I was getting set for a trip to the supermarket late Friday morning, when I noticed a tweet from MassLive News about Nabisco's Premium Saltines:
At first, I didn't think anything of it. Round saltine crackers are really nothing new and there are already several companies that make them. But the more I thought about it, the more the news kind of bothers me.
Nabisco kind of sprung this on everyone. And they're not even giving it an honest chance, putting square saltines next to the new round ones. Check out what I found:
Yeah, those are all the new round crackers. There's no choice because all of the square Premiums are gone, totally replaced by the round ones. Also notice how much shelf space is devoted to the new item. Nabisco is really pushing this one hard. That bugs me. Almost as much as calling them "original" Premium Saltines. Sorry, Nabisco, but these crackers were originally square. You're not going to get people to forget square saltines by just calling these new ones "original" and banishing the real saltines.
But what is most wrong about this whole thing is the PRICE. The new packages are 10.5-ounce net weight compared to the old ones at 16 ounces. But you'll notice from the shelf tag that they're charging the same old $2.49 a box.
Here's a tip, folks. ALDI and Price/Rite saltines are exactly the same product as the old, square Premiums. In a blindfolded taste test, you'd never be able to tell them apart. But they're 89 cents for a one-pound box and have been for years. Buy those instead and let Nabisco go to hell.
