yes--the cost of butter is irksome.)
Mike buys most of our groceries so I've been keeping my head safely in the sand. And my favorite ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Phish Food) has been staying the same at the grocery store. In fact, on Friday I paid the same amount for it as those Biscoff cookies up there! Which seems reasonable to me. Says the person addicted to Phish Food. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteBug--I love Haagen Dazs ice creams, but I have a price threshhold for those, too. Rick, however, does not. He just goes and buys it, reasoning that I don't have it that often and it's a small luxury. I had a friend once who used to say, "It's not like you're buying a ten thousand dollar diamond necklace!" Gosh, I miss her. She was good for me.
DeleteThat is completely outrageous. *pounding fists!* The only time I've ever had Biscoff is when traveling; they give them out on some flights. I wonder if the airlines are getting a much better price than the general consumers....or if I'll never see another Biscoff cookie on a flight again.
ReplyDeleteBB Suz--Thank you for sharing my outrage. That's an interesting point about the airline Biscoffs. The ones I got before were teeny ones in a little bag. But, still Biscoff. I wonder if the price increase will make airlines consider another snack or if they'll just raise the price of our tickets some more.
Delete