Alicia Oard
FDSCI 302
April 14, 2013
SUPERMARKET SURVEY
While living off-campus, I’ve realized that there lies a whole nether world where students must buy their own groceries based on price, bang for your buck, and of course, taste. Who knew the fridge didn’t magically create ranch dressing?! Well, I was on my weekly grocery shopping stroll to Wal-Mart when I decided, maybe instead of people watching I should try and compare my groceries to see what I am actually buying! So I slipped out my notepad, clicked my pen and I was off to the produce section to start my raid.
OREOS VS. MEGA STUFF OREOS:
As I approached the produce section, I nearly collided into the enormous, radiant, mass of NEW Oreo Mega Stuffs. Supermarket stockers specialize in making bold displays to lure in consumers, enticing impulse buys. While gazing in awe at the empire state building of cookies, I realized that there were also a few other varieties hidden in the mound. The original Oreos were tucked around the corner below eye level. Most packages were very similar; same color, same font, yet the font sizes were significantly larger on the Oreo Mega Stuffs. If one was not paying attention and grabbing their weekly drug dose of milk and cookies, they may have grabbed the wrong type. Although, if someone were to take time and look at both packages, they would conclude that both the Oreo Regular and Oreo Mega Stuff were composed of the same ingredients and additionally the same price. However the nutrient composition was slightly different. There were 160 Calories in the regular and 180 in the Mega Stuff. There was also a 2-5% increase in nutrients such as fat, sodium, and carbohydrates when comparing the Mega Stuff to the Original. The serving sizes for the Mega Stuff were 1 size larger than the Original, but since us consumers want more bang for our buck, and in this case more filling, many would simply toss them into their cart and be on their way.
HIDDEN VALLEY FAT FREE VS. LIGHT RANCH:
After grabbing some lettuce from the produce section I waltzed down the aisle to purchase the heroin of salad condiments, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. Now I am not one to typically buy Fat Free or Light products because of the taste but I figured I would stick to my storewide goal and check out the differences. At first I had to practically search high and low to find the two varieties! There were bottles in every size and even squeezable. The Hidden Valley Ranch Light was slightly above eye level and there was only one left in quantity. Further down and to the right was the Fat Free. Both products were $2.98. Compositionally, the Light and Fat Free had similar ingredients but Fat Free had a significant amount of more preservatives and synthetic ingredients. The Light Ranch had 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein. The Light Ranch uses fat replacers to eliminate fat. The Fat Free Ranch had 0 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of protein and both types were gluten free. The target customer for this product would be someone who has suffered a heart attack and should watch their fat intake, or even someone managing their weight. I dislike this product because of the additives.
MIO FIT VS. MIO:
The next product that I stumbled upon in Wal-Mart was MiO, liquid water enhancers. MiO is a new product introduced in the past year or so that allows you to enhance the flavor of your water with a flavored liquid. Just recently they came out with a new product called MiO FIT. Both types of products are compositionally altered with artificial sweeteners called sucralose. The FIT contained more sodium content and salt. MiO products took up most of the shelves in the water enhancer section. They were all eye level to the consumer. MiO is for any consumer who wants to enhance the taste of their water and the FIT version could be for someone who wanted the same product with more energy enhancements.
MOTT’S 100% APPLE JUICE VS. MOTT’S FOR TOTS:
As I turned to the next isle I found my favorite juice, apple juice! I decided to compare Mott’s and Mott’s for Tots to see what they added to the toddler’s juice for their benefit. The ingredients were very similar and the nutrient contents were almost half as much in the Mott’s for Tots rather than the Mott’s 100% juice. There was 40% less sugar in the Tots than the original juice, and there was no potassium listed. No artificial sugars were added to either juice product and they were the same price. As an adult, if I wanted to monitor my nutrient intake I could choose the Mott’s for Tot’s as a healthier option. This apple juice is one of the most common brands of juice but the quantity of the product wasn’t as high as the quantity of Wal-Mart brand juices. Both juices were above eye level and didn’t really catch the eye of the consumer in an extravagant way.
PAM CERTIFIED ORGANIC OLIVE OIL VS. PAM OLIVE OIL:
After putting the apple juice in my cart I meandered over to the baking isle. There I found PAM cooking spray. A lot of people have been choosing organic lifestyles and I decided to compare the new PAM Certified Organic Olive Oil to the original PAM. I noticed that there were no nutrient differences but the ingredients were very different. The Organic PAM had all organic ingredients and propellant. The original PAM had similar ingredients, those of which were not organic, and had added phosphate sugars and dimethyl silicone. Both products were the same price and were in high quantities on the shelf. Other brands were in low quantities and not in eye level. Because there were no nutrient differences, and the price was the same, the option to buy would be based on the consumer’s preferences. If they believe that Organic is better because of their beliefs, than they will most likely buy it. I noticed that there were over 100 servings per container more in the original PAM, and because it is only lightly used for baking, I chose to buy the non organic product.
CHEERIOS VS. MULTIGRAIN CHEERIOS:
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That being said I headed over to the cereal aisle to check out my options. Cheerios are the #1 best selling cereal brand in the U.S. and the quantity in stock definitely proved relevant. Today I decided to compare regular Cheerios to MultiGrain Cheerios. MultiGrain Cheerios do stick to their word when it comes to ingredients. They include whole grains such as corn, wheat, oats, barley, and rice. The original Cheerios only contain whole grain oats, corn starch, and wheat starch as a grain basis. The MultiGrain Cheerios are 30 cents more. The nutrient content is essentially similar. MultiGrain cereal has 1%-2% more carbohydrates, sodium, potassium, and fat than regular Cheerios. Because both varieties of this product are known to help lower cholesterol, someone who has or has had heart problems could benefit from this cereal. I personally would pay the extra 30 cents for the multigrain cereal just because of the amount of extra whole grains that are provided.
LAY’S BAKED POTATO CHIPS VS. LAY’S CLASSIC POTATO CHIPS:
My next stop was the chip and pop aisle. I was immediately attracted to the bright yellow giant array of Lay’s potato chips. That’s when I decided to compare Baked Lay’s chips to the original. They taste different, look different, but are they as different as most would think? I surveyed the nutrient content and the Baked Lays had 13% less fat than the regular. This could be because of the amount of vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, and/or canola) used to fry the regular chips. Baked Lay’s only use corn oil and also use the ingredient dextrose, compared to the regular which does not. Personally I would choose to eat the original compared to the baked and just consume a smaller amount to substitute for the amount of fat ingested. The reason I would do this is because the original Lay’s have less ingredients, all of which are natural and the price is the exact same.
DR. PEPPER VS. DR. PEPPER 10:
My next stop was to grab some Dr. Pepper. Now I know Dr. Pepper 10 is not for women, but I decided to see what all the hype was about. Boy was there a huge difference between the two! Like most diet pops Dr. Pepper 10 contained artificial sugars such as aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Both contain phosphoric acid but only Dr. Pepper 10 contains sodium phosphate. This would most likely be used as a neutralizer in the pop to make it less acidic or alkaline. Now here’s the kicker; Dr. Pepper had 140 more calories, 37 grams more of carbohydrates, and 38 grams more of sugar than Dr. Pepper 10. This is a significantly large difference in nutrient composition! Although the commercials say, “It’s not for women!” I think I might to give it a try. The target consumer for this product would be someone watching their weight or even a diabetic regulating their sugar consumption. Although Dr. Pepper 10 seemed significantly healthier for you, the regular Dr. Pepper was stocked to the max and only a few Dr. Pepper 10’s were available. Pepsi products are typically the same price but this can confuse a consumer when choosing a healthier product. Flavor is everything but in this case I’m choosing the healthier option.
SARGENTO LIGHT STRING CHEESE VS. SARGENTO STRING CHEESE:
I proceeded to the dairy section and stumbled upon several varieties of string cheese. This product is a favorite among parents who typically buy for their children as a snack during or after school. I compared Sargento’s Light string cheese to the regular string cheese. To my knowledge, the fats and calories in the regular string cheese were almost doubled when comparing them to the light product. The ingredients were very similar, only the light cheese contained non-fat pasteurized milk and vitamin A additives. These products were the same price; however the quantity in the package was not equal. Both packages contained 12 cheese sticks, but the regular string cheese package was 12 ounces whereas the light only contained 9 ounces. I thought this was a rip off. Why should a consumer pay the same for less? I could only assume that for the production aspect, one could conclude that it costs more energy to reduce the fat and calories in the overall product. If I were to choose, I would pick the regular just because it contains three ounces more for your money.

After taking my time and comparing groceries that were new or compositionally altered, I realized that many consumers pay millions of dollars each year not knowing what they are even buying. Many items in Wal-Mart were similarly priced but some contained less in quantity, they were unhealthy, or they targeted buyer’s philosophies to make the sale. Wal-Mart has a great way of luring in consumers by stocking new or favorable items at eye level and also by keeping products that attract children on lower shelves. Marketers create bright colored packages and bold fonts to attract consumer’s attention which goes hand in hand with supermarket displays. The U.S food marketing system is constantly thinking of new ways to make consumers think they are getting more bang for their buck when buying huge name brands. In all reality, generic brands are just as good. As long as people are on this world, there will be a huge demand for food, and as the population increases supermarkets must stock in high quantities to keep products on the shelves. After this survey, I have realized that I should allot more time to slow down, compare my food products, and buy my foods based on nutrition and money value. If more consumers did this, they could save thousands of dollars each year buying healthier and cheaper products.