All the New Things

Hey there and Happy New Year!!! If you clicked through to this post from an email from me, then THANK YOU for all your support over the past 2+ years, and I can't wait to keep helping you make your life more delicious in 2023. If you stumbled across this post on The Internets, then WELCOME, and I hope you like what you see.

As we leave 2022 in the rear view and plow headfirst into 2023, there are a few new things on the A Bite of Good horizon, and I wanted you all to be the first to know!

1) New Products (and more organized product launches)!!!

If you've been around for a while you've probably noticed that I absolutely LOVE creating new products to help you make your home cooking more delicious. Indeed, I started this little business as a Cottage Food Operation in September 2020 with just a dozen spice blends that I made in my home kitchen. Here we are in January 2023, and I've got over THREE dozen spice blends in my product lineup, along with Cocktail Kits, Hot Cocoa Mixes, and all manner of other seasonal small batch, handcrafted gourmet items perfect for your gifting needs (even if the gift recipient is yourself). I still make and package every single product with my own two hands, but instead of my home kitchen, I manufacture everything in a fully licensed commercial kitchen nearby.

Now, one of my goals for 2023 is to be more organized in how I launch new products. In the past, I have generally "launched" new products by posting about them on social media. And while social media is all fine and good (and I encourage you all to follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook), I want YOU, my loyal subscribers and customers, to be the first to know about new products. As such, going forward, I'll be sending out a New Product Launch email to subscribers here on the website in advance of any social media announcements. So, be on the lookout and make sure to add Laurel@ABiteOfGood.com to your Contacts so that you don't miss any of the fun new stuff I've got in the works.

2) More Consistent Recipe Posts

I know how much you guys like my recipe posts, and it is one of my goals this year to do one per week, on Tuesdays (starting next week). As always, I will continue to focus primarily on quick and easy meals that don't require a huge laundry list of ingredients and/or recipes that can be made in advance because, let's be real, we're all looking for recipes that make our lives easier, not harder. Indeed, the recipes I post here are the recipes I make for my own family. If there are recipes you'd like me to tackle and ABOG-ify, please shoot me an email or send me a message via the website! I love exploring all different kinds of cuisines and am always game to try something new.

Of course, not every meal has to start with a full written recipe, so I (again) encourage you all to follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook, where I regularly share easy ideas for how to use my products in what you're probably already cooking. Some of these ideas are mine, but some of them come from other A Bite of Good customers, which is one of my favorite things about starting this little business. I absolutely love hearing about how customers use my products, especially when they use a spice blend in a way I've never thought of. Check out the Highlights on my Instagram profile page for tons of inspiration related to each individual product, much of which comes from real life customers. I am constantly updating these Highlights whenever someone tags me in one of their Posts or Stories, so check back regularly for more ideas!

3) Price Changes

Finally, starting on February 1, I will be increasing prices for my products as well as shipping. As I mentioned above, I started this business in September 2020, and I have never raised my product prices, even in the face of increased costs. Unfortunately, this is simply no longer sustainable. I don't have any employees (unless you count my husband, who is paid in food and endless love). Indeed, I am a one-woman show over here, which means I am not only the CEO but also the worker on the factory floor as well as the entire shipping, marketing, finance, and legal departments. Without labor costs to cut, I cannot continue to keep my prices the same without compromising the quality of my products, and that is something I refuse to do.

As such, starting on February 1, 2023, product prices both here on the website as well as at my in-person pop up events will increase as follows:

PRODUCT	OLD PRICE	NEW PRICE
Single Spice Blends	$7	$8
Four Spice Blend Bundles (no gift box)	$25	$28
Four Spice Blend Bundles (with gift box)	$30	$33
Spice Blend Refill Packets	$6	$7
8oz Spice Blends	$17	$20
8oz Custom Spice Blends	$22	$26
16oz Spice Blends	$30	$33
16oz Custom Spice Blends	$38	$42
Movie Night Popcorn Kit	$10	$11
Cocktail Kits	$20	$22
Hot Cocoa Mixes	$10	$12

I am leaving pricing for current A Bite of Good Merchandise (Ball Caps, Tea Towels, Aprons, and Market Bags) alone.

As for shipping, this is one cost that has really skyrocketed over the past couple of years and is one over which I have zero control. Moreover, I am not Amazon and cannot absorb shipping costs the way bigger businesses might be able to. As such, my current shipping rate structure will change (again on February 1, 2023) as follows:

SHIPPING TYPE	CURRENT PRICE	NEW PRICE
Contactless Customer Pickup	FREE	FREE
Local Delivery	$5 (Free on orders over $40)	$5 (Free on orders over $50)
Standard Shipping	$8 (Free on orders over $50)	$10 (Free on orders over $75)

Deciding to do these price increases has been incredibly difficult for me because I completely understand that you, my dear customers, are facing increased prices in other areas of your lives as well. As such, I have done my level best to only increase my prices as much as is absolutely necessary. I hope you understand. I have decided to delay these price increases, however, until February 1 in order to allow you all to take advantage of existing pricing for a few more weeks. You can visit my online store here. Everything is freshly restocked after being wiped out leading up to the holidays.

Anyhoo, that's all the NEW I've got for you right now. Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support you've shown over the past 2+ years, and I very much look forward to the year (and years) ahead.

Cheers,

Laurel