from the for-when-they-are-earth-shattering-kabooms dept.
Intended to serve doomsday preppers and other survivalists, Wise Co.'s supply chain is being stretched by extreme weather events:
Jackson is the 42-year-old chief executive officer of Wise Co., a leading brand in survival foods, that is, Mylar pouches of freeze-dried meals such as Savory Stroganoff and Loaded Baked Potato Casserole designed to remain edible on shelves for a quarter century. Over the past several years, the prepper phenomenon—people geared for imminent disaster—has come out of the backwoods via shows like the National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Prepper and media reports of the very rich and very worried buying and fortifying luxury bunkers. Jackson's been positioning Wise to feed the trend. During the call, he felt a rush of conflicting emotions—not so much from the prospect of getting a fat government contract while legions of people suffer, but because the windfall could derail his business strategy. A 2-million-serving order will increase his sales for 2017 about 15 percent but stretch his supply more than he's comfortable with; his answer to Lee was not an easy yes.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by idiot_king on Friday December 15 2017, @02:44PM (1 child)
...if much of their sales was due to Trump's election. But at this point, what's the difference between a natural disaster and Unser Fuhrer?
But I guess that's a good thing about capitalism, no? If you collectively screw yourself hard enough, someone will be willing to sell you a disaster kit. They should come with a printed "Marx told you so" on the label...
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Friday December 15 2017, @09:19PM
So true! Our economy has been doing tremendously since my election. Stocks hitting record highs. 700,000 new #JOBS [twitter.com]. Costco reporting huge profits from our great middle class. Under Armour, fabulous merger proposal. Bitcoin hitting record highs. And we haven't even passed the BIGGEST TAX CUT EVER, we call it the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. Maybe, probably, before Christmas. I have pen in hand. I will be at my desk, pen in hand! I am sitting in the Oval Office with a pen in hand. In Washington, waiting for our Congress to give it to me. 🇺🇸
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 15 2017, @02:48PM
If FEMA calls and says they got to have it, I'm not sure the food company can say no regardless of how many long term customers it upsets?
If you just say no, the next step may be a priority rated order you can't turn down.
https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/documents/other-areas/strategic-industries-and-economic-security/1615-dpas-training-slides/file [doc.gov]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by requerdanos on Friday December 15 2017, @03:24PM (2 children)
When I think "the survival food king" of America, I think So-Pak-Co, the Mullins, South Carolina based company that is a major supplier of military MREs and the similar MRE sure-pak disaster rations. I guess it's because I used to eat their food every day when deployed overseas + I live just a few hours away from there.
Their business seems to be booming as well. From their sales web site [surepak-12.com]:
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 15 2017, @03:58PM (1 child)
MRE's shelf life is only 3 years or so, not exactly meant for long term disaster preparedness.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Friday December 15 2017, @08:12PM
That's not a problem since the US doesn't do long term disaster preparedness at the institutional level. Heard of the same thing happening with sand bags through a friend. A municipality didn't have the money to ship themselves sand bags ahead of time by cheap ground shipping, but they were sure they would have the money to pay to have those sand bags airlifted to them in the middle of a disaster area.
Fortunately, like most parts of the world, the US has disasters all the time and hence, has to develop a considerable emergency response infrastructure despite its failings above. Here, the usual poor planning at the government levels will fund plenty of survivalist food purchases in the coming years.
(Score: 1) by starvingboy on Friday December 15 2017, @03:34PM
Apparently I'm not the only one who uses this stuff as an Instant Picnic for the family. The price isn't too bad, and it's tastier than grabbing another pack of 'nuggets from the drivethrough.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday December 15 2017, @03:54PM (2 children)
Sopacko, makers of SurePak civilian MRE rations is in the same boat. http://surepak-12.com/ [surepak-12.com]
The sales website the Epicenter reports this is generally true for all manufacturers. https://theepicenter.com/mre-meals-ready-to-eat/mre-full-meal-cases.html [theepicenter.com]
I just happened to be looking at this the other day and came across it.
Aside from that, I now believe (thanks to Alpha Rubicon) that one shouldn't buy MRE's or Wise or whatever as emergency food unless you incorporate it as a regular part of your diet. And it's lousy food, nutritionally, to have in your regular diet. The last thing you want in a disaster is either constipation or diarrhea and change ups like that can do just that. Instead, it is best to stock extra on foods that one eats regularly that will keep. Oatmeal, rice, boullion cubes, honey, crackers, canned tuna..... Stock extra and rotate it.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Funny) by darkfeline on Friday December 15 2017, @10:30PM (1 child)
I guess people who regularly eat Soylent get a free pass, the powder has a one year best-by shelf life.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 16 2017, @06:38PM
If you deep freeze foods like that (by that I also include protein powders like Soylent), they can keep indefinately. A chest freezer can be obtained relatively inexpensively, although placing the chest freezer somewhere requires room and a power outlet.
Nevermind the fact that if there is a disaster and there is no power--the freezer, if full, and kept mostly closed, will keep your food that will last a year at room temperature in good condition for long enough for you to get killed by someone else because you forgot to also buy defenses, or they'll also last long enough for the government to re-establish control and allow for all such utilitarian problems to be resolved.
Try to keep a few months supply of various medical items, non-perishable stuff (band-aids and various ointments that seem to last...) and then rotate them out now and then, too. You never know when bugs or people or small children/animals can get at stuff you think is safe and untouched..
(Score: 1) by purple_cobra on Sunday December 17 2017, @08:14PM
I think that should read "designed to taste no worse after 25 years of being entombed in plastic than they did at the time of packaging.