I recently got in the mail one of two documentaries produced on the topic of the Market Basket walkout and customer boycott of a few years ago, this one called Food Fight: Inside the Battle for Market Basket. It was well-crafted, not just a “rah rah” film, and fascinating throughout. At the time, I boycotted from the first day I learned of the situation, even delaying the comfort of Comfort Diner meatloaf for several weeks as the drama played out, and so, as I watched the film, I felt a bit of pride in my 1/2,000,000th role.
On a related note, this week I wanted to restock on Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips after making cookies two weeks ago. I looked – and only looked – at Stop & Shop Tuesday when I happened to be in the baking aisle and drew a sharp breath when I saw US$6.99 for the 10 ounce bag. I wondered if perhaps Ghirardelli had done an across-the-board price hike. Nope. Today at Market Basket: $3.39 for the same bag. I bought four.
I sure am glad Market Basket survived in its proper form.
Regarding this post’s title:
I should mention that this $12.99/lb is not a sale price, it’s their usual price. In the US, the real stuff is most commonly in the $18-20 range, about 50% more than Market Basket’s price, and even more at places like Whole Paycheck Foods, where they squeeze you ’round the middle until $22 of soft cash oozes out. At today’s exchange rates, $12.99/lb is £10.36 per pound (£22.83/kilo) or €10.12 per pound (€22.31/kilo).
This video is not “Food Fight” itself but a panel discussion that includes some excerpts from the documentary:
