Bugles have gone extinct in Canada. But fans of the discontinued corn snack, take heart: there’s a substitute | CBC Radio

The disappearance of Bugles, an ingredient utilized in making many vacation recipes, has some Canadians looking for alternate options to the delectably crunchy corn snack.

Bugles are nonetheless offered within the U.S., however have been discontinued in Canada for a number of months — simply one of many newest merchandise American meals producers aren’t any longer promoting right here.

General Mills, the U.S. firm that manufactures Bugles, didn’t reply to CBC’s calls or emails however has replied to a whole lot of clients on Twitter, saying it hopes Canadians “can find a tasty substitute elsewhere.”

That substitute may exist within the snack aisle of your native Asian grocery store, based on Canadian followers of Bugles on Reddit. It’s known as Tongari Corn — a salty, crispy, horn-shaped corn snack that is been made by House Foods in Japan because the Seventies.

Over the previous couple of weeks, the Umami Shop in Lethbridge, Alta., has had clients are available each day asking for “Japanese Bugles” to make use of of their selfmade nuts and bolts recipes, says proprietor Patricia Luu.

“We only have one bag left,” she mentioned.

With her provide operating low, Luu has ordered extra of the Japanese corn snacks from her provider in Vancouver. She says she received his “last six cases.”

Loch Willy went in search of Tongari Corn at 4 Asian grocery shops in Saskatoon, however they have been offered out.

CBC Radio’s Cost of Living discovered a bag in Calgary and shipped it to him so he may style check the purported Bugles substitute alongside the unique snacks. Willy had three baggage of Bugles in his possession due to his snowbird mother and father who carried them again of their baggage for him from Arizona.

Willy makes use of Bugles to make nuts and bolts each Christmas and says his household recipe can’t be made with out them.

“They have that distinct cone shape, they’re the finger hat. Honestly, if we were growing up and they weren’t in there, we would have noticed and been like, ‘Why? Where’s the Bugles?'”

When Willy and his daughter, Kiara, tore open the 2 totally different corn snacks, they have been shocked at how related the 2 merchandise regarded.

“I was skeptical, but wow!” Willy mentioned. “I think most people wouldn’t know the difference.”

After a number of tastings, the Willys concluded that Tongari Corn was barely “spicier” than Bugles however had the identical texture. Overall, a “pretty good substitute” for any nuts and bolts recipes.

“Japanese Bugles look like they’re going to save Christmas,” mentioned Willy.

Bugles not solely U.S. snack to go away Canada 

In the final 5 years, Canada has additionally misplaced different American merchandise like Skippy peanut butter, Ragu pasta sauce and Grape-Nuts cereal.

Bagel Bites, a Kraft Heinz product, disappeared final month, together with Cosmic Brownies, Oatmeal Cream Pies and Swiss Rolls — all the line of Little Debbie boxed treats, manufactured by McKee Foods Corporation. In an electronic mail assertion, a spokesperson for the corporate informed CBC the choice to “cease selling” the Little Debbie treats was not made by the model itself however by its Canadian distributor.

When it involves distribution, Canada is a “notoriously costly” place to do business, says UBC Sauder School of Business advertising professor Yann Cornil. As an enormous nation with a low inhabitants density, Cornil mentioned it is costly for firms to ship merchandise from coast-to-coast.

“And there are requirements for packaging to be translated into French and English. That increases the cost for U.S. brands, so sometimes the decision is to just discontinue those products.” 

Competition within the snack aisle

Another cause Bugles could have left the Canadian market is as a result of the snack was going through an excessive amount of competitors from store-owned manufacturers like President’s Choice, Kirkland Signature and Great Value.

According to its 2022 annual report, most General Mills merchandise compete “with generic and private label products that are generally sold at lower prices” and notes that financial uncertainty could push some shoppers to buy extra store-owned manufacturers. 

“In those circumstances, we could experience a reduction in sales of higher-margin products or a shift in our product mix to lower-margin offerings,” the report mentioned.

Every main grocery retailer in Canada has a minimum of one, if not a number of, of its personal non-public manufacturers. A Sobeys spokesperson mentioned the corporate provides a whole lot of latest merchandise yearly beneath its Compliments model. Western Canadian grocer Calgary Co-op launched its retailer manufacturers — Founders & Farmers and Cal & Gary’s — three years in the past and already has greater than 1,000 merchandise on cabinets.

“In the past, private labels were just cheap versions or imitations of a popular brand at a lower price and probably also at a lower quality,” Cornil mentioned. “But that’s no longer the case. Now the private label can compete with the national brands even at the high end, even when it comes to satisfying niche segments of consumers.”

The snack aisle, specifically, is the place shoppers will discover all kinds of store-owned merchandise — from low-salt and sea salt potato chips to gluten-free crackers and vegan cookies — and so they get prime shelf house.

Cornil says that is deliberate and only one technique Canadian grocery shops use to encourage consumers to decide on their labels over title manufacturers like Ruffles, Lays and Bugles. 

Private manufacturers are additionally usually cheaper as a result of grocery chains have economies of scale — they make huge orders for all their shops, which permits them to barter decrease costs with the producers that produce their merchandise.

And with inflation nonetheless operating excessive, Canadians are reaching extra usually for retailer manufacturers. 

“Pretty much everyone buys private label groceries at some point,” mentioned Brian Ettkin with Numerator Canada. The market analysis agency’s newest numbers present that in comparison with 2021, non-public label grocery gross sales in Canada are up 4 per cent this yr.

Trend towards ‘more healthy’ snacks

It may be that Canadians simply aren’t that jazzed anymore about America’s No. 1 Finger Hat. Bugles have been round because the Sixties and Cornil says tastes have modified since then.

“With snack foods, it’s an interesting market because there has been shifting demand for healthier, natural, less processed foods. And you see a lot of these are sometimes 50- to 70-year-old brands that clearly do not satisfy the new demands of consumers. So the companies, the manufacturers either have a choice to completely reformulate their products. Or to discontinue them in specific markets.”

This is not the primary time Bugles have been discontinued north of the border. It occurred in 2010, and the snack was again in Canada a yr later. 

That does give Bugles followers like Willy hope, however within the meantime he is discovering different methods to get his salty corn snack repair. Whether that is shopping for up baggage of Tongari Corn or driving his mother and father’ automobile dwelling to Saskatchewan from Arizona.

“I’ve already told them, ‘If you guys don’t want to drive home, I’ll fly down and bring your vehicle back. But I’m going to be filling it up with Bugles for all.”