Price Confusion in Grocery Stores: The Surprising Truth About Coop and Freia Cocoa Costs Revealed

– You must continue as a blacksmith. They don’t have links so the prices are reasonable, says blogger Rune “Gjerrigknarken” Nikolaisen to Nettavisen.

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It addresses the many types of price confusion that is being created around the nation’s grocery stores. One of them is related to the highly seasonal cocoa product.

And it doesn’t stop there: To me, there is something mysterious about the cream top too.

Most expensive coop

– People think that Coop Kakao is cheaper than Freia Kakao, but then it is just the opposite, says “Gjerrigknarken”.

Have you seen strange prices in the shops? Feel free to advise Nettavisen journalistor add to Nettavisen’s own Facebook group “Grocery Prices”

Nikolaisen believes that, over time, the stores have taught customers to believe that the chains’ own brands are cheaper than the well-known brands. And as Coop himself writes on his website, when it comes to products with the brand name Coop this must be a product with “high quality at a lower price”.

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So, it’s easy to get frustrated if prices suddenly don’t follow this pattern. Such as with cocoa at the Coop chain Extra.

A package of Freia cocoa costs 38.40, while the Coop version is 1.40 more expensive. But of course the price difference is bigger. Because Coop’s pack is smaller than Freia’s pack. The difference in price per kilo is 11.51.

To bake or not to bake

Coop believes that “Gjerrignarken” here compares two different products.

– These are not two comparable products, which helps explain some of the difference, says communications director Harald Kristiansen.

On Coop’s it says “For baking and hot cocoa”. On Freia’s it says “Cocoa original – 100% cocoa”. On the back there is a recipe for drinking cocoa, but otherwise there is nothing about baking on the package. Admittedly, Freia also has baking cocoa.

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– You can try baking with Freia Regia cocoa. “Gjerrigknarken” is absolutely right that our own brands are usually cheaper, but then they must be comparable products, he says.

– What happens if you bake?

– I suspect there will be real tricks, so feel free to try it, but not in my kitchen, laughs Kristiansen.

Coop cuts the price

On various websites, there are many who talk about whether you can use cocoa for baking, and several say that it works well.

But even if Coop Kristiansen is skeptical of the comparison, he chose to act. Minutes after Nettavisen made a call, the price of the Coop cocoa has been significantly reduced to 32.90.

– Extra is the chain with the largest selection, and we understand that it can be difficult for a customer in a hurry to compare products, says communications director Kristiansen.

– To put all doubts aside, we have now cut the price of Coop cocoa, which can be drunk and baked with, to 32.90. Then we hope that both “Gjerrigknarken” and the customers, with whom we are, will be very satisfied, he says.

– Completely sensitive

But that doesn’t stop with the cocoa. Because there are two types in the fridge at Extra, with a cream top. One from Tine and one from Coop.

And you probably remember what should be included Coopthe brand has “high quality at a lower price”.

However, this is not a given. Each has the same price, 39.90. And both have the same amount of surface too.

Coop responds as follows:

– Although brands themselves are usually a bit cheaper, sometimes there are examples where the price is the same due to offers, campaigns and tight price competition. It is then important to remember that the brands themselves are not necessarily “cheap products”, says communications director Harald Kristiansen.

– Headache

“Gjerrignarken” has a slightly different take on the matter.

– I see that many people think that this is completely intentional on the part of the chains. They start by selling their own cheap brands at a reasonable price at first, but then they increase the price, and in the end it becomes more expensive than the brands.

The “stingy junkie” himself has a hard time believing that the store really thinks people will pick the wrong ones.

– I can’t think it’s on purpose. I can’t be so clever in my head, says Nikolaisen.

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– If it’s intentional, it’s terrible. If it’s unconscious, it’s just stupid, he says.

– He is tired

The fact that the stores charge their own chain brands more than the direct brands is one of many types of ignorant pricing.

Other variants are the economy packs, which have a higher price per kilo than the small packs. Nettavisen has been mentioned before shrimp salad as where the economy package is twice the price per kilo like the little one. There have also been the economy packs with Earl Gray Twinings so expensive that it has paid off to buy several small ones instead of a big one.

– It is tiring that you have to be careful about all the prices so that you don’t choose the wrong ones. The shops do not make it easy for the customers, says “Gjerrigknarken”.

– It is important to remember that the grocery chains are not your friends, they are your enemies. They are the enemies of your wallet, and they would rather have as much as they can, he says.