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Week 4: Jams at CVS by Mister M

My previous trip was at Dean & DeLuca the pinnacle of “haute cuisine” in Georgetown. This week I decided to keep it more impromptu and spontaneous and shopped at the CVS store on Pennsylvania Avenue at the center of the Foggy Bottom area.                                                       

The CVS Pharmacy is a subsidiary of the American retail and health care company CVS Health. Currently, CVS Pharmacy is the largest pharmacy chain in the United States with over 10,000 stores. CVS sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the-counter medications, beauty products, cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, home health care products, food, and healthcare services in its medical mini-clinics. Products at CVS are usually more expensive compared to other supermarkets as the prices reflect and incorporate the expenses for the convenience of the CVS location and the 24-hour availability.

This was my first time searching for jams at this specific CVS store as I usually buy them at either Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I went to the CVS store on Penn Avenue for jam-hunting on Wednesday at around 5pm after finishing all my schoolwork. Honestly, I found it hard to find the jam section at CVS. Instinctively, I knew they would be located on the first floor, but it took me more time than I expected to find them. As I entered the store from 21st street I immediately turned to the right and after spending at least 10 minutes walking around the store, I finally found them. They were located on aisle 15 at the “Cereal, Coffee, Groceries” section.

Like at many other stores, jams are located together with peanut butter and honey. This time, however, jams occupy only half a shelf. Obviously, jams here are not organic or GMO free and are only made from grapes, strawberries, and oranges compared to the more exotic jams at Whole Foods and Dean & DeLuca.  

All the jams at CVS are in plain see-through big and bulky plastic or glass jars with very simple labels on them. Prices are also very average ranging from $3.39-$4.69 pre-tax. After I made my small research on the costs, tags, and labels I tried to walk around the store and pay attention to the people who would stop and buy any. To my surprise, not even one person stopped to buy any jams or jellies within almost thirty minutes.

So, this week’s conclusion from a jam connoisseur: CVS needs to promote the jams more effectively and better label them if it really wants to profit from them.

[allaboutfoodgwu]

One last time: the Jams at Walgreens by Mister M.

For my 5th and final blog post, I decided to visit the elite West End area in DC once again. This time I picked the Walgreens store in the corner of 22nd and M street NW mainly because I have heard plenty of positive feedback regarding its layout and cleanliness.

Historically, founded in the early 20th century as a drugstore, Walgreens today is a provider of trusted care in many communities around the United States. Through constant innovation, Walgreens has a history of breaking new ground to meet its customers’ needs and improve their health, from offering self-service stores, to distributing pharmaceuticals, groceries, cosmetics, and other household supplies. As of 2019, the company operates more than ten thousand stores in all 50 states across the US, and the US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

I visited the Walgreens store in West End on a Thursday afternoon at around 5:30pm. As soon as I entered the store I realized the store is bright, clean, and well-organized; upbeat music was playing and there were plenty of people shopping around. Empty shelves are few and far between, and all prices were are labeled. Since Walgreens is a drugstore, I instantly made some comparisons to my previous jam-shopping at CVS.

The Walgreens store felt more spacious compared to CVS, though they are roughly the same size. Everything is more spread out, and instead of gray and red, signage is in light blue and white, which made it feel cheery. The grocery selection is nearly identical to CVS, but at Walgreens, it is a lot less cluttered and more accessible to see each product.

It took me approximately 10 minutes, from entering the store to finding exactly what I came here for, jams! I started my journey from aisle 1 and found the jams located in a tiny little shelf in aisle 3. To my surprise, the jam section was half empty. As in many other stores, jams at Walgreens are located next to peanut butter jars, caramel syrups, and some other instant/sugary products. Jams at Walgreens are not organic or GMO-free and are only made from grapes and strawberries with the layout being very similar to the CVS store I visited last week.

Clearly, at Walgreens, there is a lack of varieties of jams compared to the more exotic types of jams people can buy at Whole Foods or Dean & DeLuca. The only two brands of jams available were Welch’s and NICE!. Both were in bulky, plain, see-through plastic jars with straightforward labels on them.

Furthermore, prices are below average ranging from only $1.99-$3.49 pre-tax. After researching the costs, tags, and labels, I stood in aisle two and was patiently waiting to see who would stop and buy the remaining four jars of jam. Surprisingly, 3 people stood by and picked the remaining four jars; two older white women and one African American middle-aged man.

Taking everything into consideration, I really enjoyed my trip to Walgreens and every other trip in the DC area that helped me to write this blog. For now, just remember that “Happiness is marmalade on toast.” See you all next week with my final report “Sweetness and Power in a Jar of Jam?”