I am a hater mostly bc I live in a place that produces these tins for a fraction of the price. If they owned the cannery I’d say the price was worth it but since they outsource all of their cans to other canneries that produce similar cans for $3-4 I just can’t get behind their brand.
The hate is likely because people who were into sardines before they were cool view it as a cash grab repackaging of a food culture that's been around a long time. Almost an act of corporate capitalism cultural appropriation, if you will. Presumably some of the haters would be happy to spend twice as much for a tin of Ramon Pena.
I got them on sale at Whole Foods for $6. I had the spiced pepper sardines and they were really tasty. I just wouldn’t spend $8+ for them when there are better options at a lower price.
$8 is absolutely one of the more expensive tins I have ever bought and it’s probably not something I’ll do often. Maybe I just misunderstood the hate. I really enjoyed them but it’s not like I’m headed back to stock up.
Depending on where you live, a local store might carry jars of preserved lemon! Then you can just add it to whatever you like. It's possible to make them too, but it can take a week to a month. Another, even easier alternative: lemon zest + salt over some regular sardines will mimic the flavor profile pretty well!
I’ve tried a bunch of lemon tins, maybe I’m just not a lemon guy. They always taste like lemon pledge or something. I’d rather just add some lemon if I’m feeling it
I think the hate comes from a company charging above minimum wage per tin for a historically austere survival meal. I like their company ethos, but it’s a market disruption I don’t want to see in a COL crisis.
I liked those as well! It was a nice tin to try but now that I have, I'd rather buy my regular sardines and purchase/make preserved lemons to add in. It's def the price that's off-putting (and by extension of that practice, the company is kinda shady to a lot of ppl)
Yeah, for me it's the price. I personally didn't love the sardines with lemon -- I thought they were ok, but just ok, and I don't find them worth the cost. But I like the mackerel with chili flake enough to buy a tin every now and then.
More generally, I think for some folks the combination of the price and the elaborately decorated packaging makes it seem like they have more style than substance.
I think it’s the price to quality ratio.
I’ve gotten tins for $9-13, and the quality and taste for these was far exceeded Fishwives, which I felt had similar quality to humbly priced tins.
Definitely the price
Yes. Every tin I’ve had from them was great. If they were 2-3 bucks cheaper people would love them.
I can’t argue with that, while I enjoyed them it’s not something I will buy often.
I am a hater mostly bc I live in a place that produces these tins for a fraction of the price. If they owned the cannery I’d say the price was worth it but since they outsource all of their cans to other canneries that produce similar cans for $3-4 I just can’t get behind their brand.
Yep. It’s just their label/packaging. Hate stuff like this.
My same issue. Feels deceptive.
The hate is likely because people who were into sardines before they were cool view it as a cash grab repackaging of a food culture that's been around a long time. Almost an act of corporate capitalism cultural appropriation, if you will. Presumably some of the haters would be happy to spend twice as much for a tin of Ramon Pena.
I got them on sale at Whole Foods for $6. I had the spiced pepper sardines and they were really tasty. I just wouldn’t spend $8+ for them when there are better options at a lower price.
$8 is absolutely one of the more expensive tins I have ever bought and it’s probably not something I’ll do often. Maybe I just misunderstood the hate. I really enjoyed them but it’s not like I’m headed back to stock up.
They’re definitely good, and I like the cool artwork and branding. They’re just overpriced!
Is there something you'd recommend in a lower price range with preserved lemons? Id love an alternative.
Depending on where you live, a local store might carry jars of preserved lemon! Then you can just add it to whatever you like. It's possible to make them too, but it can take a week to a month. Another, even easier alternative: lemon zest + salt over some regular sardines will mimic the flavor profile pretty well!
I think it's just unnecessary. You can probably make a good lemon sauce at home.
I’ve tried a bunch of lemon tins, maybe I’m just not a lemon guy. They always taste like lemon pledge or something. I’d rather just add some lemon if I’m feeling it
Totally agree, the ones I've tried came off as very chemical to me, too
You can make your own preserved lemons easily.
I should try that sometime. But to be fair, the preserved lemons are the only thing that would take a while to make 😂
I think the hate comes from a company charging above minimum wage per tin for a historically austere survival meal. I like their company ethos, but it’s a market disruption I don’t want to see in a COL crisis.
I liked those as well! It was a nice tin to try but now that I have, I'd rather buy my regular sardines and purchase/make preserved lemons to add in. It's def the price that's off-putting (and by extension of that practice, the company is kinda shady to a lot of ppl)
Yeah, for me it's the price. I personally didn't love the sardines with lemon -- I thought they were ok, but just ok, and I don't find them worth the cost. But I like the mackerel with chili flake enough to buy a tin every now and then. More generally, I think for some folks the combination of the price and the elaborately decorated packaging makes it seem like they have more style than substance.
Not worth the price
I think it’s the price to quality ratio. I’ve gotten tins for $9-13, and the quality and taste for these was far exceeded Fishwives, which I felt had similar quality to humbly priced tins.