Buffett Does It Again: Really In Love With His Heinz Deal

The SEC is now investigating this deal...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/report-sec-investigating-...

Stubtify said:   Banana Ketchup for the win! UFC spicy brand. Seriously better than anything else.
Banana Ketchup is only for Hot Dog spaghetti

Don't want lizard sauce on ANYTHING thanks.

JonnyRock said:   Stubtify said:   Banana Ketchup for the win! UFC spicy brand. Seriously better than anything else.
Banana Ketchup is only for Hot Dog spaghetti

Its pretty awesome on breakfast potatoes & eggs. Also great on anything fried; french fries, chicken. And of course, it is essential my secret spaghetti recipe.

jwillgoesfast said:   have any of you guys read "the snowball" about buffet? I'm finishing it up now and it is a very interesting read, learning that a lot of my assumptions about the guy were off.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Snowball-Warren-Buffett-Business/dp/05...

I literally just started reading this last night. I finished "Tap Dancing to Work" a couple weeks ago. For someone who wasn't that familiar with the guy, it was awesome. I didn't want it to end. I learned more about investing from that book than I did in 4 years of getting a finance degree. The guy is just awesome at life, not just investing.

chripuck said:   SUCKISSTAPLES said:   Squeezer99 said:   I always buy store brand ketchup. It all tastes the same to me
Wow - that's great for you since you can enjoy the cheap stuff

Store brands rarely taste the same to me. I gladly pay for higher quality foodstuffs and I can taste the difference . Good thing I dont like wine or coffee ,

Wow SIS you're usually so sharp on these things. I can tell you from personal experience in the CPG industry, that the VAST majority of store brand food is made by the same name brand company. These big box stores effectively buy in bulk, negotiate their own sticker on it and the name brand company profits without losing brand value. Example: in the southeast WalMart Milk is actually Mayfield Milk... Yep, the milk that costs $4/gallon can be had for half that price by buying store brand.

You can't get WalMart milk for $2 a gallon. You can't get WalMart milk for $3 a gallon.

chripuck said:   SUCKISSTAPLES said:   Squeezer99 said:   I always buy store brand ketchup. It all tastes the same to me
Wow - that's great for you since you can enjoy the cheap stuff

Store brands rarely taste the same to me. I gladly pay for higher quality foodstuffs and I can taste the difference . Good thing I dont like wine or coffee ,

Wow SIS you're usually so sharp on these things. I can tell you from personal experience in the CPG industry, that the VAST majority of store brand food is made by the same name brand company. These big box stores effectively buy in bulk, negotiate their own sticker on it and the name brand company profits without losing brand value. Example: in the southeast WalMart Milk is actually Mayfield Milk... Yep, the milk that costs $4/gallon can be had for half that price by buying store brand.

I agree. Back in 2007, there was a recall on Peter Pan and Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) peanut butter for salmonela. My girlfriend at the time happened to be a big Peter Pan fan and didn't like the fact that I usually bought generic brand food items. I enjoyed her having to realize they were the same product.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm085600.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Value#Great_Value
Products offered at WalMart through the Great Value brand are claimed to be as good as national brand offerings, but are typically sold at a lower price because of minimal marketing and advertising expense. As a house or generic brand, the Great Value line does not consist of goods produced by WalMart, but is a labeling system for items manufactured and packaged by a number of agricultural and food corporations, such as ConAgra, Sara Lee which, in addition to releasing products under its own brands and exclusively for WalMart, also manufactures and brands foods for a variety of other chain stores.
The way I see most items is that you can get used to, and start liking, any brand. Most of us like the peanut butter, or OJ, or soda that we got used to as a kid. Switch to generic brand peanut butter, OJ, and soda, and you'll just get used to that. Just because it may taste different, doesn't mean it tastes worse (although I could see some items maybe not being as good for you). Also, stop drinking soda.

gotsmack said:   cristinaaaron said:   07pilot4me said:   All I can say is they better not mess with the ketchup recipe, one of My can't live without condiments (don't pull a makers mark)

^^^^ Has not tried Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup

I have, it tastes like salsa.

And Heinz my money is on 3G substituting cheaper ingredients into Heinz products to goose profits. The new products will be marketed as "New and Improved" which means that it cost them 10% less to make, but tastes 5% worse.

I sincerely doubt it.
A) Buffett would have absolutely nothing to do with that. He hates it when companies with a solid brand presence and with nothing broken try to mess with their bread and butter
B) 3G's brilliant management of Inbev made it the strongest player in Europe culminating in it's purchase of Anheuser Busch. Nothing negative has happened to Inbev or Anheuser Busch since being taken over by Inbev.

The story of an owner of a Brazilian beer manufacturer who ended up taking over the biggest beer brands of Europe and then of the United States and creating the largest beer manufacturer in the world is truly an amazing story. I don't have really any doubts in their ability to improve Heinz's profits operationally without negatively affecting the quality of their signature ketchup.

skeurto said:   dshibb said:   
B) 3G's brilliant management of Inbev made it the strongest player in Europe culminating in it's purchase of Anheuser Busch. Nothing negative has happened to Inbev or Anheuser Busch since being taken over by Inbev.


Except that use of cheaper ingredients is apparently exactly what is happening at inbev: According to Bloomberg.

Maybe it doesn't really matter that Budweiser is being made with rice fragments instead of full grains, but that is a perfect example of messing with a long-established brand for a little extra profit.

Huh, I'll be damned. You know I haven't noticed any difference in the taste of Budweiser and Stella since those guys got involved with Inbev and Budweiser, but I guess I just must not have the discerning taste I thought I had.

Haven't had a Beck's in ages.

Good to know.

dshibb said:   Huh, I'll be damned. You know I haven't noticed any difference in the taste of Budweiser and Stella since those guys got involved with Inbev and Budweiser,

Stella now tastes worse than horse urine. It was a spectacular tasting beer before inBev bought it and ruined it.

Buffett will kill thousands of jobs with this deal. And no, Heinz ketchup will never taste the same again.

From what I've heard, he plans to turn it upside down and just wait

1) I cannot eat any other ketchup than Heinz, and I can tell the difference (I normally buy generic for everything else). And I can tell when a fast food place uses it (BK, MCD).
2) Nothing to admire Buffett here for. He's pulling a 1%er deal. He's being a p*ssy as usual sticking to pfd.
3) I still despise him as a human and an investor.

dshibb said:   jkimcpa said:   1) I cannot eat any other ketchup than Heinz, and I can tell the difference (I normally buy generic for everything else). And I can tell when a fast food place uses it (BK, MCD).
2) Nothing to admire Buffett here for. He's pulling a 1%er deal. He's being a p*ssy as usual sticking to pfd.
3) I still despise him as a human and an investor.

Why do not like him? His politics?

Feel free to go full rant because I'm genuinely interested.

Yes, please elaborate. What is there to despise about Buffett??? Can't wait for this one.