When you go into the supermarket, do you ever go on in for one thing and end up with multiple items due to all the options staring at you from the shelves?
A few weeks back I walked into Sainsbury’s for a pack of custard creams – my go-to biscuit for a late night cuppa (so much nicer than chocolate bourbons – don’t come at me!). But what did I see? All sorts of flavours ranging from lemon meringue to sticky toffee pudding.
Like a kebab going through my stomach on a Saturday night, this didn’t sit right at all. But there was worse. Pink digestives? Surely the only innovation a digestive has ever needed is chocolate adding to one side. Then there’s this Dubai Style chocolate everyone’s talking about. What’s even is Dubai style chocolate anyway? Some say it’s an innovative pistachio-covered bar. I say it’s a cynical way to cash in on social media’s obsession with the Middle East city. Soon, we’ll be seeing ‘Skibdi Toilet’ biscuits and ‘Six-Seven’ sweets added to the shelves by companies wanting to monetize TikTok trends.
Of course I know I sound like a grumpy old man moaning about too many options. But what’s wrong with wanting nothing more complicated than a simple choice of hobnob, fig roll or – at a push – ginger nut? Do we need an entire aisle that looks like the Oompa-Loompas were let loose inside the factories?
I don’t think so – although I do admit those pink digestives I ended up buying were pretty nice with that night’s cuppa!
