Anything and everything related to small business retail, handcrafting, textiles, etc.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Miss Kate's Creations: What is going on with manufacturing in this countr...
Miss Kate's Creations: What is going on with manufacturing in this countr...: "Today's blog is going to depart slightly from promoting my business, however, to a certain extent it still relates. Do American manufacture..."
Sunday, February 20, 2011
What is going on with manufacturing in this country?
Today's blog is going to depart slightly from promoting my business, however, to a certain extent it still relates. Do American manufacturers think we are all idiots??? I lived through the cotton shortage in the mid-1990s and was able to switch over to polyester batting for my products. Took a little bit of getting use to working with poly but it was worth it in the long run. There is also a major cotton shortage stemming from the tsunami where most of the worlds cotton is grown. I can deal with things like this and understand why prices for fabric are what they are.
However, earlier this week I baked a red velvet cake and although you can place the cake mix in a 13x9 pan, it doesn't even begin to fill the cake pan like it did in the 70s, 80s, or even 90s for that matter. Either the cake mix has been reinvented or the boxes have become smaller. I remember when the cakes rose to the top of the pan and you actually had to be careful putting the lid on the cakepan because the frosting would get in the inside of the lid. The only way that happens now is if you actally combine two cake mixes together in one pan.
Then, I thought I'd buy some Purity ice cream at Kroger's today while picking up some other items I needed for a recipe I was making. Since when did almost all icecream manufacturers start selling 1-1/2 quarts instead of 1/2 gallons????? This is really ripping off the consumer and the difference in the size of the container is so obvious. Yet the price is still the same for the smaller container. I paid $10 for 3 1-1/2 quarts of various flavors of Purity. Purity is local here in Nashville, but this slight of packaging doesn't only pertain to them. The only brand in the icecream case which has their original size packaging is Blue Bell icecream which is 1/2 gallon and that is part of their advertising and sales marketing. I wasn't aware of a cow or milk shortage or for that matter a sugar and ingredient shortage to create a smaller container for selling icecream.
I began my business in March 1991. I have NEVER raised my prices during the past 20 years I have been in businss. Although some of my supply prices have raised over the years. I determine a price for a product and then stick with it. Granted, I haven't made a fortune over the past 20 years, but things have worked out in the end and I have spurts of selling and get a few wholesale accounts to service. I just haven't had extra money for the big bang advertising to really keep my products out there in front of the buyers. Like I did back in the 1990's prior to me getting married in 2001. My products were right out there for the consumer to see in the serveral shopping malls I mainained my kiosk in for months at a time.
It just really irritates me how prices can raise and you get a littler amount for your money. I would certainly like to complain to Duncan Hines for the cake mix and Purity Dairy for the ice cream, but it probably wouldn't do any good. You're more likely to get a coupon for another product when you actually complain about the taste of a product like I did with a Healthy Choice Ginger Chicken entree. It was way too spicey for my tastebuds and I sent an email to Conagra complaining. I did get to fill out a consumer survey with my opinion and was sent a coupon for a free item of my choosing of another Healthy Choice Entree.
I would like to encourage readers to write in about what they have noticed dwindling in size and the price not going down and in many situations actually rising.
However, earlier this week I baked a red velvet cake and although you can place the cake mix in a 13x9 pan, it doesn't even begin to fill the cake pan like it did in the 70s, 80s, or even 90s for that matter. Either the cake mix has been reinvented or the boxes have become smaller. I remember when the cakes rose to the top of the pan and you actually had to be careful putting the lid on the cakepan because the frosting would get in the inside of the lid. The only way that happens now is if you actally combine two cake mixes together in one pan.
Then, I thought I'd buy some Purity ice cream at Kroger's today while picking up some other items I needed for a recipe I was making. Since when did almost all icecream manufacturers start selling 1-1/2 quarts instead of 1/2 gallons????? This is really ripping off the consumer and the difference in the size of the container is so obvious. Yet the price is still the same for the smaller container. I paid $10 for 3 1-1/2 quarts of various flavors of Purity. Purity is local here in Nashville, but this slight of packaging doesn't only pertain to them. The only brand in the icecream case which has their original size packaging is Blue Bell icecream which is 1/2 gallon and that is part of their advertising and sales marketing. I wasn't aware of a cow or milk shortage or for that matter a sugar and ingredient shortage to create a smaller container for selling icecream.
I began my business in March 1991. I have NEVER raised my prices during the past 20 years I have been in businss. Although some of my supply prices have raised over the years. I determine a price for a product and then stick with it. Granted, I haven't made a fortune over the past 20 years, but things have worked out in the end and I have spurts of selling and get a few wholesale accounts to service. I just haven't had extra money for the big bang advertising to really keep my products out there in front of the buyers. Like I did back in the 1990's prior to me getting married in 2001. My products were right out there for the consumer to see in the serveral shopping malls I mainained my kiosk in for months at a time.
It just really irritates me how prices can raise and you get a littler amount for your money. I would certainly like to complain to Duncan Hines for the cake mix and Purity Dairy for the ice cream, but it probably wouldn't do any good. You're more likely to get a coupon for another product when you actually complain about the taste of a product like I did with a Healthy Choice Ginger Chicken entree. It was way too spicey for my tastebuds and I sent an email to Conagra complaining. I did get to fill out a consumer survey with my opinion and was sent a coupon for a free item of my choosing of another Healthy Choice Entree.
I would like to encourage readers to write in about what they have noticed dwindling in size and the price not going down and in many situations actually rising.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Mother of the Bride brag book
The latest addition to my website www.misskatescreations.com is a Mother of the Bride brag book. Holds 100 4x6 photos. I have been wanting to create something like this for a long, long time and finally got motivated enough to do it. Next item on the list will be a Mother of the Groom design but need something just slightly different.
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