Rango S.
Google
As a Carolinas-born lover of quality spices, I’ve been a Spicewalla fan since their early days. I read the newsletters, watch the cooking videos, and cook like crazy with the products. But they’ve made some questionable changes to their business model that I cannot abide.
Until recently, customers could order spices in the attractive metal tins and also order refills by the bag. Refills present an economical, environmentally sensible solution. But they nixed the refills.
Because the unit price for the tinned spices is substantially higher, Spicewalla products now break the bank for my household. If I’m making a BBQ rub, I might go through an entire tin in one go! Plus, I’ve got now got this empty tin to deal with.
I wrote the company. They said the decision to eliminate refills is environmentally sound, because the paper sachets have plastic lining. This is true, but when you open the tins, guess what? The spices are packaged in… plastic.
Oh, but they also tell me the tins are recyclable. Yet they are magnetic, which suggests they are not aluminum, which suggests they are not recyclable.
But they are at least reusable, one might argue. Yes. They were at one time reusable… for refills of spices!
It feels like, whatever their justification, this company is abandoning the principles that made it awesome. Where they started as a brand respected by home cooks and commercial kitchens, they are shifting to the boutique markets frequented by bougie wine moms who need to buy a last-minute gift for their neighbor to prove they visited Asheville.
Fortunately I have other options because capitalism. Penzey’s sources quality spices, and all their products ship in glass containers. Plus there’s a great spice vendor a few towns over who will fill tare containers. Lucky me, I have all these empty tins!
