In yesterday’s discussion of how unit pricing can save you money, John made a passing comment that merits closer attention. He wrote:
I use unit price all the time when shopping and it’s super convenient that the stores do it for you. I did an analysis of spices that come prepackaged versus a bulk food store here and the difference is ridiculous!
John wanted to stock up on basic spices, but didn’t want to spend a fortune. He priced three different brands at a local grocery store to find out how much it would cost if he purchased 100g of each item on his list. He found that:
- If he bought bottles of a popular national brand it would cost $86.89.
- The same spices would only cost $40.22 from a lesser-known brand.
- Generic spices would only set him back $19.01.
After pricing spices in the grocery store, he priced them at Bulk Barn, a Canadian bulk-food warehouse. 
He found that the spices were much, much cheaper when purchased in bulk. They cost him only $7.58, less than than 10% of buying the national brand. (Note that here “in bulk” means John bought them loose, scooping his portions into bags.)
Looking at a larger list of spices, John would have spent an astounding $175.17 to buy the big-name brand. The same ingredients cost only $11.36 at Bulk Barn.
Some people are quick to dismiss the value of frugality. “Pinching pennies doesn’t pay,” they say. I disagree. Obviously it’s important to boost your income, but thrift takes little time and can yield huge dividends. Frugality is about changing habits and perspective. Besides, it’s easier for most people to learn the value of unit pricing than it is for them to start their own business.
John’s story makes me curious. When we were in college, Kris and I shopped at a bulk food store. We’d go home with bags and bags of spices, cereal, dried fruit, and other food for cheap. Looking back, I haven’t been inside such a place since we were married fifteen years ago. Do they still exist in Portland? Apparently so, but just barely. (Costco is not the same thing. You can’t buy a small amount of anything at Costco. Also, Portland does have Limbo, a produce/spice stand next to the Trader Joe’s on 39th. Limbo has an entire aisle of bulk spices.)
[A Financial Flogging: Spice up your wallet, image by Adam Baker]
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Buying in bulk is a great idea, but you’ve got to be careful with spices. Some will lose their potency over time.
Depending how much you buy, you may end up paying more real dollars than you would have buying the smaller spice container, even though either would be sufficient and both would go bad before you can use it all.
We bought a Costco package of dried parsley that was good at first but now has absolutely no taste. We still use it, but now it’s just green flakes to make mashed potatoes look better.
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You’re right, Rich. I think one of the great things about buying in bulk, though, is that you can control your portions. When you buy spice bottles, you’re taking whatever fits in that standard bottle, whether you’ll use it or not. But when you buy in bulk, you’re able to buy only what you think you will use.
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Also, it’s not clear in my summary, but what John is doing is buying loose spices in bulk, not pre-packaged spices. I’ll edit my post.
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Is there any easy way to find similar stores in other cities?
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Unit price shopping is great and I agree, when you buy only what you need from a bulk shop, you can save a lot of money and use the spices and dried herbs before they loose their flavor. I’ve also found that it’s much more cost effective for me to buy the ones I use often (garlic, cumin, chile powders, dried basil) at an ethnic grocery store (or find in the ethnic aisle in my regular store). They are in bags instead of bottles and cost a lot less than comparable quantities in the brand name/generic bottles.
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I don’t know a specific way to help find such stores in other cities, but a few names to consider would be Sprouts (www.sprouts.com – stores in CA, AZ, and TX), or Henry’s (www.henrysmarkets.com – southern CA) A Google search for “bulk foods” turned up a lot of different places – maybe you could refine that.
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Thanks for the post. I really enjoy these unit pricing articles. Does anyone have a website how long it takes spices to go bad? We personally use them very little that I think in five years, I would assume some would lose some of their flavor and such.
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JD, Winco Foods has a reasonably good bulk foods section. There is (or at least was) a store on SE 82nd just north of Clackamas Town Center, if that’s not too far from you.
Link to Winco store locations: http://www.wincofoods.com/locations.htm
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Ooh Bulk Barn looks awesome, I wish there was one near me.
I buy my spices in bulk at the Indian and Iranian grocery stores in my city. I’m not sure how they would compare with a bulk food store but they are considerably cheaper than my local supermarkets.
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One of the things I miss about living in PA and OH is proximity to Amish/PA Dutch stores. They will have small grocery stores that sell bulk items repackaged into smaller units, usually somewhat to much cheaper than brand name items. The last time I visited my parents, I stocked up on popcorn, brown sugar, noodles, and confectioner’s sugar. They will also carry spices, nuts, powdered mixes, and an impressive array of decorating sprinkles. They will also have hard to find items like cheddar cheese powder, wheat gluten, or dried buttermilk.
If you live near the Lancaster county area in PA, or near Holmes county in OH, it’s worth the trip, particularly if it’s in the summer and you can stock up on produce while you’re there. Oh, and shoo fly pie. Yum.
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Whole Foods has bulk spices. Yes, they’re probably more expensive that at other bulk stores, but it’s great if you only need 1 bay leaf or a teaspoon of a particular spice. The Whole Foods I go to also has bulk tea from Republic of Tea. It’s a great way to get some variety without having to buy an entire container of tea. I recently tried the blackberry sage tea and spent about $1.25 to get enough bulk tea for quite a few cups.
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I agree that bulk is much cheaper, and I’m all about cheap these days – as long as the quality is decent. One place in the Portland area you should really try, if you haven’t already, is Winco Foods. They have a *huge* bulk food section – beans,pastas, grains, nuts, spices, cereal, crackers, candy, tea bags, flour, sugar, etc. The bulk stuff is usually cheaper than the packaged stuff and, in addition, their other prices are significantly cheaper than other stores. Because it is so much cheaper, the store is very busy which means that the bulk food turns over frequently and is usually nice and fresh. I only shop at Winco, except for loss-leaders at Safeway or Albertson. I think there are Winco Foods in Idaho and Washington. We love Winco!
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Try Winco. It blew my mind that WINCO had a great bulk foods section, but it really, really does.
-Luny, out in Beaverton
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I love the Bulk Barn! What I like about it most is the fact that everything comes with no packaging.
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We find that there are great deals on spices at ethnic markets. The small indian grocery in a strip center by my house sells spices at about a third the price of our HEB. The packages do tend to be larger, but definitely not bulk size.
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Update – I forgot to mention a great place for spices: http://www.penzeys.com/ Penzeys has stores in many different areas, but they also do mail-order. Their catalog is full of fascinating history and information about various spices, as well as some interesting recipes. It also discusses the quantity issue. Their take on it tends toward the “buy smaller amounts often so you don’t end up with stale parsley” stance that is to be expected from a spice purveyor, but they present both sides. You can download a PDF version of their catalog from the web site. The quantity issue is discussed on page 4. If you do get a chance to visit one of their physical locations, it is an amazing experience.
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We get our loose spices at Henry’s Market in San Diego (I think they’re all over the west coast, but I’m not sure.) It’s not as cheap as a place like Bulk Barn, but it’s WAY cheaper than the prepackaged jars at the mega mart. The quality seems better too.
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I’ve still got a bunch of cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon that a friend bought for me at an Indian market. Unfortunately, we don’t leave there anymore, so when they run out I’ll have to look elsewhere. But being in DC may give me an edge.
Ethnic boutiques may price spices pretty high but stores which actually serve the demographic should have decent prices. I don’t know if they’re quite that good, though.
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Winco has a good spice, bean and pasta area at our store. You can buy as much as you want in plastic bags. I was amazed at how much cheaper it was to buy spices in this fashion. For years, I have always bought spices in those little “Spice Island” bottles – very expensive indeed. For the price I was paying for the little bottles, I can fill a plastic bag full of the stuff.
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I second buying spices from your local Amish or Mennonite communities. They also sell other non perishable items such as oats, dried fruits, chocolate chips, etc.
Jen – does the Amish in your area have a scratch and dent store? Near my area (Hazelton, IA) they buy up non perishables from grocery stores and sell them. The name is what they sell – scratch, dented, old packaged items. It is a true Iowa kind of experience – and dirt cheap if you don’t mind getting a mystery can with no labels
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JD, loved the post. It’s not just a cost savings issue, it can also be quality. The store brands often are of middle quality for top shelf prices.
I did a quick Google search and was disappointed that there don’t appear to be any bulk food stores in Houston. The closest I could find was Whole Foods.
Also, be careful what you buy in bulk. Many will last if stored properly, but some spices fade quickly. Also, some only start to fade after they have been ground. An old electric coffee grinder works wonders and the spices are significantly better than preground.
Another thing to consider is that you often get better results if you use fresh herbs. This can’t be bought in bulk but can often be grown. I haven’t bought rosemary, mint, time, or basil in years.
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Nice article, JD. Why didn’t you post this a month ago when I was needing ground cumin? I looked at various small bottles and cans for around five bucks each. A friend I was shopping with at the time suggested trying the Mexican section. Sure enough, a larger quantity of ground cumin in a bag for 99 cents. You’re not going to find all spices in the Mexican section, or any other ethnic section, but it does pay to know where to look. Also, here in the Portland area, Fred Meyer’s has a health food section that carries some spices in bulk. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t tell you which or how much you could save. Hey, JD, why don’t you run over there and find out for us?
P.S. It is also good to see that you now believe pinching pennies does pay, JD. For a small fee I might forget that you once said, “Pinching pennies doesn’t make sense(cents?).” I’m sure you wouldn’t want me mentioning that to your readers!
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Most mid-to-large co-ops have bulk options. We buy spices, flour, powdered milk, sugar, rice, beans, and many other dry goods this way.
You can save a tremendous amount of money over buying packaged items – though for most spices, it’s nice to have the right-sized bottle, so I buy bulk just for “refills.”
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My girlfriend and do our weekly grocery shopping at two stores – Whole Foods for specialty items and bulk foods like spices, lentils, nuts, etc, before going to the local grocery store for all of our standard stuff.
Whole Foods is pretty expensive for a lot of things, but their bulk spices and foods are fantastically priced and you are always getting pretty fresh stuff.
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Thanks for the linkage J.D. Another note as well: At least at the Bulk Barn, not everything is cheaper than prepackaged items from the supermarket. For example if you have a sweet tooth and want to buy some bulk Smarties (loose package: everything comes in big bins that you scoop into bags), then you WILL pay more per 100g than you would normally. Do your due diligence!
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Regarding the quality issue, I have heard from many people that in general spices spices start losing flavor immediately after being ground and in about 6 months most of the flavor is gone. I am not sure what the time frame is for herbs and of course the amount of air exposure that the spices and dried herbs have will affect how quickly they lose their flavor.
Regarding locations of good bulk spice stores. For any of you who live in the Metro Detroit area I would really recommend hitting up the Rafal Spice Company in the Eastern Market District. If you live more than 30 minutes away from Eastern Market, I wouldn’t make the trip unless you were going on a Saturday so you could also visit the Farmer’s Market.
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Here’s the thing about the example you cited, specifically…Spices are only good for about a year. So you should never buy more than you will use in a year. Now, there are only about 3 spices that I would use 100g of in a year: Pepper, Cumin, and Nutmeg.
So, if you can’t get a small enough quanity, these bulk purchases of spices are not a good buy. They are just another way to waste money. And valuable spices.
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My trouble with spices is that I don’t use them frequently enough to justify buying in bulk. If only I could round up some of my friends and neighbors and we could do some sort of group buying!
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JD, Fred Meyer also has loose spices in bulk, albeit probably not as large a selection as Whole Foods. But cheaper!
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Well, will you look at that. Comment #22 from Nick is somewhat monumental. That’s my cousin, friend, and former co-worker who never comments on blogs. Must be a slow day at the box factory.
Nick: wrote It is also good to see that you now believe pinching pennies does pay, JD. For a small fee I might forget that you once said, “Pinching pennies doesn’t make sense.” I’m sure you wouldn’t want me mentioning that to your readers!
Nick is absolutely correct. I did say this, but not in a personal finance context. (Though when I said it, I might have actually believed it applied to all aspects of life — I was young and stupid then.) I mean pinching pennies in business didn’t make sense if it cost dollars in the long run.
All the same, it’s amusing to think of me uttering those words now.
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JD
Thought you might want to know this
You are one of the top 100 finance blogs released by creditcard.org
http://www.creditcard.org/top-100-blogs.htm
Congrats!
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Limbo is okay, if you’re on that end of town. But every Fred Meyers has a bulk spice section with the basics, New Seasons has a much larger bulk spice section, People’s Coop has a bulk spice section including some esoteric stuff like annatto seeds, WinCo has an okay bulk spice section…
(For those of you who are all, “New Seasons?!”, most of these are Portland, OR- specific stores.)
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Don’t forget another benefit: it can be more Earth-friendly to buy in bulk. It is better to buy one big bag of rice/beans/spices than a whole bunch of little plastic containers. This way you reduce the amount of garbage you generate.
Anyone know of good bulk food stores in the Boston area? I generally use Whole Foods for these purchases.
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I buy almost all of my spices in bulk at our local food coop. Aren’t there coops in your area? You can buy a very small amount at a time if you’re concerned about it losing its punch. There are dozens and dozens of spices at my coop including some obscure special ones, and there is very good turnover so I am assured things will be fresh. And it’s not just spices. You can buy a ton of things in bulk at the coop, including flour, sugars, rices, pasta, nuts, snacks and a whole bunch of other things. It’s the way to go. And you aren’t paying for someone else’s profit. Profits go back into the store and to an annual rebate to members.
s
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The power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it. -Muad’Dib
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This is the second time today that I’ve run across a reference to Winco. I will definitely have to visit and see what they’ve got.
I concur with the recommendation for New Seasons. Their bulk stuff moves quick and never seems to stale. I also recommend them for organic and healthy stuff where you want to pay less than Whole Foods. But as a local you probably already know that.
You might write something about the two meanings of bulk (huge packages or take as much as you want into your own packaging) and how choices here affect finances (bulk toilet paper you can store, bulk strawberries not so much… unless you make jelly).
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Aaah, Limbo… reminds me of my college days, lots of hazy staggering up the hill from campus to get some fresh smoothies.
Whole Foods offers the same thing. It’s crazy to see the difference between the unit prices, and luckily the employees are kind enough to try and point it out when I’m looking at the prepackageds!
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I am a member of the Weavers Way Cooperative Market in Philadelphia. Co-ops are a great resource for produce, healthy food, and bulk staples or spices. Most co-ops have a yearly member contribution plus a schedule of member work hours in order to shop there. I find that the money and time spent is worth it for the benefits.
Here is a directory of Co-Ops in the US:
http://niany.com/food.coop.html
If you don’t have a co-op near you, I highly recommend going to an international market of some kind (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, mixed-Asian, Indian/Pakistani, Mexican, Latino, Italian) because you may find all the spices you need at very good prices. Some are in bulk, and others are packed in small plastic bags. I sometimes go to the Indian grocery in my city, buy bags of spices and then split them with friends. These are also excellent sources for bulk white and brown rices, and dried beans and peas.
D.B.
Philadelphia, PA
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Try Pensey’s!!!. They have a huge range on sizes and containers you can buy and are excellent quality. There are stores (We have one in Portland, OR for example)…..but mail order is their big buisiness. Check out their website. Some items I will choose to go the Indian/Asian etc stores for i.e. tumeric but for others I may still use the reg. supermarket on sale or Pensey’s. It will all depend on what you use and how often.
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Spices need to be fresh, otherwise there is no point to using them. They are also great money-saving ingredients, as you can make a cheap meal (cous cous, or lentil soup, or pasta sauce) taste gourmet, if you know how to spice it.
What I would recommend for anyone in Chicagoland is to go to the Spice House. Now. Thank me later.
Their spices are sold in bags or bottles, and all of them are of extremely high quality. Yum.
Someone else mentioned Penzey’s, which is the Spice House’s more expensive cousin (I believe the same family runs both, but they had some sort of falling out at some point). Anyway, if you plan on buying more than just a few spices, the Spice House website is also a good tool (but the shipping rates will kill you if you aren’t careful).
Another suggestion, if you want to buy spices for a specific recipe, but don’t know when you’ll use the spice again, is to buy whole spices. More annoying to work with in the short-term (you have to grind or grate them) but they last FAR longer (they have much less surface area than ground spices, so they aren’t exposed to as much air). Also, keep your spices in airtight containers (a well sealed plastic baggy is probably better than a jar for this).
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I make lots of spice centric Indian, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian, and Vietnamese foods. Here are my spice rules and tips:
~ Where possible always buy WHOLE bulk spices as they stay fresher longer
~ Try and buy specific spices from ethnic groceries where they are staples and are sold in quantity (cardamom, coriander and cumin from Indian groceries, Szechuan pepper from Chinese groceries, etc)
~ Grind what you need as you need it for best flavor
~ Store Spices in well sealed glass containers but don’t buy them from Storables! Pick a food you use a lot whose jars you can recycle into a uniform and growing spice collection (I picked tall thin jam jars whose lids sealed well and weren’t too offensive).
~ When you get a new recipe or book you’ll be using, read through it at the spice cupboard and note any spices that you don’t already have to build your shopping list. That way you can have a small amount of everything and be ready for anything as inspiration strikes you.
~ Keep old coffee grinders (blade not burr) to grind your fresh spices.
~ Buy a bulk pack of baking soda and use it in the grinder to help neutralize the flavor and oils of the last spice you worked with before moving onto the next one
~GC
P.s. In Seattle/Redmond I head to Viet Wah and Mayuri for bulk spices otherwise it’s the Madison Market Co-Op bulk section.
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If you want decent spices, find an actual spice store. You can buy any amount you want, and you’ll get something with flavor, rather than something that’s been on the shelf for 6 months or a year. At a spice store you might pay a little more for quality, but you’re paying for the flavor, right? Otherwise, why bother? If you’re in it to save money, just eat bland food. (And like the above posters have said, it doesn’t pay to buy a lot at once, because spices lose their potency pretty quickly.)
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JD – WinCo is just up I-5 from you at the Tigard / 72nd Street Exit. From your area, take I-5 north to 217, get in the farthest of the far right lanes on 217 and exit at 72nd. Head up a few blocks and turn left at the BIG 4-way stop.
They have bulk spices, candy, pasta, and beans in big barrels. It’s just north of the fresh veggies section.
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I use Penzey’s or Spice House. The man-thing has this predilection for purchasing spices at the Indian store. Quite frankly, none of them are good. After tempting him with Penzey’s curry blends, he hasn’t purchased them again. They might be very cheap, but some things you get what you pay for. They are clearly the generic equivalent. (spices were purchased at ethnic stores in the greater boston area and in the SF bay area)
I don’t feel bad buying the small containers from Penzeys. They’re all very good quality and I can try some of the mixes. Plus, it’s cheaper than the grocery store. I buy basil & chili powder in the larger packages.
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I absolutely love places that let me buy from bins like that! One of our locally run grocery stores has quite a few such bins for loose tea, coffee, rice, couscous, nuts, etc. There are still a few things they don’t carry that I wish they would — like loose spices. Maybe it’s time someone asked ; )
Anyhow, the price difference is absolutely amazing. I used to think couscous was a luxury food because the boxes at the chain store were super expensive. Now whole wheat couscous is one of my staples because I can get it for cheap.
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Buying in bulk is definitely a great way to save some money. The danger is getting carried away and buying more than what you really use. It has happened to me before, so now I watch what spoils faster. The Bulk Barn is one of our favorite spots to shop for ingredients especially baking supplies. Flour or chocolate chips are excellent buys. As for the spices, we try and purchase them in bulk but only in whole. It is a bit more work, but we grind what we need. We have found this is the best way to store spices the longest and one of the best ways to shop for spices.
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This has been said a couple times, but Winco has a pretty decent selection of bulk foods and spices. It seems like the variety of spices varies from store to store, though. They also seem to be good about carrying at least some whole wheat pasta, and whole wheat bread flour and the like. They also carry things like bulk-bird feed (I remember a post a while ago about you and your wife feeding birds).
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I’ve bought my spices in as-needed quantities for years. We live near Ann Arbor, so we have access to lots of healthy/natural grocers who sell dried herbs and spices in bulk.
Several years ago, I invested in a dozen tin containers from http://www.specialtybottle.com. I use these for storing my bulk spice purchases. They seal tightly and keep light out, which helps keep the spices fresh.
If you can avoid it, store your spices AWAY from heat — in other words, NOT over the stove! The heat will hasten the flavor deterioration process.
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@Jennifer: I never lived close enough to make a thorough examination of the area. There is one down here in GA, but it’s not close enough to make a regular stop and the deals are generally okay but not spectacular. I have never seen no-label cans. I know in The Tightwad Gazette, Amy talks about how state laws on salvage food can vary widely, so one state’s store could be a much better deal.
My parents live in PA, my mom and I went out to Lancaster when I visited last. I did see a sign for a salvage store, but didn’t want to stretch the trip out. It is on my list of places to check out next time we’re there!
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Fred Meyer and New Seasons stores generally have decent bulk food departments, as well as bulk spices. They both have great organic selections (and since buying in bulk is so much less expensive, I have an easy time justifying the “extra” expense of organic foods…).
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