Taking the Supermarkets by Storm: Part 1

Supermarkets offer a wide variety of goods with different qualities, quantities and prices. With the birth of giants like Costco who offer bulk quantities of stuff like green peas, cooking oil and ham, other supermarkets are becoming more competitive.

More means less and less means more. However, if you’re not in the mood to take home a large can of cooking oil just yet, read our analysis of the global supermarket to find out just how you can get the best products with the best prices.

Shelf space!

Did you know that even in small supermarkets, commodity distributors pay a hefty amount of money so that their products would be displayed prominently? While some products may have low prices because they’re just entering the market, some of the most prominently displayed goods are actually expensive.

We’re not talking about hundreds of dollars worth of slotting fees. Sometimes, supermarkets charge thousands of dollars so that the most competitive products get the best views from potential buyers.

We’re not interested in supporting this type of shelf advertising, which is why we’re informing consumers that such a practice exists. Don’t buy into the trick. If you know other brands or are willing to try other quality brands, go for the products on the lowest rung of the shelf or elsewhere. You can even go to the third or fourth shelf to find the cheapest products.

End caps

Here’s another deception: the end caps aren’t always featuring products that are on sale. Sometimes, the stuff there are products that are near their expiration date. Other times, the inverse is true: brand new, expensive commodities are loaded on the end caps to attract buyers. They aren’t for sale, and you’re not maximizing the value of your money. Brands are actually gaining 30% of their common sales by being placed on the end caps.

The deal with organic produce

There’s no escaping the fact that organic products are more expensive than commercial counterparts. They’re more expensive because it’s harder to maintain an organic farm and it’s harder to ward off pests and pathogens without making use of synthetic chemicals. That’s why these products are more expensive. It’s far safer to buy organic products in the United States (this applies only to vegetables and fruits).

Apart from the declaration that such produce is organic, look for the USDA seal. In the United States, the standards for organic fruits and vegetables are stringent. The same can be said of meats such as those from poultry, beef and pork. Buying organic pork might be better than buying commercial pork. However, buying organic seafood is a bit suspect because there are no stringent rules in the US as to detecting whether imports are 100% organic or not.

As a rule of thumb, always cook your meats thoroughly so pathogens and para-organisms are removed. Tapeworms and other undesirable organisms lurk in commercial meat produce such as ham and bacon. The Food and Drug Administration actually has a tally of acceptable levels of waste and animal residues in foods as mundane as macaroni and cheddar cheese.