Woke, Broke

Penzeys spices – The “high end“ spice store thst tried to get Scott Walker recalled, and which went completely unhinged after the Trump election – held a “Republicans are Racist“ sale on MLK day.

And is shocked to notice their sales plummeted:

Well, they’ve lost 3 percent of their “Voice of Cooking” email subscribers over it. 40,000 people just up and unsubscribed, and now CEO Bill Penzey is seriously out here trying to get his loyal brainwashed fanbase to purchase discounted gift cards in order to make up for the loss.

This is one of an increasingly long list of companies that I would love to boycott, if I had ever patronized any of them in the first place…

17 thoughts on “Woke, Broke

  1. I do a fair amount of cooking all year, with a lot of smoking and barbecue during warmer months. I grow and dry many of the herbs and those are always my favorite to use. When I do use store bought stuff, I have found that paying more for Penzey’s spices, does not make them better. I get the same results from Tone’s and McCormick.

  2. What Boss said.

    Although I will say, the local butcher shop where we lived years ago makes their own combination of spices to sprinkle on steak before grilling. It’s awesome. I make the point of grabbing a couple of jars whenever I happen to be in the neighborhood. Aside from that, my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to need high-buck spices.

    Is it a boycott if I never bought from Penzey’s in the first place?

  3. JD, you could be a trans-boycotter. You self identify as a person who is boycotting Penzeys. Your boycott is just as good as anyone else’s.

  4. Is there still a penzy’s store in Uptown on Hennepin – I can’t imagine they survived the “mostly peaceful” demonstrations of 2020.

  5. JD.
    I really like McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning and Von Hansen’s has a couple of nice ones for any meat, but I’m always looking for a good one. Care to share the name of the butcher shop?

  6. Boss, I would, but then certain trolls here would have one more clue in the never-ending effort to doxx me. I don’t need that aggravation right now. Sorry!

  7. It’s the Bud Light of spices, but I’ve always had a penchant for good old orange Lawry’s Season Salt. On lots of things besides just steak. I’m like Joe. My palate is also not sophisticated enough to tell the difference between store bought and “gourmet” spices.

  8. The family that owns Von Hansens has a lake home a few doors down from me. Last summer after completion of building a nice barn — they had the neighbors over for a BBQ.

  9. I remember there was somewhat of a similar “sale” another time. Then, and now, I have never purchased Penzy’s spices, and never will. Like everyone else, I am just fine with basic spices. But, happy to identify as a boycotting person nonetheless.

  10. I tend to get at least midrange spices–I prefer things like “Spice Islands” and the McCormick’s green label to McCormick red label–but the article on Fox simply suggests that their subscription business dropped 3% or so, which would imply that they’ve lost 30,000 subscribers out of….a million. So unless margins on spices are a lot leaner than I would have guessed, I am in serious doubt about whether Penzey’s is in trouble in terms of profit and loss, or whether they’re using this deal as a marketing ploy.

    Regarding the actual comments by Penzey’s, I’m not boycotting them for that, but may avoid their products because their disconnect from political reality may reflect a fairly big disconnect with spice reality. The apparent marketing ploy I address above isn’t helpful, either.

  11. I’ve taken more to growing and drying my own spices for most common things. Growing indoors really works well, if you have room for a decent sized rack and light. The fancy controls on these LEDs really makes it easy and decently power efficient; nothing beats fresh mint and dill, for example. The specialized stuff (turmeric, 5 spice powder, etc) I buy mostly from specialty markets, generally Asian. And as for mixes, generally I make my own if I have the components, and I have a *lot* of components. The biggest complaint I get from my wife is that I’m always trying to tweak the mix a little even when I’ve found a mix she really likes.

  12. Been in Penzey’s on Grand Ave. Heard about the earlier kerfuffle after the 2016 election.
    We went in about a year later and while I liked the folks who worked there , there was all sorts of nasty political stuff posted in the store itself; it was all a little too similar to some notorious Nuremburg Law-era German slogans for my comfort.
    I’ll never be a customer so long as the current owners are in charge.

    I can recommend this shop for the exotic stuff- I used to live nearby, and have been a customer for 20 years. I have *no idea* what their politics are and I like it that way. Their prices are far better than Penzey’s, too.

    https://www.worldspice.com

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