"prices" news and stories

Kellogg's is planning to raise prices and decrease package sizes for its ready-to-eat boxed cereals this fall. The cereal giant is expected to increase its marketing budget, or at least maintain it, to make sure that customers keep buying their products in spite of pricing changes. After all, they have to convince the consumer that it is worth paying more money for less cereal for their profits to remain the same.

But is it worth it? The two main reasons that people eat cold cereal are convenience and price. A bowl of cereal takes seconds to prepare and you can get several meals out of one box. But, if given all the time and luxury of a relaxing Sunday, cereal might not be the first thing that breakfasters would reach for. A small price hike, about 2%, might not make a big difference in buying habits, but it will certainly set the stage for other cereal companies to follow in the footsteps of the largest cereal company and could even lead to further changes in pricing. When consumers realize that they are getting less than what they think they're paying for, some might stop buying cereal on a regular basis and the companies could be hurt more in the long run.

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Whole Foods is rolling out new ads to emphasize the low priced items they say they've been selling all along, according to an article in the New York Times. Apparently "whole paycheck" has just been hiding their competitively priced light under a bushel. Prices of certain items will now figure prominently in the new ads. According to the NYT article, Business Day ran some price comparisons between Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, a Manhattan Walgreen's and Food Emporium. Kashi cereal and Philadelphia Cream Cheese were both cheaper at Whole Foods. I've done a few informal price comparisons between my local Whole Foods and Publix supermarket and also found that prices on items like Nature's Path cereals (my beloved Optimum Power Breakfast) and Blue Diamond almond milk are generally cheaper at Whole Foods. The ads will run in New York City for the next 10 weeks.

[Image: NYT]

The theft of beer kegs from pubs and breweries is on the rise in the UK, according to a recent story in The Publican. Apparently beer isn't what the thieves are after, however. High prices of aluminum and steel are to blame, with kegs being worth around £50 (approximately $90). One brewery actually reported a theft of 100 kegs in 13 minutes one night. Some thieves are even posing as beer distributors collecting empties. Local police are urging pub owners to keep their kegs in more secure locations for now.