4 ms·

If those are indeed loss leaders, what would be the reason for the addition push for the products recently? Nowadays there are Costco employees bringing pizzas

by shard 4y ago

If those are indeed loss leaders, what would be the reason for the addition push for the products recently? Nowadays there are Costco employees bringing pizzas to the checkout lines and trying to sell them. Are these overproductions due to a drop in demand?

brewdad 4y ago
My Costco has never returned to making pizzas, neither frozen nor in the "restaurant" since the pandemic started. I can't even imagine them selling pizzas in the checkout.
- paulmd 4y ago
  that's odd, I talk with a couple people about costco finds and nobody ever has had their cafes stop making pizzas. The costco menus are nationalized though - Costco Canada for example got the Polish Dog long after it had disappeared from the US, as well as chicken strips, fries, wings, and poutine. They also apparently still get brown mustard and sauerkraut even though, again, those disappeared from the US when COVID hit. So maybe you are not in the US? But pizzas are definitely still in cafes in the US - apart from the Combo Pizza which did disappear at the start of COVID along with the brown mustard and sauerkraut (RIP my tastebuds) https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/costco-food-court-menu-around-the-world/ https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/c... Costco Korea gets some very interesting items, including a pork cutlet, bulgogi bake, abalone porridge, and a blueberry smoothie or at least they did pre-COVID (no idea since, I don't live there). https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-korea-taste-test-2020-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-k... Costco Japan apparently got a cheeseburger, salad in a cup, the bulgogi bake, and clam chowder. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_in_makuhari_japan_2018_funny_enough/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_i... The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. I will take a look through the deli section next time I'm there, but I do agree on that one, I think the take-n-bake went away when covid hit. I can't remember noticing them since then at least, but I don't like them and don't seek them out (they're different and not as good as the cafe ones). My store is a smaller one and is missing many of the items in the other stores 30-45 minutes away. For example, no pre-peeled garlic, no standby generators (why?! suburbanites probably would buy more home upgrades than urbanites...), a more limited selection of household goods, etc. It is up to the discretion of the manager. I have recently seen them hawking fresh-baked artisan rolls in the entry foyer near the TVs though, so I would definitely believe they might be hawking pizzas in the checkouts as people are lined up to wait. Maybe there is a push for that from corporate, sell more made-in-store foods like that. They probably just have some employees with a hot-bag going around being like "hot fresh pizza, take one home to the kids!" or something, and the cashier rings it up when it's your turn. That's basically what they were doing with the artisan rolls last time I was there, only (again) in the entry foyer.
  - koolba 4y ago
    > The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. The truly devout amongst us make the sign of the cross upon entering the building. This way you get to drink your soda as you browse the aisles and get a free refill after checkout.
paulmd 4y ago
I don't think pizzas or the artisan rolls (which are what I've seen) are loss leaders. Even at $10 a pie, they're probably making a buck or two. Pizza is cheap to make, so is bread. I'd be surprised to see them hawking chickens or hot dogs in the line but who knows. Costco goes hard on customer satisfaction, that's why they offer regularly-stocked loss-leader items like that in the first place.

by shard 4y ago

brewdad 4y ago

My Costco has never returned to making pizzas, neither frozen nor in the "restaurant" since the pandemic started. I can't even imagine them selling pizzas in the checkout.

paulmd 4y ago
that's odd, I talk with a couple people about costco finds and nobody ever has had their cafes stop making pizzas. The costco menus are nationalized though - Costco Canada for example got the Polish Dog long after it had disappeared from the US, as well as chicken strips, fries, wings, and poutine. They also apparently still get brown mustard and sauerkraut even though, again, those disappeared from the US when COVID hit. So maybe you are not in the US? But pizzas are definitely still in cafes in the US - apart from the Combo Pizza which did disappear at the start of COVID along with the brown mustard and sauerkraut (RIP my tastebuds) https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/costco-food-court-menu-around-the-world/ https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/2536803/c... Costco Korea gets some very interesting items, including a pork cutlet, bulgogi bake, abalone porridge, and a blueberry smoothie or at least they did pre-COVID (no idea since, I don't live there). https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-korea-taste-test-2020-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/costco-food-court-in-south-k... Costco Japan apparently got a cheeseburger, salad in a cup, the bulgogi bake, and clam chowder. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_in_makuhari_japan_2018_funny_enough/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/sfedjh/food_court_i... The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. I will take a look through the deli section next time I'm there, but I do agree on that one, I think the take-n-bake went away when covid hit. I can't remember noticing them since then at least, but I don't like them and don't seek them out (they're different and not as good as the cafe ones). My store is a smaller one and is missing many of the items in the other stores 30-45 minutes away. For example, no pre-peeled garlic, no standby generators (why?! suburbanites probably would buy more home upgrades than urbanites...), a more limited selection of household goods, etc. It is up to the discretion of the manager. I have recently seen them hawking fresh-baked artisan rolls in the entry foyer near the TVs though, so I would definitely believe they might be hawking pizzas in the checkouts as people are lined up to wait. Maybe there is a push for that from corporate, sell more made-in-store foods like that. They probably just have some employees with a hot-bag going around being like "hot fresh pizza, take one home to the kids!" or something, and the cashier rings it up when it's your turn. That's basically what they were doing with the artisan rolls last time I was there, only (again) in the entry foyer.
- koolba 4y ago
  > The hot dog, however, is a Costco icon. One must partake in communion before leaving the Church. The truly devout amongst us make the sign of the cross upon entering the building. This way you get to drink your soda as you browse the aisles and get a free refill after checkout.

paulmd 4y ago

I don't think pizzas or the artisan rolls (which are what I've seen) are loss leaders. Even at $10 a pie, they're probably making a buck or two. Pizza is cheap to make, so is bread. I'd be surprised to see them hawking chickens or hot dogs in the line but who knows. Costco goes hard on customer satisfaction, that's why they offer regularly-stocked loss-leader items like that in the first place.