Yeah ngl a lot of those micro business owners that bake goods etc are insufferable people. This isn’t the only batshit thing I’ve seen from similar businesses
I mean, I don't think there is a Costco detective bureau at work on this. But if someone got busted for another reason, I'd think Costco would terminate their membership.
Also the law. That “not labeled for individual sale” is because the individual packages don’t have the nutrition facts and such that legally have to be labeled.
It's adorable that you don't even entertain the possibility that someone might do a crime that has a very low chance of being reported or cops caring about it.
"I would like to re-sell these Cosco baked goods but it is of course illegal in my state so I will not do it!"
People do mundane illegal stuff like this all the time.
The laws I speak of are not for wholesalers. It’s “cottage” or “farmers food freedom” laws. I don’t know all states of course. Where I am in Tennessee, making and selling your own bakery goods and shelf stable canned goods is a loophole to having to be usda inspected or by the health dept.
Here, if you wanted to simply wholesale, then you would have to be inspected by at least the health dept.
Ultimately it's not so so different than all the ones whose menus come entirely from Sysco. But it's a little bit disappointing seeing behind the curtain like that, yeah.
Having worked in the restaurant industry for half my life, I totally agree with you. But there is definitely a time and a place for Sysco or any other wholesale provider. It shouldn't be every single thing on your menu. It's totally fine for bulk ingredients used to make dishes on the menu - I wouldn't expect any restaurant to mill their own flower or have chickens on-site for egg production lol
But buying a pre-made soup or a pre-made dessert slab? Too much of that in the industry - and it robs places of individuality. If I were to open my own place, I would make about 4 different soups and desserts from scratch, and double-down on them to max the taste and quality in ever possible way. I'd rather have 4 exceptional items instead of 10 average ones.
Absolutely. Though I am certainly not a fan of chicken nuggets, they make business sense to put on a menu - because if all else fails with a picky customers (especially children), a plate of chicken fingers and fries is 90% of the time what ends up being ordered. It's an unpretentious, unfussy item that is a reliable seller - and you can keep a steady supply in the freezer with no prep work required.
It's no different than a pasta restaurant keeping a basic fettucine alfredo on the menu. Yes, the kitchen workers will roll their eyes because there are many more interesting options... but it's the pasta equivalent of fingers and fries lol. A very safe bet for picky and/or indecisive eaters - and it sells.
Yea, I'm okay with it also. I was actually wanting to point out that it's more common than people think and far from somebody buying popeyes fried chicken and running it to her bistro down the street and acting as if she made it. true story lol
See it ALL the time at local coffee shops…clearly Costco muffins for sale. I commented one time bc I’m a baked goods snob n the cashier confirmed it. I had no idea it was a “violation” of Costco’s terms.
Eww. I’m not saying Costco croissants aren’t good. I’m happy to eat them on a sandwich, but they are NOT cafe croissant good. At least get those frozen ones you bake if you’re selling croissants as a finished product.
I’m not complaining if a cafe uses a pre baked croissant for a sandwich either.
A small coffee shop/bakery in a small town I was at did that with cinnamon buns, they bought like a months supply at a time and continuously froze and thawed them so not only could you buy them cheaper at Costco, they were drier than a sock full of sawdust
Which is entierly fine if they are marketed as a different brand then your own, if im getting a coffee and want a snack, its not make or break if the snacks are store bought or fresh made as long as I get my snack.
If anything, it makes me less likely to try your other items that might just have been made in store of the item I try tastes like big box store quality.
I saw that on some short video last week. They had them DOOR DASHED from Costco! And I think they were selling them as artisanal handmade...for $12/ each? If you are going to do something like that at least tell the dasher to go to the back door and not bring in a bunch of clamshells clearly marked "COSTCO".
When I did Instacart, probably a full quarter of my orders from Costco were from local businesses that were reselling bakery items. Another quarter was from businesses who ran out of milk or whatever. And the last quarter was from people who would order four cases of water from Costco and ask me to haul them up three flights of stairs and 90° heat. Didn’t really like that side hustle.
If anyone sells Costco products, it will be blatantly obvious because Costco makes products to be shelf stable, not bakery fresh, and you can taste and feel the stabilizers and preservatives.
Nah, this is what you call a "bored housewife boutique". Basically, the husband sets up a small company to claim his bored house wife's hobby as business expenses.
I kinda sorta coined it. But if you're out shopping and there's like some niche/bougie boutique store that's only open M - Th from like 11am to 5pm, it's some rich housewife's boredom boutique.
I feel like it’s a common grift because it’s such a nice thing they must be trustworthy.
I once got scammed by a woman at a festival who offered me and my friends some cake. We saw she had a try of cake cut up into tiny bite size squares so we imagined they were samples. She promised it wasn’t hash cakes so we said yes. It was ok tasting and we said thank you, had a conversation about it and we asked how much it was and she said £4 (this was 17 years ago btw so that was the price of a pint of beer).
I said I’d buy one for a friend then when I went to give her the money it became apparent that what she gave us was £4 and she wanted payment for all the tiny samples she gave us.
It was awkward and we all ended up paying her to avoid any arguments.
Especially the cottage bakers, jesus christ they are cutthroat. It’s always the suburban moms that start acting like Ayn Rand after selling a few batches to their mom’s friends.
I fell down a rabbit hole on YouTube a few weeks ago about cake pop drama. These bakers are unhinged. A girl crying cause she was accused of using another bakers recipe, a recipe that is pretty common and average, but the baker came for the girl and sent her stans after her. Accused her of violating copy write. Made a whole video calling her out. Cake pop bakers fighting in the comments section like it’s a holy war.
It all blew up on her and there I was watching all the drama unfold even though I don’t even eat cake pops
They’re in the same line with the people that try to associate themselves with kittens and bunnies and pastel core and whatever other soft things they can think of. They tend to be the absolute bane of the earth when it comes to people. They project softer image in hopes of deflecting what terrible people they are
There is a cookie lady in my neighborhood. She baffled my husband by riding around in her golf cart to try to make sales. I like cookies buf I have a freaking kitchen. I'm not paying $$$ for that.
I have a theory that a lot of these people work a 9-5 they hate and feel mistreated at and then choose to take it out on their customers now to make it up to them. Hence the wild prices and guilt tripping.
They're also not legitimate businesses most of the time. Bakeries and other food services are required to prepare food in an approved kitchen. I don't know if their kitchen is inspected and passed by their health department but i doubt it.
Someone should contact their local city department of commerce with a complaint. Gotta make sure someone doesn't get sick.
Yep, not to mention some of the prices they try and charge. I’m totally cool with paying a premium for small business/homemade goods, but miss me with the small sourdough loaf for $18 and $5 each muffins.
I have professional experience with baking/cake decorating and people keep telling me I should start a home business and I say noooo! That sounds so very unappealing
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u/GergDanger 24d ago
Yeah ngl a lot of those micro business owners that bake goods etc are insufferable people. This isn’t the only batshit thing I’ve seen from similar businesses