Email to Douwe Egberts

To: “Douwe Egberts Consumer Relations UK”
Subject: Refill Packs
From: Craig
Date: Monday, 5 September 2011, 19:15

I have been drinking coffee for around 25 years, and over this time I have tried most brands on offer. 8 years ago I finally settled on a brand I like; Douwe Egberts.

Since then, whenever I want a hot drink, I have been drinking nothing but coffee made from your freeze dried coffee granules. I find that, when I need a quick refreshing cup of coffee, your product really hits the spot. Very well done on producing such a good product and long may my continued appreciation of your product continue!

I’ve found that I if I fancy a change there is no need to buy a different brand, just a different blend of Douwe Egberts. I see no point in messing around trying to find a secondary brand that I can tolerate when your products continually fit my desires. As I know you don’t mess with your recipe, I know I will like it and subsequently I prefer to not mess with my preference. In the profound lyrical genius of Fat Fabio, “Don’t mess with the best, coz the best don’t mess.” Wise, wise words, Mr. Fat.

For the past 8 years I have been buying glass jars of Douwe Egberts Instant Pure Gold coffee. Recently I noticed that you are now selling refill packs alongside the jars. This struck me as a great idea! Instead of buying yet another glass jar, (that has to go through the whole process of being recycled,) I can now opt to buy a plastic refill pack (that cannot be as readily recycled). Essentially it costs less, and there is less waste in my bin at the end of the day. Perfecto!

When nearing the end of my most recent jar I decided to take the plunge; I opted to buy a refill pack instead of a bulky glass jar. I kept the refill pack to one side until the jar was completely empty. My thought was that I had to empty the jar in its entirety before adding the refill as that way, as with stock rotation in shops, the oldest coffee doesn’t then stay at the bottom of the jar.

(Incidentally, I once bought a jar of Marmite from Asda. When I got home I noticed that the sell-by date was 1 day away. Now, I like Marmite, but not enough to consume an entire jar in less than 24 hours, but THAT, my friends, is what happens when people don’t rotate their stock as they should.)

When I had extracted the final granules of coffee with my spoon and my jar was totally empty, I tipped the contents of the refill pack into it. This is where my query arises…

Why is it called a “refill” pack?

A glass jar contains 400g of delicious coffee. The “refill” pack contains just 300g of delicious coffee. It doesn’t contain the same amount of coffee as a jar can hold, and so it doesn’t “fill” a jar. So why is it called a “refill” pack?

As the pack only contains 75% of the amount a jar can hold, should it not be called a “top up” pack?

Why not consider renaming it? The benefits of rebranding it as a top up pack are many fold.

1) It will be factually correct.
2) It will save on typesetting costs, assuming your typesetter changes printing per letter (“refill” has 6 letters, whereas “topup” has just 5)
3) People will not be mislead into thinking that the pack will actually “fill” a jar
4) You can have another “product launch” where millions of people, like myself, will get to hear about their favourite coffee.

I’m not complaining, I’m just curious.

Craig.

From: Consumer RelationsUK
To: Craig
Sent: Thursday, 8 September 2011
Subject: Douwe Egberts

Hi Craig

Thanks for getting in touch, and thanks for choosing Douwe Egberts.

Although we sell 400g jars through some cash & carry/wholesale outlets, all of the main supermarkets stock our smaller jars, which are now either 95g or 190g. When we first launched a refill pack, earlier this year, we decided on 150g packs, as these would work for both our usual sizes – as the refill packs are re-sealable, if you have a smaller jar, you can save any excess for later, after refilling it, and if you have a larger jar, the 150g would refill it comfortably without any spillage. We don’t have a 300g refill pack, so we’re puzzled that the pack you bought states this volume.

The term ‘top-up’ never came to mind in the launch of the refill packs, and, as ‘top-up’ tends to suggest that it should be used to add more to what’s already in the jar, we think that refill is more suited to the product, but thank you very much for taking the time to contact us with your comments, which will be conveyed to our Marketing Team.

Thanks again for getting in touch, and please always feel welcome to contact us again, if we may be of any further assistance.

Very best regards,

Lee
Consumer Relations
Douwe Egberts

To: “Douwe Egberts Consumer Relations UK”
Subject: Refill Packs
From: Craig
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2011, 12:55

Hi Lee,

Thanks for offering a welcome if I ever wanted to contact you again.

No wonder you’re puzzled though; the jar size errors were my mistake. I MEANT to say that the jar could hold 200g, (but I paid £4.00 for it,) and the refill pack held 150g, (but I paid £3.00 for it.) I seem to have transposed the cost (£) into the volume (g). Genuinely sorry about that!

I have not yet seen the 190g jar. Is it slightly cheaper than the 200g jar? (pic attached of my 200g label.)

I do understand your point about the refill pack but, personally, I’d prefer to have a top-up pack. I know you say that “the 150g would refill it comfortably without any spillage” but the only thing I’m having problems with is that it wouldn’t re “fill” it. To my mind the pack would have to contain 200g to be able to “fill” a 200g jar. Having swapped emails with you, I think we’ve reached that friendly point in our conversation where I’d feel comfortable if you were to tell me if I’m being pedantic, but only if you genuinely believe I am. Just tell me, “Craig, you’re being pedantic” and I’ll drop it!

In the meantime, would you mind if I designed some stickers and printed them out, so people who felt the same way that I do could apply them atop any refill pack they buy? You could maybe offer them as free downloads on your site? That way you get to keep the refill pack, but your site will invariably get more visitors as people wanting free stickers come for a browse? Tempted?

Just say the word and I’ll crack on with designing stickers. Don’t worry – I have years of experience in both MS Paint AND OCP Art Studio on the ZX Spectrum, although I did misplace my Lenslok (the security device issued with original versions of OCP Art Studio to prevent people copying it,) many years ago. I’m sure that once I’m given the go ahead, everything I’ve learnt will come back to me. It’ll be just like riding a bike! (But without being sat on a saddle, wearing a helmet, hurtling down a hill at breakneck speed towards an oncoming Astramax Van. Without brakes.)

Let me know your thoughts on this exciting venture!

Craig.