Why don't they sell the interesting flavors in the US?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the availability of diverse flavors of products, particularly cough drops like "Fisherman's Friend," in different countries, with a focus on the contrast between offerings in the US and Europe. Participants explore the reasons behind these differences, including market preferences, regulatory issues, and cultural tastes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the limited flavors of Fisherman's Friend available in the US compared to Europe, expressing surprise at the regional differences in product offerings.
  • Another participant suggests that FDA regulations may deter marketers from introducing a wider variety of products in the US.
  • A different viewpoint highlights the lack of diversity in US products, comparing it to the more varied selection of tropical fish available in Europe.
  • One participant mentions that even identical products can have different formulations depending on the market, citing examples like Heinz ketchup.
  • Several participants express disappointment at the inability to find certain flavors or products online, emphasizing the excitement of discovering unique items while traveling.
  • One participant shares experiences of encountering flavors in Canada that are not available in the US, raising questions about market dynamics.
  • Another participant reflects on the idea that regional tastes may influence product availability, suggesting that colder regions might have different preferences than warmer ones.
  • One participant points out that major brands are becoming ubiquitous across Europe, reducing the novelty of local products.
  • A participant shares a link to a website offering a variety of flavors, indicating that some products can be found online despite regional limitations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the reasons behind the differences in product availability, with no consensus reached on the primary factors influencing these disparities. Some agree on the existence of limited options in the US, while others propose various explanations for the observed phenomena.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that cultural tastes and regulatory environments may play significant roles in product availability, but these factors remain complex and are not fully resolved in the discussion.

RPinPA
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This meditation is prompted by the cold I'm currently suffering. One of the products I like is a very intensely-flavored cough drop called "Fisherman's Friend". I found a mostly-full package in the house and commented to my wife that it was Mint flavor. "We must have picked that up in Germany" she said, and on inspecting the package I confirmed she was right. It was in Germany that we'd seen this product come in a huge variety of different flavors.

I've been enjoying my mint Fisherman's Friends, so today I decide to do some investigating to see if I could order more off the internet, or find other flavors. What I found confirmed my suspicions. If you go to the UK page you can find 10 different flavors (or flavours). France for some reason has fewer, only 6. Germany, true to our recollection, is the champion with 19. But alas, in the US you can only find four: Original and three boring sugar-free flavors.

It's not just cough drops, I've noticed many times on travel that there are flavors (of drinks especially) that you never see in the US. Are our tastes really so different?

Actually I find it's not just the US I'm surprised at. I'm surprised at the range of offerings of Fisherman's Friend just across the EU, the difference in France, Germany and the UK. I really thought, naively I suppose, that marketing would be less regional in the modern world.

Still, couldn't the marketers see fit to try some of the European products on us poor provincials?
 
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RPinPA said:
us poor provincials?
..., who are subject to FDA regulation, and "marketing" is not willing to spend the extra money to get the extra clearances?
 
That is interesting.
I like those FF cough drops too, but never heard of the other flavors.
Do they work as well?

Why not in the US?
In many ways there seems to be less diversity of products in the US.

An example I am familiar with is in tropical fish selection.
I used to buy imported fish so I could breed them and resell them to labs interested in researching them.
In comparison with the imported fish in the US, EU fish imports are much more diverse and interesting.
This may be based on a long history of people bringing back novel fish from other parts of the world to Europe.

There also seems to be a smaller market for unusual fish in the US.
I some fish from India from one of the two regular unusual fish importers in the US. Since they are relatively large (3-4 inches) I figure that with a couple pair of breeding fish (they lay 2,000-4,000 eggs at a time) I could supply the entire US demand for them if I want to. They are not that wanted, although they are fine fish.
 
I don't think that the FDA is involved. The products I know can be bought in every supermarket and is not a registered cough drug. It's just a mint sweet, placed next to Wrigley gums. They advertise it with "Are they too tough, are you too weak".

I found out that even identical products aren't identical. I had a hot Heinz ketchup bought in Spain and back home, the same product has been less spicy. On tv they showed a food company (forgotten the product, chips or so) which admitted to have different recipes depending on the market. I could imagine that even within the US recipes might differ between Wisconsin and Nevada.
 
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Whenever I travel, I shop for unusual / unavailable foods, sauces, and spices. I love wandering through the shops and stores, seeing all the items I don't see at home.

It is kind of disappointing that you can't find what you want online.
 
Even in Canada you can find US manufactured products with flavors not available in the US.
 
There's a lot that can't be found in the US. Many's the time I've come home from a hard day's work wishing I could have a tall cool glass of Pocari Sweat.

1576025727103.png


And don't get me started on Irn Bru. ("Made in Scotland from girders!")
 
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Coca-cola in Israel(1978) had added lemon flavor and was VERY sweet because it is meant to be poured over ice and diluted. With the influx of Americans since then that may have changed.
 
gmax137 said:
It is kind of disappointing that you can't find what you want online.
Want to try this: https://www.awafs.de/
gmax137 said:
I love wandering through the shops and stores, seeing all the items I don't see at home.
Oh yes, me, too. It was so exciting to see what is offered in supermarkets abroad. Not fundamentally different, but different enough to be new. However, the fun in Europe has gone. You find the same major brands throughout any supermarket in the EU. And even on a street market in the deep Caucasus I found German washing powder, Nutella and so on ...

Not long and everything is only Unilever, Kraft and Nestlé.
 
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I live in Canada and have encountered both of the following:

(1) Products or flavours available in the US but not in Canada

(2) Products or flavours available in Canada but not in the US

I personally would have thought that given the larger consumer population in the US would mean that situation #1 above would be more common (substituting Canada with any other country in the world), so I find it curious that this isn't necessarily the case.
 
  • #11
StatGuy2000 said:
I personally would have thought that given the larger consumer population in the US would mean that situation #1 above would be more common (substituting Canada with any other country in the world), so I find it curious that this isn't necessarily the case.
As I understood it, it's the tastes which are different, not the markets. It made kind of sense to me as I heard of this position from a food designer. People in cold areas eat probably different than those in very warm regions. This might not be the case on single examples, like me who hoped to find a Ketchup which actually deserved the label hot, although I do not live in an especially warm climate. However, it's the average which counts. I think I have observed that this average taste changes over time, but that takes decades.
 
  • #12
gmax137 said:
Whenever I travel, I shop for unusual / unavailable foods, sauces, and spices. I love wandering through the shops and stores, seeing all the items I don't see at home.

It is kind of disappointing that you can't find what you want online.
Amazon might be worth checking, since the site/company lists some products that are very difficult or impossible to find in some persons' region.
 

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