Canadian Retail Thread

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Wigs

my favourite was D'Italiano with the extra flour on the outside. "look Gord, it's authentic Eye-talian"
Or is that what morphed into Villagio?

Villaggio is owned by Bimbo (Canada Bread) and D'Italiano is its main competitor made by Weston.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Wigs

mass produced bread is usually shite.
support your local bakery. it's well worth the extra buck or two for a loaf of bread with better ingredients. Also you help out a small business and money gets recirculated in your local community.

my 2 cents

Well, a buck or two more, but about three times as often, because two of us can't get through a fresh loaf before it's rock hard.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Villaggio is owned by Bimbo (Canada Bread) and D'Italiano is its main competitor made by Weston.

The degree to which Galen gives two shits about the average Canadian: a big fat zero.


He owns Shoppers Dog Fart/Pharmapricks too.

[OTSkyline]

Actually Westons sold the bakery portion of the company about a year or two ago to FGF Brands, Weston Bakeries is now called Wonderbrands (same stuff, but not owned by Galen anymore)

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

It would be nice if there were more local bakeries. In a lot of communities nowadays, the only “local bakery” is the bakery department at the grocery store.

In the neighbourhood where I grew up, there has been no local bakery since about 1998, with A&P/Metro being the only provider of baked goods since. One must travel quite far for a local bakery now.

That's really sad. I guess I'm lucky to have a really good local bakery that tries to make as many things as possible (many breads including sourdough, baguettes, bagels, delicious pies/cakes/muffins, macaron, butter tarts, nanaimo bars, etc, even donuts sometimes). The head baker/owner won silver in Ontario at a student skills competition for pastry.

I buy my bread from the local bakery and meat from my choice of 2 local butchers. Old school. Recirculate that money in the local economy.
The less money the Billionaire arsehole Galen Weston gets, the better.

Originally Posted by Acajack

Villaggio is owned by Bimbo (Canada Bread) and D'Italiano is its main competitor made by Weston.

Thanks for clarification, Acajack. Hard to tell the faux Italian breads apart

Originally Posted by jonny24

Well, a buck or two more, but about three times as often, because two of us can't get through a fresh loaf before it's rock hard.

I freeze loaves, and take out one at a time. I suppose one could even freeze half loaves

I understand families that need to budget and buy the $1.98/loaf bread from No Frills/Loblaws stores, but I'll pay extra for better quality ingredients and supporting a local business if I can.

[esquire]

^ I buy the $1.98 whole wheat loaf partly because it's convenient (no extra stop at a bakery needed), and my kids will eat it

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I buy the $1.98 whole wheat loaf partly because it's convenient (no extra stop at a bakery needed), and my kids will eat it

esquire, I'm dying. "feed it to the kids, dear. They're fine with this inferior crap"
see also: Little Caesar's Hot N Readys when you guys get good quality ethnic takeout etc

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Wigs

esquire, I'm dying. "feed it to the kids, dear. They're fine with this inferior crap"
see also: Little Caesar's Hot N Readys when you guys get good quality ethnic takeout etc

Kinda clashes with the perfect father image in The Dad Thread, eh?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Wigs

esquire, I'm dying. "feed it to the kids, dear. They're fine with this inferior crap"
see also: Little Caesar's Hot N Readys when you guys get good quality ethnic takeout etc

I guess I sound like a bad parent

But seriously, like every parent we started out intent on feeding our kids the highest quality fresh foods. Within a few years they are somehow sustaining themselves on goldfish crackers, Cheerios and cheese strings, haha.

I personally love rye bread but I hardly ever buy it because my kids won't touch it and my wife can't eat it (celiac).

[MolsonExport]

^word

[Wigs]

I'm only kidding guys. I'm sure if I had 1-4 kiddos I'd be buying the least expensive stuff and whatever the kiddos are happy with too. Something's gotta give in the family budget, particularly in Westonianflationary times.

[harls]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

When I started in high school in Toronto in Grade 9 it was within walking distance of an indoor mall. The anchors were Loblaws and Woolco. Woolco had a distinctive smell helped by the snack counter selling Pogo dogs and lots of potpourri around and cheap furniture. I remember walking in there with a friend of mine and asking 'what is that smell'. His reply 'poverty'. It was inappropriate in today's economic climate but at the time it did make me laugh.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Wigs

That's really sad. I guess I'm lucky to have a really good local bakery that tries to make as many things as possible (many breads including sourdough, baguettes, bagels, delicious pies/cakes/muffins, macaron, butter tarts, nanaimo bars, etc, even donuts sometimes). The head baker/owner won silver in Ontario at a student skills competition for pastry.


I understand families that need to budget and buy the $1.98/loaf bread from No Frills/Loblaws stores, but I'll pay extra for better quality ingredients and supporting a local business if I can.

I should go into a no frills since they are always beside the H&W produce stores I frequent. I do have the luxury of accessing lower price store around Edmonton. I have a few good bakeries near my place but can still get to others. In fact there are a few that have best of products I will go to. Rye Bread at the BonTon is one. I tend not to frequent the big stores anymore, I am finding lower prices around a smaller places. Yes it may cost a bit for gas. Funny enough I found a gas station that always has the price 5c lower than the rest. H&W are also the place where a lot of new immigrants tend to go. I can get a weeks worth of fruit and Vegs for under $20.00. If Safeway or Superstore sell strawberries for $700 a container. H&W will sell it for half. The H&W of the south side of Edmonton also has the most exotic fruits.

Also found some of the Markets have meats far less than the big stores now.

We have also lately started checking out the Warehouse Liquidation wholesales. If you have time to browse you can find great deals. Canned goods mainly.

[SpongeG]

what brand of $1.98 bread are y'all eating?

maybe it costs more in BC but the bread at Superstore in BC is usually $3.98 or buy 2 for $5.50 kind of thing usually. Sometimes it will go on sale for $2.98

I don't buy the instore baked bread, I never liked it, I do like the Save-On Foods bakery bread though but its well over $3 usually.

[urbandreamer]

No Frills used to sell .99 cent bread including 1.79 rye bread by All Stars Bakery - looks like it closed down a few years ago.

Anyway, driving across Ontario and indeed Canada, I've come across many small town bakeries. One interesting tidbit I recently learned: Mennonite bakeries across Ontario have an informal "territory" where they all agree on the distance between different family bakeries, and they have a "price fixing" policy similar to the controversial Loblaws policy that was exposed. For example, I'd always wondered why no Mennonite bakeries have opened in Elmira, Listowel, Wellesley or Stratford: places like Anna Mae's (Millbank), Shakespeare Pies (just outside Stratford) and Floradale's Hillcrest Bakery are part of the Mennonite bakery cartel ha.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

what brand of $1.98 bread are y'all eating?

maybe it costs more in BC but the bread at Superstore in BC is usually $3.98 or buy 2 for $5.50 kind of thing usually. Sometimes it will go on sale for $2.98

I don't buy the instore baked bread, I never liked it, I do like the Save-On Foods bakery bread though but its well over $3 usually.

I hate Loblaws Companies/Weston Family.

I literally just saw this bread recently for $1.98. It was under 2 bucks anyway. Buying groceries online/curbside pickup for my folks during peak pandemic from Loblaws chain stores (Zehrs in this case) was one week item in stock, next week couldn't find it on website.

Now, the cheapest bread... it's nowhere to be found on the No Frills website, and the SW/S Ontario Loblaws chain, Zehrs (always more expensive than No Frills) has it for $2.79.
For the same price you can get the fresher and better ingredient baked in store stuff

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Airboy

I should go into a no frills since they are always beside the H&W produce stores I frequent. I do have the luxury of accessing lower price store around Edmonton. I have a few good bakeries near my place but can still get to others. In fact there are a few that have best of products I will go to. Rye Bread at the BonTon is one. I tend not to frequent the big stores anymore, I am finding lower prices around a smaller places. Yes it may cost a bit for gas. Funny enough I found a gas station that always has the price 5c lower than the rest. H&W are also the place where a lot of new immigrants tend to go. I can get a weeks worth of fruit and Vegs for under $20.00. If Safeway or Superstore sell strawberries for $700 a container. H&W will sell it for half. The H&W of the south side of Edmonton also has the most exotic fruits.

Also found some of the Markets have meats far less than the big stores now.

We have also lately started checking out the Warehouse Liquidation wholesales. If you have time to browse you can find great deals. Canned goods mainly.

Why bother with No Frills for produce if this H&W store is local and you can get it cheaper? Seems like you're a smart shopper that's figured out cheapest places for gas, high quality baked goods, best bang for buck fruits/veggies. No Frills may have cheaper paper products, pop/chips, sometimes canned goods. but if you can get that cheaper at a liquidation store, do it.

I will say, moving back to Ontario the produce quality overall seems better than what I could get in Calgary. Not like the stark contrast NFLD or Great White North difference to Rest of Canada, but still noticeable enough to me.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Wigs

I hate Loblaws Companies/Weston Family.

I literally just saw this bread recently for $1.98. It was under 2 bucks anyway. Buying groceries online/curbside pickup for my folks during peak pandemic from Loblaws chain stores (Zehrs in this case) was one week item in stock, next week couldn't find it on website.

Now, the cheapest bread... it's nowhere to be found on the No Frills website, and the SW/S Ontario Loblaws chain, Zehrs (always more expensive than No Frills) has it for $2.79.
For the same price you can get the fresher and better ingredient baked in store stuff

This bread is always $2.29 at my local No Frills and I believe is made by Weston (or whatever company it has become)



I was in Foodland the other day and Dempster's bread was $4.39 and their house brand Compliments was $2.39. What a different for basically the same thing!

[SpongeG]

Maybe bread is cheaper in Ontario? I don't think we get bread that cheap out here. The last two times we bought bread it was at Trader Joe's in the states and it was $1.95 US.

I remember 30 years ago when I lived in Ontario for 2 years I found most groceries were quite a bit cheaper there compared to BC, and probably still is that way.

If I buy bread at Superstore it's usually one of this variety and it's usually close to $4, on sale for around $3. The same bread is sold here at Dollarama and is about $2.50
Country Harvest. Dollar Tree has bread for $1.50 and it too is rarely in stock.


kawarthanow.com

[MolsonExport]

I found that most groceries cost more in BC than Quebec/Ontario, during my five year stint living in BC in the nineties.

There has been a lot of concentration in the grocery marketplace. It was always bad out in BC with Overwaitea/Save-on controlling a huge segment of the market. The East is dominated by BlawLobs, Metro/Provigo, IGA/Sobeys, and then there is Walfart and Costco.

I do a lot of grocery shopping at Costco, and even there, prices have risen way above inflation rates for the past 3 years.