Postum disappeared from the supermarket a few years ago, and it took awhile to locate some. Eventually it returned. So I wasn't entirely surprised when my local grocery had an empty spot on the shelf behind the Postum label. When a second store didn't have the label, I got concerned. When a different chain didn't have it either, I started to hyperventilate. This has been my late evening, calming drink of choice for about 30 years. And I'm neither Mormon nor in my 80's. It's healthy and has a great, mellow taste.
A quick search online produced the nasty news that Kraft has killed it. Their explanation is it had a declining customer base. Tell that to Utah! When you see the junk on the shelf where the Postum should be - fancy powdered, sugared, artificially sweetened, chemical-laden lattes - you can guess that the profit margin on Postum didn't warrant the shelf space, not the lack of loyal customers. I am so bummed!
The next solution was Ebay. If you want a laugh, or a new business to think about going into, take a look. A 4-bottle Postum lot is going for over $100.00. Postum added greatly to my quality of life, but I don't think I'm ready to buy it at $25 a bottle. I find it totally nuts that a great product disappears. Why didn't they sell it to a different company, or jack up the price, rather than just kill it? Clearly there is a steady customer base, since I found hundreds of them online.
I'm not really hyperventilating, but I am very, very sad, both about not being able to obtain my favorite drink any longer, and for the insane corporate control Kraft has over the lives of all Postum mourners. I wonder how long it will take for someone to bring it back into production?
Kraft pulled it in January. Since I was buy a few bottles at a time and store them in my pantry, I just found out - too late to scrounge around and hoard a few, to tide me over until an enterprising person brings out a new version. That can't be soon enough!
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Check out over 110 messages at Kraft.
They say that each message a manufacturer receives, there are scores of people who feel this way.
http://kraft.liveworld.com/topic/Ask-Kraft-Kitchens/Postum-Coffee-Alternative/1700001404&#msg1700017269
Postum needs some outside the box thinking. It's hard to believe Kraft can't increase the market for a great tasting, all natural, low sugar, low sodium, low fat, low cholesterol, naturally caffeine free product. You would think it would fly off the grocer's shelves!
Yet when (if ever) has anyone seen any promotion? I don't recall ever seeing a Postum ad. Postum's popularity spread by word-of-mouth, imagine what someone who really wanted to could do with the product!
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