# Bill Penzey flips out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018 "2022-01-18T21:15:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/41 "2022-01-19T01:54:22Z")
The Mrs. gave me a $50 gift certificate for them for Xmas. I just gave it back to her, told her to stock up on what we wanted, and that worked well for us both. She ordered online, arranged pickup with a store not far from where she was already going, and we were in spice heaven. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/42 "2022-01-19T02:11:41Z")
What do you know, it seems that my spice drawer is empty! That looks like a nice place to restock. 😊 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/43 "2022-01-19T02:46:18Z")
So calling the members of a white supremacist movement racists is going off the deep end? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/44 "2022-01-19T04:30:05Z")
If they sell their stuff here in China, they’re my new spice supplier! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/45 "2022-01-19T04:41:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Well, to me warehouse smells are different than the factory smells. I was often in Baltimore’s inner harbor back when McCormick had their big factory there. Depending on what spices they were handling/mixing/grinding on any different day, the odors could be very specific and less than pleasant. When I was at my last job, I had to spend a day at a client’s facility, which was a big food ingredient manufacturing plant in suburban Chicago. They were working on some sort of spicy ingredient in the plant that day, which was pervasive in the air in the small meeting room where I was stuck. After I left the meeting, I discovered that it had been not dissimilar to spending the evening in a smoky bar – my clothes reeked of that spicy ingredient, and required a couple of days of airing out. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/46 "2022-01-19T04:54:49Z")
The only problem I see there is the bad grammar. Everything else, especially the message, is perfect. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/47 "2022-01-19T05:04:07Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The only problem I see there is the bad grammar. I would not be surprised if Bill Penzey wrote it, but speaking as someone who dabbles in copy editing at my ad agency, I agree, it could have used a pass through proofing. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/48 "2022-01-19T05:40:53Z")
Remembered an old New Yorker article about the difference between the brother and sister’s businesses and a bit of history regarding Bill’s take on things political. It also does mention the impact on his business and it’s been so positive that he’s attempted to get other CEOs to take notice and also take a stance. > **[The C.E.O. Who Called Trump a Racist (and Sold a Lot of Spice Mix)](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/ceo-who-called-trump-racist-penzeys-spice-mix)** > > Bill Penzey, who owns the largest independent spice retailer in the U.S., is upending the conventional wisdom that business and politics don’t mix. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/49 "2022-01-19T07:38:10Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I wish they shipped to Canada… Same sentiment from South Africa ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/50 "2022-01-19T07:52:58Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I wish they shipped to Canada… > [@Monty](#): > > If they sell their stuff here in China, they’re my new spice supplier! > [@MrDibble](#): > > Same sentiment from South Africa Out of curiosity have any of you used a package forwarder? If I move abroad, that’s likely how I’ll get my Penzey’s fix. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/51 "2022-01-19T08:42:25Z")
I looked into it before moving overseas, and each time I was visiting the US. I found it to be far too expensive. IMHO, your best bet is to have the stuff sent to a family member in your country (with said family member’s permission, of course) and the family member ship it to you. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/52 "2022-01-19T09:43:42Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > Out of curiosity have any of you used a package forwarder? Agree with Monty, too expensive - and the South African side of the system looked like it was quite unreliable, according to people I asked. I have excellent local sources of spices, so the extra expense isn’t worth it, but if it wasn’t, I’d have been interested to throw a little money their way. I think I’ll look into sending a couple gift packages to some US-resident friends, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/53 "2022-01-19T09:54:33Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Here’s some shutters for anybody who wishes to not buy great spices because Penzey has flipped out. You know, to keep things even. So the opposite side of the fence to Penzey’s “Republicans are racist” view is a company called “Plantation”? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/54 "2022-01-19T14:30:51Z")
> [@Ponderoid](#): > > Also in the top results were people attempting to organize a boycott and recommending Penzey’s competitors. Are there _that_ many Trump supporters/racists still buying Penzey’s products? Is a boycott really going to do anything? It’s not like this is new information about the company that they’ve just now discovered. It’s kinda like the (possibly apocryphal) tweet I saw about IKEA: IKEA: “We don’t want racists in our stores” Loud voices online: “TIME TO BOYCOTT IKEA!!!” IKEA: “Gee, that was easy” ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/55 "2022-01-19T16:44:57Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Are there _that_ many Trump supporters/racists still buying Penzey’s products? Penzey’s is the largest “independent retailer” of spices in the U.S. but they are still a pretty small player overall. Googling tells me that the [annual U.S. “spice and condiments” market is over $27 billion](https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/food/sauces-spices/united-states). I assume this includes retail and wholesale sales. I am guessing that wholesale buyers likely dominate the market. (We eat massive amounts of processed and restaurant food in the US and Frito-Lay isn’t stopping by Penzey’s to pick up some Chipotle peppers for their new Dorito’s variant). Let’s guess that retail sales of spices is roughly half that amount. Penzey’s is privately held but one source estimated their annual revenues at between [$100 million and $500 million](https://incfact.com/company/penzeys-wauwatosa-wi/). So, let’s say that Penzey’s is roughly 2% of the US spice and condiment market by dollars. When you consider that they are a premium provider with prices roughly twice grocery store retail, by unit, they are capturing perhaps 1% of the US retail buyers’ purchasers. Of course, most people don’t buy all their spices from one store, even if it’s Penzey’s. So, what percentage of the average Penzey’s spice shopper’s spice budget is spent at Penzey’s? For me I’m guessing it’s something like 20%. Am I typical? I have no idea but if I am, Penzey’s serves, in any given year, perhaps 5% of the U.S. retail customer population. Almost all of theirs stores are in blue cities so presumably most of their customers lean liberal. As you suggest, they probably don’t have a lot of Republican customers to lose. Any sales lost to Republicans are likely more than offset by increasing their awareness among their mostly Democrat customers to capture more of their purchases and to attract wholly new customers who have never heard of or considered the brand. This is a great niche marketing tactic that wouldn’t work for them if they had the type of market penetration that Coke has. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/56 "2022-01-19T16:50:02Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > As you suggest, they probably don’t have a lot of Republican customers to lose. And, any Republican customers who have been buying Penzeys’ products before now apparently don’t care about (or are oblivious to) the company’s liberal stances – as several of us have noted, the recent statement by the company owner isn’t really anything new, and conservatives who care about such things likely aren’t buying from Penzeys today anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/57 "2022-01-19T16:58:24Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > So, what percentage of the average Penzey’s spice shopper’s spice budget is spent at Penzey’s? I went and looked in my cabinet. I have the following non-Penzey items: Joe’s Kansas City Fry Seasoning Flavorganics Organic Vanilla Extract Maggi Wuerze Colgin Liquid Smoke Every thing else, including my bulk spices such as extra coarse sea salt and peppercorns, is from Penzey’s. This was true back when they were mail order only and is true today with a store that is less than 5 miles away (thanks to the pandemic I mostly mail order again, but have done curbside pickup a couple of time). So in my case, 90+% of my spice rack comes straight from them. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/58 "2022-01-19T17:10:31Z")
If you are typical of their customers, it suggests that Penzey serves as the supplier of choice to only a tiny fraction (perhaps a bit more than 1%) of U.S. retail spice customers. You are supporting the point that Penzey’s has plenty of room to grow even if it appeals only to Democrats and the politically indifferent. The partisan appeals are a free way to attract attention to a small brand. They don’t have to worry in the slightest about alienating Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/59 "2022-01-19T19:28:37Z")
I was always a McCormick’s Man when I was younger, but now that I know about Penzey, I’ve switched. Currently we probably have only 75% Penzey in our rack, but as things get used up, we replace it with Penzey. Scottsdale is about 30 minute drive, but we figure its worth it for the good stuff. Right now, the store is on-line-order-and-pick-up only. We used to get our “Gen-u-ine Mexican” vanilla from a pottery shop on the corner, but the same corner also hosts a giant “trump 2024” vendor, one that has a giant motorhome decorated (if you can call it that) with photos of trump as Rocky, and worse. We don’t know if the trump sucker is there by approval of the pottery vendor, or it is just an open lot where any vermin can just park, but the result is, we won’t be buying from him any longer. Chalk up another “vote with your wallet” for the Good Guys. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018/60 "2022-01-19T20:37:46Z")
Good to know that Bill didn’t shoot himself in the foot here, business-wise. Penzey’s represents about half of my spice purchases, so if I had to go elsewhere for Aleppo pepper I would be miffed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-penzey-flips-out/958018.md?page=4)