Crushed strawberry jam twice as pricey as regular
Crushed strawberry jam is almost twice as expensive as the regular variety, according to DinSide.
When Dinside was out in the stores and checked prices on many kinds of spreads, they came across a somewhat weird price difference:
Nora homemade strawberry jam costs NOK 24.90 at Extra and Rema 1000, while the crushed variety from the same brand costs NOK 40.20.
Converted to the price per kilogram, this will be NOK 62.25 against NOK 103.08 – a price difference of NOK 40.83 per kilogram.
Nora crushed strawberry jam is thus 65 per cent more expensive than the regular variant.
Why is there so much difference between the two variants of the same product? When the berry content is exactly the same: There are 60 per cent berries in both variants.
And yes, before reading on: You simply make crushed jam by mashing jam in the blender. that is a much cheaper alternative.
Here are the prices
Here are the prices we obtained on September 6th, 2018. These are prices from Rema 1000 and Extra – which have exactly the same prices for these variants.
The prices are collected from supermarkets in Akershus.
Note that the container containing crushed strawberry jam contains a little less jam than the one with the regular variety.
| Price | Size | NOK/kgs | |
| Nora hjemmelaget (homemade) | 24.90 | 400 g | 62.25 |
| Nora hjemmelaget most (crushed) | 40.20 | 390 g | 103.08 |
| Price difference. | 40.83 | ||
| Difference, % | 65.59% |
Pricewars makes for weird prices
Nora is a product from Orkla Foods Norway. DinSide, therefore, asked Orkla Foods what the reason for the price difference may be – and if it is more expensive to manufacture the crushed than the regular jam?
– Prices of jams and goods in other food categories may vary. Unfortunately, I can not help you here. The stores determine the price for the goods they sell themselves, says Communications Manager at Orkla Foods Norway, Bjørn Brennskag, to DinSide.
We also asked Coop, which owns the Grocery chain Extra, and Rema 1000 for comments on the price differences.
Communications Manager at Coop Norway, Harald Kristiansen, explains that such price differences may be due to price wars:
– It’s a hard competition to be the cheapest and no one can be more expensive than the competition. This sometimes makes for what many will perceive as weird prices, as in this case. It may be that a competitor, or Extra, has run a campaign or offer on the cheapest product, and then it has triggered a price war that makes a big difference in the prices of products. Oftentimes, these products are bought regularly by customers, and that is why it is important to be the cheapest on that, says Harald Kristiansen.
Rema 1000 has not answered our questions, even after almost a week after.
Dependant on manufacturer
If you are looking for the crushed strawberry jam and do not want to use a blender, it might be an idea to look at other manufacturers, where there isn’t the same price difference between comparable jams.
Take, for example, the local variety that our local Rema 1000 store offers: Jam from Askim Fruit and Berries.
Rema 1000 wants NOK 56 for 600 grams of regular strawberry jam from Askim, while the crushed variety from the same manufacturer costs NOK 57.50 – with the same amount of berries.
That is a minimal price difference of NOK 2.50 per kilo – and there is crushed only 2.68 per cent more expensive than regular jam.
And yes, the crushed strawberry jam from Askim is NOK 7.25 cheaper per kilo than Nora’s – which is 7.6 per cent more expensive in the stores at the moment.
The cheapest jam can be obtained by choosing jams from the stores’ own brands.
© DinSide / #Norway Today
