Tag: subscription

Consider Subscription

As the price of gluten-free products increases and availability decreases, it may be a good time to consider subscription.

colorful macarons in bowl

I can’t tell you how many times recently I’ve looked at the gluten-free bagels, cookies, or crackers available locally and left them out of my shopping cart. I simply can’t justify the high price.

What I tell myself is that I’ll just cook or bake whatever I was considering. Then a day or two later when I’ve dropped everything to handle a crisis or meet a deadline and I have no breakfast to grab quickly, I wonder what I was thinking.

Sometimes it’s not that we can’t do. It’s just that we can’t do as quickly as we thought. In those moments, it’s great to have something handy to tide us over. There are different ways to make sure there’s something on hand without breaking the bank.

I can freeze portions when I bake. I can wait until things are on sale or come with a great offer. I can buy in bulk when doing so reduces costs. And I can consider subscription services.

Subscriptions to food services mean food arrives regularly. I like the certainty of that much more than the frustration of finding no gluten-free brands on the shelves except those that contain sunflower oil or high histamine ingredients. As inventories evolve, I increasingly value certainty.

Before its acquisition by Misfits Market, I subscribed to Imperfect Foods. I had a great experience! I loved the selection, the filter options that made tailoring my orders easy, and the food. I looked forward to delivery day.

I even looked forward to confirming my order and the chance to add new, exciting discoveries. I’ve never gotten the same feeling from shopping online at Walmart, Target, or Amazon (including Whole Foods). Imperfect was faster, easier, and more pleasant. I miss it.

My subscription to Jim’s Organic Coffee began in 2018. It’s even easier than Imperfect in the sense that I don’t think about it at all unless they send me an email, which they do sparingly. The service has been reliable and stable. And Jim’s Sweet Love Blend makes each morning better.

In my six plus years with Jim’s, there’s only been one price increase. That’s pretty amazing! And they’re great to work with. Early on, there was a month when they sent me five times as much coffee as I ordered. When I contacted them to see how to return the extra, they told me to keep all it for free. It really doesn’t get any better than that and that’s the only error on an order to date.

I’m exploring subscription options for gluten-free baked goods to fill some availability gaps and address price concerns. While I haven’t landed on the perfect thing yet, I’m enjoying the learning process.

Subscriptions are easiest when the system has you confirm your order right before shipping or when you use a predictable amount. That means they won’t be appropriate for everything. But subscriptions are worth considering for both reliability and price consistency at this time when everything else seems uncertain.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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I Can’t Wait for Grocery Delivery!

I can’t wait for grocery delivery! Creating and testing gluten-free recipes means I can never shop at just one store. I’d rather spend my time in the kitchen than traveling to and from the grocery or walking through the aisles. Building a favorites list online will allow me to spend a minimum amount of time shopping and get all of the basics delivered right to my door. I love that idea!
carts
In preparation for the eventuality of grocery delivery, I’ve been clicking and picking up. My primary concern before I began was the quality of produce. Even when I do the shopping, it’s frequently difficult to find high quality, fresh produce in our local stores. Nonetheless, I decided to dive in.

Of course I can have nonperishables shipped from Amazon any time. I’ve previously purchased things like paper towels and G.H. Cretors popcorn from them. I didn’t enjoy the experience of having to fill a pantry box in order to get free shipping. I hated the way the items were packaged when they arrived. And I had to make sure someone was available to check my porch so the boxes didn’t disappear. That’s not the experience I’m looking for.

Subscriptions work well for some items like coffee. In fact, Jim’s Organic just started a subscription service. I signed up the minute I got an email announcing subscription availability. But coffee is something on which I can easily gauge my usage. I’m not as methodical about my consumption of paper towels or cereal.

In my market, there are two stores that offer click and pick-up service – Kroger and Wal-Mart. I chose Wal-Mart because they have a plan for $10 delivery in the near future. Each time I order from the site, I build familiarity with the product selection and add to my favorites list.

Downloading the app means I don’t have to call upon arrival. Once I receive a notice that the order is ready, I check in from my phone when I’m on the way. When I arrive, the store is notified and brings out the order.

This means that I’m allowing the app to track my location. This can be a privacy concern. If so, there’s an option to receive notification via email, drive to the store location, and call the number listed on a sign found in each parking spot in the pick-up area.
produce
Last week I added sugar snap peas to a pickup order. That evening, I popped the package open, washed a few and ate them raw. I was pleasantly surprised! The peas were crunchy, tender, and sweet. They were the freshest, tastiest produce I’ve had all year. That worry I had about the quality of produce is beginning to wane.

I’m attending a film festival out of town. There’s nothing in my refrigerator at home besides butter, jelly, and pickle relish. This week will be the perfect time to add more produce to an order and see if the peas were a fluke. I hope not. A pattern of reliably fresh produce and the deal will be sealed! Online grocery shopping will become a regular thing for me.

When grocery delivery begins…score!!! I really can’t wait!

http://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/what-makes-a-grocery-store-great/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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