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You’re right that the dates serve other purposes. The incentives aren’t as simple as avoiding wasted product. Shelf space is valuable. Food that expires is inv
by skybrian 2y ago
You’re right that the dates serve other purposes. The incentives aren’t as simple as avoiding wasted product.
Shelf space is valuable. Food that expires is inventory that’s not selling for some reason, or it wouldn’t be on the shelf long enough to expire. It’s taking up space that could instead be used for other inventory that does sell well. So even inventory that doesn’t expire at all will get put on the discount rack to get rid of it, or finally thrown out if doesn’t sell even at a cheap price.
The best way to avoid waste is to only buy food that actually sells, the quicker the better. Easier said than done, though.
Also, even greedy supermarket execs need to worry about their store’s reputation if they sell people food that doesn’t taste right too often.
- akira2501 2y agoThe grocery industry is heavily monopolized. No where more so than on the west coast. They don't care about their reputation because there mostly is nowhere else for you to legitimately go to.
- skybrian 2y agoNearby: Safeway, Lucky’s, Target, Trader Joe’s, Ranch 99, Costco, Walmart, Cardenas, Pak N’ Save, and I’m sure I missed some. Also, a lot of Asian food marts that aren’t chains. That seems like quite a lot of competition?
- akira2501 2y agoSafeway is owned by Albertsons. So is Lucky's. There are 58 total Ranch 99's in the USA. Costco requires membership up front. Cardenas is owned by KKR. Pak N Save is a subsidary of Safeway and also owned by Albertons. Walmart is not a grocery store. So, no, not a lot of competition. You really should look into grocery M&A's over the past few years. This is all easy to see if you care to _actually_ look.