foodie pages tasting box - february 2014

After reading a number of reviews about the Foodie Pages Tasting Box, I decided to give it a try for a month.  The Tasting Box includes 4 or 5 product samples from various Canadian food makers, allowing buyers to sample offerings from Canadian culinary talents.  It initially started off as a montly subscription, but then switched to a one-time purchase format in mid-2013 (for around $15).  In January 2014, the price of the Tasting Box went up to $24.95 to "allow producers to recover some of their costs" and also to reflect rate increases from Canada Post.

The website says boxes are shipped on or before the first day of the following month, which led me to believe I wouldn't be seeing anything until at least the end of February, so it was a pleasant surprise when the box arrived yesterday.

Here's what was in the February Box (please excuse the horrible photograph):

• Cocolico’s Salted Butter Caramels (4) 
• Bix Bakery’s  Lemon Pizzelle Cookies (3) 
• Dave’s Roasted Garlic Hot Pepper Jelly (45ml) 
• Full of Beans’ Deluxe Kitchen Sink Soup Mix (250g) 
• Urge Chocolates’  Oranji Dark Chocolate Bar (60g) 

All items were a "tasting" portion, except for the chocolate bar, which was full-sized.  I did a rough estimate of the box value (though I'm not going to post prices here) and the total was about $14.  This definitely sucks if you're a bargain hunter and looking to get the most bang for your buck, but the price is not unreasonable if you are just looking for a chance to try new things that may not be readily available locally.  However, the recent price increase may have served as a deterrent for Tasting Box sales - based on what I read, these boxes used to sell out the day they became available, but as of today, it looks like they were still available.  This is unfortunate for the producers that are looking to gain exposure through the Tasting Box.  Canada Post is going to continue to make it hard for small businesses to thrive in e-commerce (but that's a rant for another day).

Buy again?  We'll have to see how much I like these items.  I don't consider myself a foodie and I fit more into the "get the most bang for your buck" consumer category, so the price is a little steep for surprise items that I may not end up enjoying.  ~C$24.95 (including shipping for most provinces), available on the 1st of each month at Noon EST.  50 boxes are available and is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Individual product reviews will follow.