Woolworths' farm-style pies

I wasn’t talking about “shrinkflation” here, I was talking about straight up monetary inflation and the degradation of the value of the rand.

In the 90s a pie at a corner shop in London cost 1.50gbp, and today it costs 2gbp.

A similar pie in the 90s in JHB cost R3.50, and now costs R40.00.

That is what runaway inflation does. Nothing to do with shrinkflation or ingredient quality. Just talking straight economics.

It’s much the same in most of Europe. They all complain about cost of living, but when you really look at it, at least as far as food goes, normal foodstuffs are much cheaper there than they are here. Food price inflation is absurd in South Africa
Sigh. Shrinkflation is inflation, just wearing a disguise.

No seriously it is inflation, but instead of keeping the product the same, and hiking the price AKA price inflation, they reduce the product size, and this isn't just food stuffs either.

Housing has seen significant reduction in city and urban areas in square footage and available rooms, cars has seen a fair bit as well, instead of having features by default it is now sold as addons, lets not forget subscriptions based services been offered, for various features across most sectors.

The major reason for this bar, greed is salaries has not kept up with inflation for some time, a couple of decades.

You are delusional if you think a pie in the uk, has remained exactly the same, and have not changed at all, even with price increases or not, pretty much every single sector has been impacted in one way or another, around the world.

Prime example of widely covered shrinkflation news story was American Airlines, by removing just one olive from inflight meals could save them thousands, and this was in 1987 already, if you think this is a new thing, it isn't we just happen to give it a name.


One of the biggest culprits, being cooldrink companies, chip manufactures and snack manufactures in general.

Cost of living has gone up everywhere it isn't isolated, it is a downside of partaking in a global economy. If Europeans say our food is cheaper, consider currency for one. and while you can't really do a direct comparison. The big max index is a good example to compare pricing with other countries.

But yes shrinkflation is exactly the same thing as inflation, it keeps the price the same by giving you less, some thing a consumer is less likely to notice right away.

Some food products has seen a 200% or more increase since the 90's, if something cost R0.50 back in the 90's and costs R2,00 now, that is a 0,75% increase year on year for 36 years.
 
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For the PE / GQ people, go to Continental Butchery for their pies, or Jaymore.
 
Se Making something at home is not the same as mass baking pies in a commercial kitchen.

Even Houwhoek pies are only R45, and that's a proper substantial farmstyle pie. Woolies just catering for woolies fans who will pay anything.
When volumes scale in commercial food production (considering quality stays the same), the costs savings aren’t really found in the ingredients cost. I don’t know how many more times I need to re-iterate this. The savings are seen mostly in overheads, not direct cost of sales inputs.

The stuff that goes into the pie don’t get cheaper as the volume increases.

Plus it’s a retail store there to make a profit. They know the customer is willing to pay for the convenience. If I know the input cost to make a similar pie at home is R32.00 (excluding my time and electricity, the schlep of needing to clean up afterwards etc), then I really don’t thing R60.00 is a crazy price to pay to be able to eat it right now, fresh and warm.

It’s the same as why I don’t complain about paying R280.00 for a 300gram rump steak at a decent restaurant. I know I can go to my butcher and get similar quality cuts for R189.00kg. But the meat I bought at the butcher last week is in the freezer, frozen solid. De Vleispalies has a nice thick cut rump sitting at room temperature right now ready to go on the grill. Plus they serve it to me with a delicious side, and I get complimentary mos bolletjies and creamed butter while I wait, and there’s a lekker atmosphere etc etc. so I pay 3 times more than I would at home for that steak, because it’s convenient, not because I have to. The same goes for the the bottle of wine that’s going to go with that steak. I have a rack full of arguably better wines at home, but the restuarant has it ready to go, chilled to perfection, and serves it to me. That’s a convenience I want to pay for.
 
For the PE / GQ people, go to Continental Butchery for their pies, or Jaymore.
Didn't know Continental did pies and never heard of Jaymor.

The only time we buy them is when I'm passing Nanaga on the way back from EL.
 
R37 for just an ordinary pie and R70 for these? Its monopoly money time 🤣
 
Garage Pies: Yuk.. + Heartburn
Spar Pies: Heartburn
Checkers Pies: Heartburn
Pick n Pay Pies: Heartburn
London Pie Co : Never touched it, the amount of rats around their trailer at the mall parking told me all i needed to know...
Home of the Chicken Pie: Mediocre, but i didn't get heartburn so... not bad.

Woolworths Pies: Nice, and NO Heartburn :)

So, the winner is clear.

That said, i don't have pies often. Not my thing really.
 
Garage Pies: Yuk.. + Heartburn
Spar Pies: Heartburn
Checkers Pies: Heartburn
Pick n Pay Pies: Heartburn
London Pie Co : Never touched it, the amount of rats around their trailer at the mall parking told me all i needed to know...

Woolworths Pies: Nice, and NO Heartburn :)

So, the winner is clear.
Considering that the first four are the same pie. Plus London Pie hasn't really existed for a long time, what are you talking about?
 
Considering that the first four are the same pie. Plus London Pie hasn't really existed for a long time, what are you talking about?
Just through history, the pies i've had.
 
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