It seems like everytime I find a new food* that I like, it turns out to be a “limited edition” or “special offer”. I get it when a candy company decides to do a movie tie-in. When the movie first comes out, the candy sells well and is generally well-liked, but the craze blows over and the product is no longer viable. But what about that Tropical 7-Up they used to sell? Why can’t I get it anymore?
*Admittedly, most of these foods are horrendously unhealthy.
The standard answer is that it was not economically viable for the company to continue marketing it.
Lots of ideas are considered, many are tried out. There may be an initial market surge with people trying the new product, especially if well marketed. But then you settle in to the people who like it and will buy it, and the people who don’t care enough for it to buy it, and the people who actively dislike it. The only way the product is viable is if the people who buy it buy enough of it that the resellers have enough draw to stock it.
I’ve got the same complaint. A couple years ago I discovered Mango flavored Kool-aid (and knock offs). It is good stuff. Recently I haven’t been able to find it any more at the store that used to carry it. The store does have a request card that could theoretically order the product for me, but would I want a whole case? Consider that I would be getting the packets, of which I would use maybe one a week. They come in a box of 50 that would last almost a year. Six months if I doubled up 2 packets a week. I don’t know how many come in a case, but just at a guess I would estimate somewhere between 12 and 100 boxes. That’s 6 to 50 years worth. Now I suppose I could buy a case and have it last me for the rest of my life (or at least a good long while), but then I don’t know how long Kool-aid will keep in those little packets. Yes, it is dehydrated, and the packages are sealed, but still. On the other hand, the packets are only a quarter a piece (Flav-or-aid is only a dime a piece) or so, so I could probably get a case for $20. And if I only use half of them, is it still a bargain?
Sorry, did I answer your question?
Very well, yes. Thanks. Too bad, though. I did love that Tropical 7-Up. Damn you, sensible business! 
It’s possible that many of these products were actually only test-marketed in your area. Some cities are test-market magnets. Even if they prove moderately successful, the product may never see a national introduction.
For candy in particular, check your local dollar stores. They often have weird stuff from out of market (or out of date) that you can’t find in the supermarket any more.
Willy Wonka’s Scrunch Bar was fantastic. I haven’t had one in about 35 years but I still remember it.
In addition to test marketing, another possibility might be the manufacturer getting a time-limited good deal on an ingredient. I doubt this is the case of whatever flavoring made 7-Up tropical. But if the company happens into a great deal on surplus almonds, they might just do a limited time almond crunch version of something. To a certain extent this is part of Trader Joe’s business model. They don’t commit to always keeping all the basics in stock like a regular grocery, they rotate through stocking whatever will be profitable for them to sell at the time.
Which is why I both love and hate Trader Joe’s. They always have something new for me to try, but then some of the things I love get phased out because they didn’t sell as well.
M&M Amazing bars were, and I liked the white chocolate M&Ms for POTC too. I saw the former in a discount store this week and I was tempted - until I remembered that they stopped making them 2 or 3 years ago.
I miss 7-Up Plus (I think that’s what it was called), the vitamin and calcium enhanced, berry-flavored, Splenda-sweetened version.
It’s yet another casualty of me not being pregnant…
My local grocery stores, no fewer than 4 of them, plus both local WalMarts, stopped carrying the frozen red hot beef burritos and the vegetarian egg rolls that I love. My husband asked why he couldn’t find them, and all 6 stores told him, “Demand was down.” He said, “No shit, my wife isn’t pregnant, for once, so we’re not buying 20 a week, but she still likes those!” Apparently, nobody else bought them, and they won’t stock them so I can have, say, 3 or 4 a week, as opposed to my pregnancy diet of 5-6 per day. :mad:
My hometown of Columbia, SC, is one, and man does it break your heart to have this kind of thing happen over and over again.
It’s a gift and a curse, isn’t it? On the one hand, you get addicted to something just in time for it to be discontinued, but on the other, you find out about new stuff that you may really like. Sort of a “better to have loved and lost” scenario.
Actually, the overabundance of certain products has nothing whatsoever to do with the Trader Joe’s business model, though I can see how it could be read that way. Trader Joe’s business model works from innovation. Their marketing/procurement team pride themselves on sussing out coming trends and stocking products that fit the bill. If I am not mistaken “Trader Joe’s” does not manufacture any of the products that they sell. Rather, they predict market trends in a regional fashion and then find vendors who will produce and ship at their price point. If the product does not sell well they drop it, while at the same time working with the same vendors to create the next new thing. This is the same thing that all grocery stores do; however, Trader Joe’s just does this at a quicker rate than more traditional companies. It is a rather novel approach however it suffers for the fact that people cannot consistently buy what they love; on the other hand, people find more things to love and lose–so they keep coming back.
I stole a bit of imagery from Trick Rider without realizing it with the whole loved and lost thing.
Also, if Trader Joe’s was in my company’s market we would be competitors.
I was the only one who liked the inside-out Reese’s Cups, and now they’re gone forever. :sad:
My city is a test market city, so we do see a lot of stuff come and go. It all seems to end up in the dollar stores ,or those stores that sell discounted, oddball brand things. When the stuff is ‘good’, I’ve learned to buy a bunch right NOW because when I go back tomorrow, it’ll be gone.
I’m going to be more than a little annoyed when I can no longer get the Doritos Tacos at Midnight flavor. Much better than their standard taco flavor.
“Innovation” and “coming trends” = identifying what can be sold profitably. Part of profit is demand, and part is supply. Coincidentally, rosemary almonds or whatever are unlikely to be an innovative trend during the almond blight. Coincidentally, during an abundant almond harvest, the Almond Council (or whatever relevant industry association) is going to be driving demand by getting almonds on Rachel Ray, putting ads in Cooking Light, etc.
Innovation in the food business isn’t that much about product innovation, it’s about profit innovation. And in that sense the food business is … just like most businesses.
Wait what? I only just saw my first commercial for it two nights ago! I was actually intrigued!
They try and reject quite a few M&M variants, but some endure. Same with Snickers, but the Almond Snickers is still here. So, some do survive. However, the total number of candy bars has to stay about the same- if Mars gets a new Snickers bar out there, some other candy bar has to be lose it’s place.
For example here’s a wiki list of Snicker’s bars:
Only the two I bolded seem to continue, but I think the Dark version is still sold here and there. I liked the Charged, myself.