Loblaws, #EqualCanada and The Weekend #CBias

A few weeks ago, a good friend dropped me a line.

“I see you’re still searching for Equal Sweetener,” she quipped. “Ever try the grocery store?”

Touché.

And so I found myself at my neighbourhood Loblaws this morning, where my mission – which I chose to accept – was to buy Equal Sweetener and incorporate it into a recipe (post to follow).

The circumstances surrounding the visit were less than ideal. Reid, who had been suffering with a cold for a few days, suddenly took a turn for the worse last night. We took him to the walk-in clinic early this morning, where thankfully the physician on call also happened to be our family doctor. (Love when things work out like that.) Diagnosis: double ear infection. Poor baby! So after his appointment, we decided to multitask by doing a quick grocery run while filling his prescription at the Loblaws Pharmacy.

Now it’s known far and wide that Torontonians are afraid of snow. (Yes, the former mayor of Toronto called in the army to help us dig out of the white stuff in 1999.) But based on the lack of customers at Loblaws today, it appears that we’re afraid of the cold too. With temperatures hovering around -15 degrees Celsius with the windchill, the supermarket was empty for a Saturday morning.

(Seriously, where is everybody? It’s not that cold!)

The apparent lack of shoppers suited me just fine, though, as I was wheeling around two sick little dudes and wanted to be in and out quickly. As we shop at Loblaws 98% of the time, I always make it a point to check out the online flyer before we go to the supermarket – in this case, while in the doctor’s waiting room. A few years ago, I was quite the “couponer” – comparing ads, looking for sales and of course, clipping coupons. But now, I normally don’t have the time (or energy/desire/will) to drive around the city scouring for the best deals, so I stick to my local Loblaws market where the food is always fresh and the prices are reasonable – especially if you shop the flyer.

However, I do love a good promotion and am normally attracted to “Dollar DAY$”, “2 for $$” and “Buy One Get One” promos and deals. In fact, when I see a flyer advertising a plethora of savings on my favourite brands, I’ll make the exception and shop elsewhere for the week. But today I lucked out – not only is Loblaws very close to home, but they’ve currently got their own “Dollar DAY$” promotion going on. Score!

(Note: Also missing from today’s shopping adventure were what Ryder affectionately calls “Sample Ladies”. One of Loblaws’ more brilliant marketing strategies is to have designated employees dole out samples of foods on promotion. We are normally convinced to purchase at least 50% of what we try – so although we missed our regular morning snacking buffet, it was probably better on the wallet.)

One of the foods on sale I was abnormally excited about were packages of strawberries: 3 for $5.00! Considering the very same strawberries were retailing for $3.99 per pack last week, I couldn’t wait to load up my cart. I grabbed three packages, but after tasting them this afternoon, will be sending my husband to grab three more tomorrow! Looking forward to freezing them for smoothies and baking.

Speaking of baking, I had originally decided on a baked goody for my Equal Sweetener showcase recipe – Double Chocolate Brownies. (Drool.) But, while sifting through Equal Canada’s oh-so-yummy photos on Facebook, I noticed quite the selection of savoury recipes, including this one for Asian Chicken and Broccoli Stir–Fry.

“Easy to make spicy/sweet Oriental skillet combining chicken, broccoli florets, red peppers, onions, water chestnuts and ramen noodles. A meal in one – just add fresh fruit for dessert.”

Reasoning that a healthy, low-fat stir-fry is much better on the waistline than brownies, I’m feeling quite positive and excited about my choice. Next stop: the baking aisle at Loblaws.

As you can see, there is no shortage in the variety of sugar and sugar substitutes. And based on the photos below, it’s obvious that I had no trouble at all finding Equal in the store. At first glace, I was able to identify three (3) different Equal Brand Sweetener products - Equal Classic Packets (100 and 200 count), Equal Classic Tablets and Equal Classic Spoonful. Also worth noting: the products are displayed at eye level, which is traditionally reserved for best-selling items.

I settled on a 100-count package of Equal Classic Packets (regular price $5.99), mainly because my recipe called for just three packets, and the rest would stay fresh for use in coffee, tea or other recipes. I threw it in my somewhat empty cart and proceeded to dash through the rest of the store – I had a sick baby to tend to!

This grocery run was much more tame than our usual weekly stock-up, but I was generally just there to grab the sale items from the flyer while waiting for Reid’s prescription to be filled. Plus, the lack of “Sample Ladies” kept our impulse buying in check :) I’ll be back next week to share the recipe for Asian Chicken and Broccoli Stir–Fry and my thoughts on the dish!

(Find more information on #EqualCanada via @EqualCanada and Equal Canada on Facebook.)

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias The opinions on this blog are my own.