The Economic Secret Hidden in a Tiny Discontinued Pasta

thebulwark.com

15 points·onewheeltom··4 comments

> A spokesperson interviewed in Marketwatch reiterated the company’s line: The beloved pasta’s “small size and star-shape require specialized production from a third-party manufacturer . . . [which] informed us they would cease producing Ronzoni Pastina effective January 2023.” They repeated the part about the unsuccessful search for a new producer, too.

Wait, but this pasta, I mean the Stelline, is quite common and is the same shape/kinda as other dozen of manufacturers, at least here in Italy. So why not just ask to another brand for another “specialized production tool/line”? Weird.

The tweet basically said that the alternatives are either too expensive or too low-quality.

Yes I read but the other brands are using “something” to build this pasta that has an acceptable quality/right price. And I mean not only big brands like Barilla, you can find this shape of pasta everywhere in Italy.

Sounds like an excuse to stop the production for some reason (maybe finance issue?).

Could be an excuse. Could be genuinely too expensive for them in the US. Stelline are not nearly as popular as in Italy, and their suppliers might prefer to focus on higher volume production. They're also aren't elaborate enough to command a higher price as a specialty item. The company buys this pasta instead of making it themselves, so they're at the mercy of what the suppliers charge.

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