The other day at the store, I saw something in the frozen section called "Barq's Floatz," a product which was apparently a "root beer float in a cup," or something like that. I like root beer floats, and the novelty of seeing them prepackaged into such a form was too amusing to pass up. Well, it wasn't really worth it. Floatz combines something like a soft, root beer-flavored Italian ice with a fairly tasteless vanilla ice cream, then puts them together in a four-ounce cup six times and charges $4.50 for the privilege. They taste pretty good, but talk about a product that has no real reason to exist. With tax, each cup costs more than 75 cents, and I'm fairly certain that two scoops of vanilla ice cream and a can of root beer in a glass would cost less than that - and even if they did cost slightly more, you're also getting far more than four ounces' worth. I'm not sure who the target market is: people who refuse to be seen drinking a root beer float in public, but also don't own an ice cream scoop? People who think vanilla ice cream is too flavorful and root beer too fizzy? It's baffling. I may have eaten all six without thinking twice, but you can bet I wouldn't bother buying Floatz a second time.
5 comments:
You've got a great point. The price they charge for Barq's Floatz is too high. I'm a huge Barq's Fan and love the Floatz, but I won't buy them at full price. They sell them at my local Wal-Mart for about 3.99 but I won't buy them unless they are $2.99 or less. Even then it's still too much. It's all about value, and if J&J (the snack food company that makes Barq's Floatz) can't reel me in, Barq's #1 Fan, how do they expect to keep selling to the ordinary customer? Barq's Floatz are also available in a “push-up” tube variety, sold in bulk at Costco. To me the push-ups are a much better deal than the cups. You should give them a try before you rule out never buying Floatz again. Drink Barq’s. It’s Good.
Who's the target?
Two words: lazy people
Ahem and excuse me, if any one who reads Flax's blog deserves to be called the barqsman, it is me. Not that I WANT to be (Only three of my friends call me Barqs), but damn it, it's out there.
This is what we in the marketing business like to call "buzz" - good old word-of-mouth advertising. Even if the review isn't all that positive, it still creates the idea of excitement about a product. Of course, usually you find buzz around items that are actually cool, like iPods or Razor phones, not artificial ice creams foodstuffs.
Besides, I never cared for Barq's - I prefer the saltier, frothier rootbeers, like Mug or Dad's. Also, Barq's is caffeinated. Why does rootbeer require caffeine?
I guess that's what causes it to have "bite?"
I would agree that I probably prefer Mug or A&W, though I'm not sure if I'd cal them saltier. Perhaps a taste test is in order. To the White Hen!
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