frankv:

 

 

 

Made in China. May contain melanin.

 

 

It's the diethylene glycol you have to worry about in Chinese toothpaste.

sbiddle:

 

frankv:

 

 

 

Made in China. May contain melanin.

 

 

 

It's the diethylene glycol you have to worry about in Chinese toothpaste.

 

 

 

My wife always makes sure she has NZ toothpaste with her on her trips to China because of this.

I am surprised at the passion this seemingly harmless subject has engendered. I like Aim because I prefer the  taste and texture and I have used it for years. I am not particularly bothered by its chemical constituents. If I have survived it this long, it is not likely to kill me now.

I also like being able to find products I prefer and not have them disappear when I have long been accustomed to being able to acquire them. Neither of these things are end of the world problems, however. When I could no longer obtain the original Aim that I preferred, I got used to the Mint version. If that also disappears I will get used to something else. I do wish we had more choice in supermarkets, because I don't like any of the ones we currently have, but I have got used to that as well. As someone has pointed out, these are very much first world problems.

Rikkitic:

 

I do wish we had more choice in supermarkets, because I don't like any of the ones we currently have, but I have got used to that as well.

 

Be very careful what you wish for.. Because it's clear you don't realise the consequences of that happening. If you want to see what will happen, look at Australia.

New entrants can only compete on one thing - price. Because the industry is already very low margin the quickest way drive prices down by opting for home brands whyich you control the pricing of end to end. You don't have manufacturers wanting to maintain a RRP or negotiate promotional pricing with them.

The entry into Australia of Aldi has seen greater competition in the marketplace, and also seen a massive move towards house brands in both Woolworths and Coles. It's seen significant rationalisation of brands and products because warehousing products in a DC that don't sell isn't an efficient way to run a business when the competition has lower operating costs because they offer such a small range of products.