tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post1012720465760841842..comments2024-03-30T00:16:53.054-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/30/24: The Saturday Snapshot #30Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-46166203019915144272019-03-10T16:17:14.382-05:002019-03-10T16:17:14.382-05:00$3.99 for a box of Bands Mac & Cheese?? Um, NO...$3.99 for a box of Bands Mac & Cheese?? Um, NOPE..Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17713296201159001788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-21897010057583231812019-03-09T18:22:11.174-06:002019-03-09T18:22:11.174-06:00I was stuck at home just a few days ago and decide...I was stuck at home just a few days ago and decided to indulge in mac and cheese, a comfort food going back to childhood. We only had a box of Annie's so I made that and it was okay but I wished we had had a 29-cent box of Kraft. Yes, with sliced up hot dogs.J. Pabsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11566801024154623288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-59567532754974041732019-03-09T15:58:37.740-06:002019-03-09T15:58:37.740-06:00As I know a few people that worked for Kraft befor...As I know a few people that worked for Kraft before & after the merger, all of them hate the place now. Instead of the spacious buildings in Glenview & Northfield, they're now crammed into four floors of the Aon Building. <br />In addition, there are few employees over 40! All the older people were forced out by the man they refer to as the "Brazilian Bastard"!Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85970462281663822532019-03-09T15:56:32.722-06:002019-03-09T15:56:32.722-06:00You hippies and your glutenhate and meatfear are d...You hippies and your glutenhate and meatfear are destroying everything good in these United States of America.Cappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03188855728177892134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-64937181348150005372019-03-09T11:21:16.093-06:002019-03-09T11:21:16.093-06:00My mom used to make mac & cheese with cut up h...My mom used to make mac & cheese with cut up hotdogs in the oven. I think she used Velveeta. To me it's still comfort food.Tony Galatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15119832467442771755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-78761536674316170712019-03-09T11:20:06.976-06:002019-03-09T11:20:06.976-06:00It wasn't just being so big that killed Kraft ...It wasn't just being so big that killed Kraft Heinz's ability to innovate. It was also ownership by a venture capitalist firm that practiced the management by machete so popular nowadays.<br /><br />Once the new owners merged the two companies in 2015, they closed factories and slashed thousands of jobs, both blue- and white-collar. Whenever you have a huge merger like that, there will always be lots of redundant positions. But these guys really pushed it, getting rid of everyone they possibly could, and instituting "zero-based budgeting," which makes department heads justify every expense every year, literally down to the paper clips.<br /><br />This worked great in the short term. Thanks to the expense-slashing, revenue went up more than 20% in the two quarters after the merger. Wall Street responded: The stock went up, reaching a high of 30% over its price at the merger.<br /><br />But included in the cost-slashing was R&D. Innovation took a back seat, because it costs money, and the owners thought that, having bought all these great, iconic brands, they could just sit back and let the income roll in. They were caught flat-footed by consumers' shift away from processed, packaged food toward fresh, which led to the fiasco Neil describes.<br /><br />So, it turns out the management by machete people got their comeuppance. Too bad the pain is being felt by the people who got laid off---a few of whom might very well have been able to come up with product ideas that would have pulled Kraft Heinz out of the hole.Bitter Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04645909858616987997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-61733299077811239002019-03-09T11:16:05.890-06:002019-03-09T11:16:05.890-06:00Chickpea pasta sounds odd, but I'll give it a ...Chickpea pasta sounds odd, but I'll give it a try.<br /><br />Kids do seem to love mac and cheese, and plenty of adults as well, myself included. John's comment above brought back memories of all the processed cheese stuff that ended up in my family's grocery cart when I was a kid: Velveeta, of course, plus the squiggly cheese topping you would pump out of a container for crackers, and the ultimate fake processed spread from Kraft: Cheez Whiz. <br />SandyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070366627628604352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-28714905260910485652019-03-09T09:31:11.226-06:002019-03-09T09:31:11.226-06:00Although I have plenty of food vices, Mac & Ch...Although I have plenty of food vices, Mac & Cheese isn't one of them. Not to be snobbish about it, I have to admit I was once a great fan of Velveeta.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.com