August 1st, 2008 Price Increase
8/4/2008
This year so far has been hard to deal with due to the poor economy, skyrocketing fuel costs, along with virtually every supplier of ours raising prices- Back in April we were informed of a $ 650.00 increase to bring in our base mustard, something we do every six weeks. On top of this, we were informed by B&G foods that they were discontinuing our base Piccalilli Relish, 8,000 gallons yearly that they were supplying us for the last at-least 50 years. In addition, UPS has been changing their fuel surcharges for mail-order packages every week.
It took us 7 months to find a packer to make our base Piccalilli Relish- a rather complex process that uses "green tomatoes" instead of traditional reds. In mid-July, we agreed on a finished base recipe--- slightly thinner in consistency, and a bit more heat than the former, and lacking a bit of the sweet flavor, but overall of a better quality. We mixed a small test batch of the New Hot Piccalilli Relish and I tried it on Burgers, Hot Dogs and even Salami Sandwiches--- it took a bit but I became pleased with the new quality. The downside, a staggering cost increase over our former supplier.
Unfortunately, to keep the Hot Piccalilli Relish, your cost of product has increased 47%. This was a hard heartfelt decision, but we are keeping this product avaliable at-least for the shortterm.
On the flipside, The Hot Texan Sandwich Sauce was Piccalilli Based. I completely reconfigured the recipe and built a better tasting (and hotter) flavored Hot Texan Sauce using Dill Pickle Relish and Hot Pepper Relish. I am sure you'll be pleased overall.
But, with the exception of Hot Piccalilli Relish at a 47% increase, All other products increased about 12%.
We do trust your understanding and continued Thanks for all your support and comments.