השנה הבאה ברשתות המזון – גלובס

השנה הבאה ברשתות המזון – גלובס
— Read on www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx

COST supermarket sales- expire 28 Feb 2015

A little while ago I posted about a new supermarket chain called COST, which supposedly sells items at cost.  Here are the sales for the rest of the month- what do you think?  The only items that got my attention were Tivall corn shnitzel for 18.90 shekels and a 1 litre carton of milk for 4.80 shekels.  There is no maximum purchase or other conditions which is something to consider as well.  If it wasn’t right before Pesach, I would run over and get a large supply of shnitzel.

New discount supermarket chain- COST

Have you heard about the new discount supermarket chain COST where everything is sold at cost? There are only three stores right now in Kfar Saba, Petach Tikvah and Afula but hopefully they will open more.

Here are some of the current deals as of 9 February:

• HaShahar chocolate spread- 1kg- 19.70 shekels
• Canola oil- 1 litre- 5.50 shekels
• Bissli up to 70 grams (not including Extra)- 2.90 shekels
• Pompadour green tea- 8.90 shekels
• Maadanot potato/cheese bourekas- 800 grams- 13.80 shekels
• Tara 1% milk- 1 litre carton- 4.50 shekels
• Toilet Duck gel- 7.70 shekels
• Sano Pisgah bleach- 4 litres- 7.70 shekels
• Tomer peeled chestnuts- 100 grams- 3.60 shekels
• Wilifood Persian rice- 1 kg- 4.20 shekels

For more information, go to their Facebook page.

This week’s supermarket sales

I don’t have any coupons to post, but I can tell you about some good deals this week:

Shufersal Sheli

Zoglobek frankfurter in bun for only 5 shekels.  These aren’t the healthiest, but they are a great item to have in the house for a quick kids’ meal.  The hamburger ones are even better (but not on sale).  Expires 2 Feb 2015.

Mega BaIr

This summer was the great hamburger deal, now it is spaghetti bolognese.  For 59.90 shekels, you get 1 kg of freshly ground Adom Adom beef, two 500-gram packages of Mega brand pasta and a 260 gram package of Mega brand tomato paste.  One sale per purchase.  Expires 31 Jan 2015.

Chetzi Chinam

Tide 8kg for 45.40 shekels

Gilette gel deodorant (70ml) for 12.40 shekels

Ahla hummus l’niguv (400 gram) for 4.90 shekels

Osem ptitim (500 gram) for 3.90 shekels

Nestea iced tea (1.5 litres) 3 for 10 shekels

Expires 30 Jan 2015

Yaynot Bitan

Angel sliced bread for 4.90 shekels (limit 2)

Tnuva 5% cottage cheese for 4.90 shekels (limit 2)

Milomor 1 litre canola oil for 4.90 shekels (limit 2)

Nestle 565 gram Multi Cheerios for 11.90 shekels (limit 1)

Tnuva Mama Of Shnitzel Dak Dak for 24.90 shekels (limit 1)

Ahla hummus (750 grams) for 6.90 shekels

Expires 7 Feb 2015

I didn’t see anything exciting in the YOU, Rami Levy or Bar Kol ads but if you see a good deal, pass it on!

Five shekels groceries brought to you by Cofix

Not satisfied with creating a coffee revolution, Cofix founder Avi Katz will now be taking on supermarkets and food waste.  Starting in Tel Aviv in April, he plans to open 40-50 small (150-400 square meter) stores where every product will cost 5 shekels- meat, vegetables, canned foods, cleaning products, and even housewares.  It is not meant to be a full service supermarket but will have the basic items and is in negotiations with food manufacturers to produce a product that will be appropriate for his stores.  These products may be in smaller sizes which is something he feels is to be desired.  Too many people are tricked by promotions to buy large sizes and in bulk to save money but end up throwing the food out or it rots before they use it.  If people buy less up front and in sizes that are appropriate for them at that time, there is less waste and that means more money saved.   Israel leads all of the OECD countries in the amount of food waste that we produce- 350 shekels worth each month.

With Shufersal reporting losses and their increased marketing of the Shufersal brand as well as the supercofix announcement, it seems that businesses are starting to get the message that consumers are fed up with price gouging.  Let’s hope that all of the supermarkets will feel the need to compete with supercofix and bring lower prices for everyone.

Sources: Globes,Globes, and Yisrael HaYom

Tel Aviv supermarkets must close on Shabbat

Large and small supermarkets all across Tel Aviv were handed notices telling them that they must close on Shabbat.  The notifications are based on a recent ruling in court demanding that the city of Tel Aviv enforce its local ordinance closing food stores on Shabbat.  Who brought the case to court?  Not religious leaders but small makolet-type stores, who were unable to keep up with the competition and work seven days a week.

In response, the supermarket chains “Tiv Taam” and “am:pm” have announced that they will continue to be open on Shabbat.

 

 

The Nine Plagues of Supermarket Shopping

Hashekel came up with a great list of the nine plagues of supermarket shopping, and since I got a good chuckle out of it (better to laugh than to cry) I thought I would loosely translate for you:

1. The lie that is the fast lane

Everyone knows that the fast lane is really the slowest in the store. So what do you do while waiting? Check out everyone’s basket, of course- does anyone actually have under ten items?  And what is the rule anyway- are three cucumbers one item or three?  Does it go by barcode or units?  That isn’t the real reason for the delay, though- it is the payment.  For some reason this line has people who count out each coin, have trouble deciding which credit card to use, or G-d forbid- write a check!  No matter what, payment in the fast lane takes longer than checking out a full wagon in the regular lane.

2. “Save my spot, I am coming right back”

So you are standing in line, trying to keep a positive attitude, when you get a tap on the shoulder and someone asks if you are the last in line (I’m not standing here for the view!).  When you respond affirmatively, the person says,”I’m after you.  Save my spot- I am just going to get something small and come right back.”

Since when must you perform this task?  But since we are polite Anglos, we are willing to help out a fellow Jew and save her spot.  The only problem- she isn’t gone for only a minute and a lot of people show up wanting to be “after you” on line.  Somehow you end up battling complete strangers for a place behind you for someone you never met before and STILL hasn’t come back!

3. The coupon that doesn’t work

You finally get to put your items up, and they are finally rung up and in bags.  You excitedly present your 70 agorot coupon you got from Facebook to the cashier.  She takes one look at it and her face falls.  Or she doesn’t even look at it- she says “kupa reishit bilvad” (main register only).  If you convince her otherwise, she takes it from your hands with a look of disgust and closely examines it from all sides.  Then she attempts to swipe it.  BEEP!  Doesn’t work.  Again- BEEP!  Doesn’t work.  She tries  typing in the bar code number- BEEP!  She calls the main cashier.  At this point, over 10 minutes have passed, the cashier is disgusted with you, the people in line behind you are disgusted with you, and you are even disgusted with yourself.  Finally it all works out and the 70 agorot is deducted from the bill.  Congratulations- you really beat the system.

4. The man who tries to pay by check

The check has been around in one form or another for hundreds of years.  But for some reason, for the cashier in the supermarket, this is the first time she has ever seen a check.  Although some registers can print the sum on the check, or the date, or your name, or something, it ever seems to work.  The cashier tries to put it in the wrong slot, it jams, and the main cashier has to be called.  The person is then taken to the main register to present his teudat zehut and get approval to use a check, but just then the electronic approval system is down.  Next time just pay with gold coins.

5. The entertaining cashier

In the store I frequent there is one cashier that I studiously avoid, even if she has no line.  But she is never empty, because each customer spends over half an hour with her.  Why?  Because each item in your wagon is cause for comment, joke and discussion.  Presenting your club card generates a complete stand-up act.  Then she asks you to donate to impoverished children and explodes in a long sad diatribe about how miserable they are and how you alone can save them.  Truly her talent is wasted in the supermarket.

6. “I just have this one item- can I go in front of you?”

If you just have that one item, why don’t you go to the fast lane??  OK, we know why she doesn’t.  Again, us nice Anglos want to help other MOT so we let her go.  Of course, then her credit card doesn’t work. Or she decides to pay by check.  Or her husband calls and tells her of the five other things she forgot- “I’ll be right back!”  Another ten minutes or so have passed when she finally finishes.  However at this point the whole store received the message that you are a Nice Guy and there are three more people asking you to go in front of you.  Harumph.

7. The person who doesn’t know how to use the self-serve registers

I already complained that my supermarket took out the self-serve registers, but they are still in many other places.  They were installed with the idea to save the consumers time (and the supermarkets money), and for the most part, they do.  Until you get the person in front of you who can’t figure out how it works.  Do you press or swipe?  Why do you have to press?  Do you weigh the vegetables before you press or after? Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?  Where do you put the coins in to pay?  How do I pay by check?  There might be someone standing by to help or not. And she may help. Or not.

8. The person who rushes to put his items on the counter behind you

I have a system for putting my items on the counter- heavy/light, dairy/meat, coupon items in the end, etc.  I am very proud of my system and await the attention of the cashier.  Before she has a chance to look at me, the person behind me starts pushing my items forward to make room for his and even puts them on top of mine!  Hey!  What is the rush?  Yours can’t go through until mine are off and bagged! Plus I really don’t want to pay for your items as well- keep them back!

9. The person who packages their items too slowly

Other the other side of the cashier, there is the person who finished paying but still hasn’t packaged her shopping and left.  First she has to check the bill (good idea but not here).  Then she makes sure the milk isn’t expired.  Then she gets a phone call and is so involved she doesn’t bag her groceries.  In the meantime the cashier is moving my groceries along into a large pile (remember my specific placing of each item) and they get mixed with hers.  I get so distracted with keeping them separate and keeping the guy behind me’s stuff separate from mine that I haven’t packed and paid the way I wanted to.

10.  The 10th plague is left for the readers- what is your supermarket pet peeve?

If only…

Back to school specials for parents

Today is the second day of school for most children, which means the parents can start to get back to their regular schedule- traffic, office politics, and maybe even a quiet moment with a cuppa and the newspaper.

Since next week (!!!) starts the month full of holidays, I thought we could browse the sales in today’s newspaper together. So grab your cuppa (coffee or tea- depending on when you are reading this)- I will wait until you are ready.

Shufersal Deal

• Vegetables- 10 kg for 20 shekels
• Chocolates for 10 shekels
• Multiples of canned vegetables for 10 shekels
• With purchases over 100 shekels there are discounts on meat and fish

Chetzi Chinam

• Yad Mordechai olive oil 2 liters for 60 shekels
• Yad Mordechai honey- 350 grams for 13 shekels
• Sanfrost frozen vegetables- buy two get one free
• White flour- 4 for 10 shekels
• Very cheap prices on meat- says tari/fresh but I am wary (see aliyah tip #2-  beef)
• Open motzei shabbat 31 Aug
• Arbella pasta- 4 for 10 shekels

Mega Bool

• Carmel Tirosh grape juice- 1 liter for 16 shekels
• 6 pack of Coca Cola- 30 shekels
• Taster’s Choice coffee- 200 grams for 30 shekels
• Chicken hind quarters for 15 shekels per kg with a purchase of 250 shekels or more, 3 kg maximum
• Onions and tomatoes- 2 shekels/kg with a purchase over 100 shekels (3kg max)- 200 shekels allows up to 6kg.
• Beets, pumpkin, white and red potatoes- 3 shekels/kg with a purchase over 100 shekels (3kg max)- 200 shekels allows up to 6kg.

Co-op Shop

• Tirosh wine- 1 liter for 10 shekels
• Osem spaghetti- 3 for 10 shekels
• Emek Hefer honey- 250 grams for 10 shekels (check to make sure it has a Tav Teken)

Yesh (coupons only)

• Tzabar chummus- 850 grams for 8 shekels
• Carmel Tirosh grape juice- 1 liter for 12 shekels (great deal!)
• Shmurat Teva toilet paper- 48 rolls for 28 shekels
• Ariel laundry detergent- 6 kg for 50 shekels
• Titulim premium for 29 shekels
• Most stores open motzei shabbat

Office Depot

• Spend 100 shekels on office supplies and you can get an orthopedic backpack for 19.90 shekels (not 2013 models).  Cannot use backpacks and kalmarim to get to 100 shekels.  (This is a good time to look for a nondescript one that they wouldn’t find out of fashion so quickly)

What else is in the paper?

• Yisrael HaYom’s daily survey how much certain items cost in different countries.  Today- tomatoes.  Israel- 4.99 shekels/kg, England 11.29 shekels/kg and the US for 8 shekels/kg.  They do warn us that prices are about to change soon.
• Economics Minister Naftali Bennet says opening the doors to imported products will increase competition and drive down prices.   If there is no competition, we need to make it.  Manufacturers in Israel have traditionally been supported by The Israeli Standards Institute whose legislation allows them to monopolize the market.  The Trachtenberg Report forced them to adopt international standards which will allow the market to be flooded with more imported products and hopefully drive prices down. (Sources: Arutz 7 and Globes)
• Whipping cream (38% fat) and gevina levana 5% fat will now be be subsidized along with other agricultural products (for a complete list click here– I will translate in my next post)

Gossip in the supermarket;

• Our butcher tells us that all the meat prices will be going up next week.  If you haven’t stocked your freezer yet, do so now!

Eden Teva- tax free!

 

Sale expires 24 Feb 2012.

Victory’s sales