Have you seen the list of products we’ve selected to maintain the same price until the end of August?  We want to make it affordable and easy for you to shop at Wegmans.  There are some seasonal additions as well as holdovers from the Winter List.  Example:  frozen ice cream sandwiches are new; frozen pizza is a perennial favorite that stays on.  Another:  cough and cold remedies go away, but allergy medications and sunscreen are new.  Frozen salmon, tilapia and haddock stay on; a brand new mild fillet called Swai is new (I’ll blog about that later.)

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Who doesn’t know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  So why is it that most people don’t eat it?  Well, rush is the rule in the morning, it seems, so how can breakfast barriers be removed? There are already instant oatmeal packets … add water, heat and stir (how hard is that?).  The latest new breakfast barrier buster: Wegmans Frozen Steel-Cut Oatmeal. Microwaveable and ready in its own 8-oz. bowl in 4 minutes (compare to 30+ minutes, stove-top, for standard steel-cut oats).  Fast, yes, but the main differences between this and instant oatmeal are taste and texture – nuttier, more flavorful and chewier.
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Some things do get better with age but spices are not among them.  When I moved to a new house five years ago, I was horrified to realize how long some of my spice containers had been around.  I should know better.  As you promise yourself to eat healthier, cook more at home, etc., spices and herbs can be an important way of adding flavor.  Just be sure what’s being added will do what you want it to do to enhance the taste.

So how do you know how old your spices are?  For the McCormick brand, check the bottom of the bottle for the “best by” date.  If there is only a code instead of a date, use that company’s Fresh Tester tool on their website www.mccormick.com  under Spices 101 and Check Now:  type in the code to determine when your spice, herb or blend was produced.  Part of that site notes that if your container is a tin or is labeled from Baltimore, MD, it’s at least 15 years old!

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Good news for winter:  We pledge to freeze prices through April 28 on a list of seasonal products that families buy most. Last year you told us that it was really helpful to be able to count on low prices being held for 40+ items through the end of 2011. Toward the end of the year, you began to worry that prices on that list would go up.   So our folks began to rework the list and modify it for this time of year.

There are some changes to the 2011 list, the most visible that this is a seasonal Winter List.  About 11 products on the old list came off.  Reasons for these changes are primarily dependent on specific supply situations (i.e. terrible peanut crops last year, so peanut butter costs have skyrocketed because of short supply; canned tuna because fishing restrictions decreased the global supply and flooding in Thailand affected the ports and the processor for Wegmans brand tuna).

However, even though the prices for products coming off the list may be going up, be assured that they’re still competitively priced with other stores in the market.  Twenty-five new products went on the Winter List, ones especially popular now, such as citrus, waffles, ready-to-serve soups, condensed tomato and chicken noodle soups…and yes, some cough and cold medications. Bread and paper products, not on last year’s list, have been added.   You can see the complete list at wegmans.com.

Since the late 1990s, we have had Consistent Low Prices on products families buy most. When  costs rose last year to record levels on many commodities such as wheat, corn, soy and oil, it was challenging and we couldn’t hold those consistent prices on everything.  Our approach last year and this is to estimate future volatility and balance risks.  It’s complicated and difficult, but through it all, we want to assure you that we’re doing everything we can to provide some certainty for you in such uncertain times.

What products do you use on the list?

Senior Vice President, Consumer Affairs
39 years @ Wegmans

On Thursday, November 17th, people all around the world will raise their glasses and shout–Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! (meaning- The New Beaujolais has arrived!

What is Beaujolais Nouveau?
Each year, the third Thursday in November is a much anticipated day in the wine world, marking the release of the first wine vintage from France—Beaujolais Nouveau.

It’s a red wine, made from 100% Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region of France. It has a light fruity style, made to drink right away rather than aged and best served slightly chilled.

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