The continual repackaging and reselling of things that we already use...

I was at Albertson's this evening - in the rain - it's a good time to go shopping, by the way. No one wants to go out in the rain, generally. But if you have time to kill, and a decent umbrella, it's an ideal time to peruse the vacant aisles. Onto the products:

This is probably no surprise to my readers, but marketing geniuses are continually able to reformat our favorite products into new permutations. And, despite the fact that they pretty much taste or work in the same way, we'll enthusiastically try out the new version and stock up on even more of the old. Cleaning products are generally the guilty targets in this marketing angle. My roommate talked about "New Tide with Downy" for weeks, I seriously couldn't believe it! And everytime she does laundry, I hear her pontificating its virtues. But there are other examples.

Consider the burgeoning nutrition bar market: Recall the days when the only thing that existed was Powerbars? Now there are at least 39 different brands available. Each of those brands has about 2-10 different product lines; each of those product lines are available in anywhere from 3-8 flavors and textures; each of those flavors is cyclically updated to reflect the new trends in American taste preferences. Some products even make it out like they are specifically enhanced for female consumption! And just when we think there could be no more amazing discoveries in this saturated market, the geniuses come up with something new!

...and we keep buying that shit.

Example: I typically purchase Balance Bar brand nutrition bars. But on today's visit to Albertson's, I bought 3 pouches of thier new "Go Mix". It's basically a Balance bar deconstructed and put in a small baggie. It has the exact same nutritional makeup as their bar varieties. It's the SAME thing. (Or is it? - that's what they want me to think...)

Yet, I was, and remain, intrigued. Damn marketing geniuses.