For several years now SA confectionery company Robern Menz have sold bite-sized honeycomb pieces coated in caramel chocolate through The Reject Shop at $2 for a 150g pack, branded as Bumbles Caramel Honeycomb.
Recently they have hit the market with Violet Crumble Caramel Bites at $4.40 for a 170g pack through Colesworths.
It is absolutely the same product… All Robern Menz have done is change the packaging and upped the price.
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Scoundrels! So what do you think a pack of these things should be worth?
Coles and Woollies continue to sell 400gm packs of Robert Menz Bumbles Honeycomb for $4.30 a pack.
Now that Violet Crumble is once again an Aussie product proudly owned by Robert Menz, Coles and Woollies sell 180gm packs when not on special for $4.40 a pack.
Aussie. Aussie. Aussie.
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Since they are the same product logic says the unit price of either brand should be the same or very similar, not a 60-70% difference. Robern Menz are cynically cashing in on their acquisition of the Violet Crumble name. I’ll keep buying Bumbles, thanks, but I bet most people will buy Violet Crumble.
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Are they exactly the same products or similar products? If they are the same product the ingredients and nutritional panel will be exactly the same.
On the Robern Menz website they have ingredients for the Bumbles brand…
But not for Violet Crumble. Maybe someone can find the info.
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Here is a photo of the back of a 180gm pack of Chocolate Violet Crumble.
The ingredients are not very different to Brumbles Choc Honeycomb.
Both Coles and Woollies sell Mars, Nestle and Cadbury 12 piece share packs for $5 when not on special which is 60 cents more than the Violet Crumble 180gm share packs.
Robert Menz sell their Bumbles Choc Honeycomb share packs online for $3.45 for 150gm and $4.95 for 400gm.
When Robert Menz bought back Violet Crumble, they could have chosen to either shut down Brumbles or to increase the prices.
They could also have chosen to sell Violet Crumble at similar prices to their competitors.
Instead they have kept their low profile product at the same pricing whilst also making their high profile product cheaper than their competitors.
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All very well if Bumbles products were available at Colesworths. I have three Coles and four Woolworths in my vicinity. All sell the more expensive Violet Crumble products. None sell Bumbles.
The Reject Shop sells Bumbles products for $2 a 150gm pack, not $3.45. Always have.
I see no relevance in the price of Mars/Nestle/Cadbury sharepacks.
The object of this forum is to expose ripoffs, not to support predatory pricing. No matter, I shall continue to buy Bumbles from The Reject Shop.
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I notice similar choc honey comb is sold elsewhere not sure if it is overpriced.
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Thanks @fred123. I was thinking when I posed above, if anyone in the community who is a sleuth at Coles and Woolworths, it would be @fred123. Well done…
Nutritional values are different which indicates that while the products are similar, they aren’t the same. The ratio and type of ingredients differ. For most consumers, the cheaper product may suffice to get their sugar fix while at the same time enjoying the taste of the product.
Another point is if Robern Menz had paid a significant sum for the purchase of the Violet Crumble rights, they will need to recoup this through product sales. Rather than increasing costs of all products, they may have chosen to apply a higher wholesale price to Violet Crumble to pay for the rights. Something is possible fair as those who want the real McCoy, pay for it. Others who are willing to go for an alternative similar product, can get it cheaper under a different brand by the same company. Many companies do this when they have multiple brands in the same product lines. Robern Merz appears to be no different.
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The relevance is most probably that they sell Cadbury Crunchies which are a similar product to Violet Crumbles. I think what @Fred123 was trying to point out is that pricing is similar across all ranges. Buy Brumbles online direct from Menz and you pay more than at the Reject Shop so this could be deemed a ripoff as it isn’t the same or a lower price than at the Reject Shop which is a reseller of the product. Why do the Reject Shop get it cheaper than buying from the manufacturer? Perhaps it is excess stock, seconds, older stock closer to Best Before date, subject to an older contract price agreement.
A ripoff perhaps or perhaps not, but it does raise questions over the pricing.
As to Brumbles and Violet Crumbles being the same product, from what @phb has noted it appears the ingredients used vary between the two products so a price differential is quite possible where they see the Brumbles product as the cheaper and/or inferior product. If your personal preference is for Brumbles and you buy them cheaper at the Reject Shop that is a great outcome for you, others may enjoy both equally, others may prefer the Violet Crumbles and then others may not like either of them.
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Please do not confuse data points provided by well meaning members with support.
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Both Coles and Woolies list Brumbles on their websites.
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Big W has them - 525g pack Brumbles $5.00. The chocolate coating is pretty ordinary. Maybe Violet crumble comes with a better quality Milk Chocolate?
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Thanks for that @Fred123. The nutritional panel for the Bumbles is
That plus the differences in ingredients appears to confirm while similar, they are not the same confectionery. Some might prefer one, or the other, and pricing is only sometimes based on cost of production but always based on marketing criteria.
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The discussion is about the caramel variety, not the milk chocolate. Regardless, I shall check Big W, which I haven’t done yet.
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What’s listed on their Australia-wide websites often bears little relation to what’s actually available in store, as I have discovered with quite a few products.
For Woolworths at least, all restocking decisions for every store are made by a computer in Melbourne. Apparently it’s almost impossible for local management too override them.
Big W also has the caramel variety, but I had decided that Mr Z had enough junk food with 525g of Brumbles. We only get to Big W about once every 3 months. I can’t remember the weight or price.
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I would be interested in knowing what influence Colesworth has on price before calling out manufacturer. I know some brands have to pay (in one form or another) for the privilege of selling through big chains. Anyone know?
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Whilst Coles and Woollies get paid for product placement based on how high or low it is on the shelves and if it is on an end of aisle, it appears that they price most things at the manufacturers’ RRP, even if they insist that they be provided with a RRP, so as to avoid price collusion.
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they paid a lot of money for the violet crumble name so hey have every right to include this cost recovery in their pricing it’s as far as I’m concerned it’s no different than complaining that weetbix cost more than Aldi wheat biscuits
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