# Is there anything more difficult to find in a grocery store than Velveeta? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383 "2017-04-13T15:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/101 "2017-04-15T20:38:53Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Yeast. I looked ALL OVER the baking aisle. Up and down it, three times. > > It was on a kiosk near the bacon. Of course. Because when I think yeast, I also think “bacon”. > > ETA: the store manager told me it was “so it wouldn’t get warm”. It was Massachusetts in January. I’ve bought yeast in Florida in August and it was kept in the baking aisle. Yeast is the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. Even when it \*is \*in the aisle you are looking in, it’s easy to overlook because the display is so small. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/102 "2017-04-15T20:57:42Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Marshmallow Fluff. Been looking for it since I became an adult. Beginning to think I dreamed it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/103 "2017-04-15T21:02:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Store cashier here. I know where everything is, mostly because I know the category of every aisle. You’re assuming everything is in a category. What category is Velveeta in? Try finding x-bran in our store for various x’s. No two are in the same area. Here’s another one: straws. Looked on the shelves with paper plates, plastic silverware, etc. Not there. Asked a clerk. Pointed us to the soda aisle. Had “goofy” straws only. Etc. And pointing to a general area isn’t helpful. It’s very hard to find something that’s the only one of it’s type mixed in with hundreds of other things. Another tale, while I’m at it. There was an ad for some sort of Asian thing. **Mrs. FtG** wanted it. Couldn’t find it in the store. Not one person we asked had even heard of it, let alone knew where it was. It was in their ad! ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/104 "2017-04-15T21:23:52Z")
Pepperoni. Plain old Hormel Pepperoni. So far its been with the deli meats, side of an endcap, and in the pasta aisle. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/105 "2017-04-16T17:56:59Z")
Either my store doesn’t carry Shake N Bake or they’ve really hidden it. Hollandaise sauce also. Took me awhile to find the Velveeta too. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/106 "2017-04-16T20:26:23Z")
> [@simster](#): > > What it won’t tell you is if the associate put the stock out or in the right place. I haven’t had that problem at the Wal-Mart where I shop. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/107 "2017-04-16T23:32:06Z")
I spent ten minutes wandering around Shaws on Friday only to discover they keep tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce in different aisles… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/108 "2017-04-16T23:47:28Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Been looking for it since I became an adult. Beginning to think I dreamed it. Hmmm…I’m intrigued now. I could swear it’s just there in the peanut butter aisle, but, I admit, I haven’t actually _bought_ any, well, ever. Tried it once as a kid. But I swear I’ve seen it. I have to look the next time I’m out shopping. This could just be one of those fabricated memories. ETA: Although, just quickly looking online, it seems that most people say it’s located in the baking aisle. WTF would they put it there? Are there pies or cakes you bake with it? (The fact that I’m asking this question probably means the answer is “yes,” but I’ve only heard of it being used as a spread for fluffernutters, hence being located near the peanut butter.) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/109 "2017-04-16T23:53:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I assume you’re talking about the dry yeast and not the cake yeast (which usually or should be in the refrigerated section.) Yeah, a couple of times I have seen this, too. It should be in the baking aisle, but sometimes ends up in the prepackaged deli meats section for some reason. Yes; the dry yeast, not cake yeast. I make three bread recipes a year (lately), and so the threebie of the yeast works perfectly. So weird. > [@pulykamell](#): > > ETA: Although, just quickly looking online, it seems that most people say it’s located in the baking aisle. WTF would they put it there? Are there pies or cakes you bake with it? (The fact that I’m asking this question probably means the answer is “yes,” but I’ve only heard of it being used as a spread for fluffernutters, hence being located near the peanut butter.) Fudge. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It’s worth noting that grocery stores don’t just move stuff around to keep the staff busy or because the manager has a great idea. Keeping the customer interested/intrigued/engaged or (your choice here) off-balance/searching/confused is called “product news” or “shelf news,” and the players, practices and purpose make investment banking look like a kid’s game. It’s irritating. I suppose that’s why some Einstein moved the condensed/evaporated milk from the baking aisle to the coffee aisle. :mad: Because when I think “condensed milk”, I think, “coffee”. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/110 "2017-04-17T00:02:56Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Pearl Barley. > > Hmm, it’s a grain… no, it’s not with the flour and stuff. They put it with the spices. 😕 Did you try the jazz singers section? Seriously, Wet Ones. Not with the baby wipes. Usually with the facial tissues. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/111 "2017-04-17T16:29:35Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > I think my store arbitrarily splits raisins between the baking section and the snack section based on the size of package. Come to think of it they also do that with nuts. Actually the nuts thing makes sense as some are nuts for baking and others are nuts for snacking. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/112 "2017-04-17T16:42:20Z")
A couple of weeks ago I had to buy two things I have never before purchased in my life, dry mustard powder and molasses. Well I just happened to be at probably THE biggest grocery store in Ottawa at the time. This store even has its own kosher section, which may be popular in some US cities, but not here. It took me forever to find both, and I asked for help. The customer service girl knew exactly where the molasses would be, and I had been down that isle, but it is stored on the top shelf only, at about 6 feet. It took me and two other employees to find the mustard. It was near the other spices and stuff but in a little can about the size of a three Lego pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/113 "2017-04-17T17:30:40Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > It’s irritating. > > I suppose that’s why some Einstein moved the condensed/evaporated milk from the baking aisle to the coffee aisle. :mad: Yes. Many Einsteins, in fact, most with degrees in behavioral psych, accompanied by big data AIs and all the data that endless tracking of you has provided. Shelf news used to be a store-by-store or chain-by-chain practice, with each manager or company having their own combination of known facts, voodoo and hunch about how to arrange and rearrange things. It’s now an increasingly data- and science-driven process using that enormous flood of consumer/shopper data, and it varies from stuff published in the trade journals and related ABA journals to sooper-seekrit findings held closely by one corporation or another. In anything but the smallest mom’n’pop or independent grocer, it’s very likely that not one product is in that place through chance or whim. Condensed milk is by coffee because that’s where it sells the most. Period. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/114 "2017-04-17T17:31:45Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I spent ten minutes wandering around Shaws on Friday only to discover they keep tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce in different aisles… Spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce are strictly segregated here. I always forget and have to search and search. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/115 "2017-04-17T18:25:07Z")
I can usually find Velveeta near the pasta, because they tend to store it near those [cans of sawdust](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cheese-wood-pulp-cellulose-parmesan_us_56c491c2e4b08ffac1271f1e) they call “parmesan”. Marshmallow fluff has always been in the baking aisle, usually close to the regular ol’ marshmallows. Raisins and other dried fruit, however, were moved recently in the store I frequent, and the move makes no sense to me. The dried fruit used to be in the aisle with other fruit, between the canned fruit and the fruit snacks. Now, it’s been moved to be by the jelly. The jelly? Really? The jelly is next to the peanut butter and opposite a whole wall of bread. What is the thinking here? What do these products have to do with each other? No one is putting dried cranberries on their sandwich! ---
**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:** [April 17, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/116 "2017-04-17T18:37:08Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It took me and two other employees to find the mustard. It was near the other spices and stuff but in a little can about the size of a three Lego pieces. It’s a staple for my wife’s cooking repertoire, and so, I’ve had to learn both what the can looks like (and it _must_ be [Colman’s](http://colmansusa.com/sites/default/files/product/hero/colmans_mustard_powder_4oz_1.png)), as well as where to find it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/117 "2017-04-17T18:59:13Z")
I finally found raisins. They’re near salad toppings, like croutons and bacon bits. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/118 "2017-04-17T19:12:04Z")
I thought of another hard, near impossible to find item: anchovies. There not with the other canned fish, like tuna and salmon, because they – for some unknown reason – need to be refrigerated. So, they’re with the packaged sushi! Of course! ---
**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:** [April 17, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/119 "2017-04-17T19:12:45Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Raisins and other dried fruit, however, were moved recently in the store I frequent, and the move makes no sense to me. The dried fruit used to be in the aisle with other fruit, between the canned fruit and the fruit snacks. Now, it’s been moved to be by the jelly. The jelly? Really? The jelly is next to the peanut butter and opposite a whole wall of bread. What is the thinking here? What do these products have to do with each other? No one is putting dried cranberries on their sandwich! What’s likely is that items that are a category unto themselves (e.g., Velveeta, Marshmallow Fluff) or in a very tiny group (e.g., raisins and dried fruit), which don’t have a clear “sister” category for shelving (due to how they’re used, or need for refrigeration / freezing) are effectively orphans when grocery stores plan out their shelving, and wind up getting stuck wherever there’s a bit of extra space. And, thus, you get placement that can be both nonsensical, as well as maddeningly inconsistent from store to store. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383/120 "2017-04-17T19:23:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I thought of another hard, near impossible to find item: anchovies. There not with the other canned fish, like tuna and salmon, because they – for some unknown reason – need to be refrigerated. So, they’re with the packaged sushi! Of course! That’s weird. Here I’ve only seen them with the other canned fish. Never seen them refrigerated. They might also end up in the Italian imports aisle (or a subsection of them might end up there, I should say.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-more-difficult-to-find-in-a-grocery-store-than-velveeta/784383.md?page=7)