Costco adding vegan-friendly item to food courts

Costco rarely changes the items it offers in its in-store food courts, so it’s worth note that Live Kindly is reporting today that Costco is adding açaí bowls beginning in July. The new offering has been tested in select stores in Oregon, California and Hawaii.

‪https://www.livekindly.co/costco-adds-a-vegan-acai-bowl-to-its-food-court-menu‬

We can all afford to shave again

After years of flirting with poking the bear, Costco has finally  decided to punch Gillette in the nose by introducing its own 3-blade razor. Costco joints Harry's, Dollar Shave Club and others who dared to go up against the Proctor & Gamble behemoth. And, they're winning and have Gillette running scared.

Costco is selling a package of 14 cartridge blades and a handle for $20. This compares to Gillette's 3-blade Mach3 package of 14 blades and handle for $30, which is a sale price over its regular price of $35. And, Costco also has the 16-blade pack of Fusion5 blades on sale for $35, a $10 savings. No handle included in this offer. They may have to make those sale prices permanent after the Kirkland shaving entry.

After years of getting beaten up by upstarts like Harry's, Gillette has suffered major share losses. Recently, the Proctor & Gamble unit has been fighting back with "Made in America" TV ads and major price cuts. Gillette also seems to have abandoned its furious rush to constantly add new innovations to its products, all the while, raising prices to astronomical highs. I can remember on a couple of years ago, the 5-blade Fusion5 16-blade pack at Costco was pushing $60. But, compare that to what consumers are paying in drug stores where Gillette just "cut" the price of a 5-blad cartridge from $5 to $3.74. That's still a whopping $60 for 16 blades, compared to $35 at Costco.

Remember, Gillette sold at its all-time high in 2005 when P&G paid $57 billion for the brand. Its market share has declined from 70% to 50% since 2010. One can't help but wonder if consumers haven't been licking their lips at getting revenge on Gillette's outrageous price hikes.

So, it may be that Costco can just smell blood in the water (no pun intended). With Gillette being attacked on all fronts and feeling the pain, maybe Costco just feels it's time to get in on this.

I recently purchased the Kirkland offering. The handle is plain looking, but has a nice heft. it's rubberized, so comfortable to hold and hold onto. Besides, you get a new handle every time you buy new blades, assuming Costco doesn't plan to sell only the blades.

The blades work well. No nicks, no cuts and a very close shave. I only used it once, so no idea how long the blades will last. This has been one of Gillette's selling points — that it's blades last a long time. And, I can attest to that. They also don't have a trimmer blade, same as the Gillette 3-blade cartridge. But, at these prices, that's a minor issue.

Pricewise, the Kirkland blades are pretty much the cheapest. They are priced at about $1.43 per blade vs. Harry's $1.88 per blade. Costco has a long reputation for working with top-line suppliers to produce its Kirkland branded products, so one would expect these blades to be of excellent quality. No clue who actually makes them, but think of somebody like Harry's.

These are well worth a try. For the price, you won't be disappointed.

Update 7/6: I’ve been using this razor a couple of weeks. I continue to be impressed. I get a great, close shave that is comfortable. I have noticed that it’s not as great for several days growth. I usually shave every other day. When I push that to three days, it’s not as effective and requires more passes than normal. Otherwise happy and the price is amazing.