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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

£3.20 for a bowl of cereal - is there anything left out there that hasn't been wankified?

266 replies

Neverbuyheliumbalonz · 12/12/2014 21:39

So the new cereal cafe has opened in East London, with a bowl of cereal going for £3.20. Apparently there are over a hundred types of cereal and 30 different types of milk.

On the opening day the owner got a bit of stick from a channel 4 reporter who questioned whether they should be selling cereal at £3.20 a bowl, considering they were in one of Londons poorest boroughs
www.channel4.com/news/cereal-cafe-opens-in-london-but-can-it-survive

Now I actually thought that that reporter was quite unfair because there are tonnes of places in that area selling overpriced shit that are 'not accessible to the poor' so I don't think these guys are doing anything different to anyone else in that respect. However the owner handled it terribly, especially when he said 'this isnt one of Londons poorest boroughs is it?' and when asked why the cereal was so expensive he said 'its imported from America' as if that justified it? He just epitomised the 'out of touch hipster'.

But AIBU to think that £3.20 for one bowl of cereal is just a hilarious rip off, regardless of whether you can afford it or not? Yes I know, people who go there are total mugs can spend their money how they choose and its 'an experience' or whatever.

But it's.........breakfast cereal Confused

Plus they keep using the word 'source' when talking about the cereals (if we can source it, we will sell it) which automatically puts them into wankdom anyway.

I guess time will tell on this one...

OP posts:
GazpachoSoup · 12/12/2014 22:22

Why would anybody spend money eating cereal in a cafe? It takes about 3 seconds to prepare it at home

For the novelty factor and the fact there's other different types of cereals from other countries on offer that you'd never have usually tried?

YourKidsYourRulesHunXxx · 12/12/2014 22:23

Why should they feel guilty about the fact some people can't afford their prices? I wouldn't personally go there myself (I'm not a breakfast person for one thing) but if noone could afford their prices, they wouldn't be in business. From the looks of things, it seemed to be booming.

There are lots of things to consider when an item is priced, not just the raw materials used to make the thing. It seems like you pay for the experience, what with the decor etc (like I said, I wouldn't go there, but I get that some people might not want to shell out £12 for a box of imported cereal that they might not like/ eat every day from an Americandy outlet and it looks like a good place to sit with friends. It's something different)

With regards to how the owner handled things, he was probably taken aback at the line of questioning.

Instead of bashing business owners like him, they should be bloody lauded

PurpleSwift · 12/12/2014 22:24

Yabu. On average it costs costa 8p per drink. Do you see people up in arms about the prices they charge?
These guys are being singled out because they are vulnerable single business men as opposed to massive companies.

UncleT · 12/12/2014 22:24

And cafés definitely shouldn't sell toast for a pound if it only coats 6p eh, disgusting mark-up! See, everything's an outrage if you selectively reduce it to empirical terms.

Jewels234 · 12/12/2014 22:24

Wankified...As in, a bit interesting and different and an independent business started by a couple of entrepreneurs who might otherwise be working for the huge businesses that are currently sacking the character out of the high street?

Think about how much you pay for a cup of ground coffee beans, hot water and milk in Starbucks...who turn a huge profit (and don't pay tax). I know who I'd rather give my money to!

lovingmatleave · 12/12/2014 22:25

Yes it is a rip off. But then the mark ups on most things out are: black coffee £2. for a spoonful of coffee an some boiling water??? I just paid £2 at a soft play for an "adult"portion of toast. I got 2 slices of the cheapest white bread with some spread. 80p for a bag of Doritos out the snack machine at work, when you can a 6 pack of the same in the £shop up the road. You get the drift.

Oh an agree with SolidGold on the stupid C4 presenter.

Bulbasaur · 12/12/2014 22:25

I am still bewildered by learning that one of the best-selling products in the Whole Foods store in Detroit is a $6 cupcake.

Psst... Detroit isn't just an impoverished wasteland. It's like any other US city with good parts, bad parts, rich people, and poor people. Wink

cluttered · 12/12/2014 22:26

One thing that no one has mentioned is that many of the children growing up in poverty in Tower Hamlets are of Bangladeshi origin, especially round that part of Tower Hamlets bordering the City. I'm not sure that many of their families would find a traditional East End cafe with cheaper prices any more accessible in terms of feeling welcome there.

GazpachoSoup · 12/12/2014 22:26

Doing the money exchange, £3.20 is about $5 here. You could buy a box of cereal for that price. In fact, if you came on the right day, you could buy two boxes.

If you're IN America though, your cereal will be cheap. Do you realise how much your cereal costs in the UK for a box?
We had an American food shop near us until recently. A box of cereal was approximately £6. Bog standard size, not a huge one by any stretch of the imagination.
Just normal sized. They're a business. They'll need to make a little bit of profit!

motleymop · 12/12/2014 22:27

I'm just saying that once the packet has been opened the rest start wilting relatively rapidly.

Original poster
Neverbuyheliumbalonz · 12/12/2014 22:28

With regards to how the owner handled things, he was probably taken aback at the line of questioning.

I did think that but then i thought they probably should have foreseen that sort of questioning given the area. He actually seemed surprised when the reporter said the area was poor - it's like they live in their own little trendy bubble with no real idea of the area.

It's like the people I know - they all live in these areas, but they are very far removed from any sort of poverty.

OP posts:
Original poster
Neverbuyheliumbalonz · 12/12/2014 22:29

I said 'area' a lot in my last post!

OP posts:
atoughyear · 12/12/2014 22:29

I don't think you can compare it with going out for an alcoholic drink. There are strict guidelines regarding where you can enjoy a glass of wine. Last time I checked it was ok to eat a box of Cheerios wherever you please Grin

SavoyCabbage · 12/12/2014 22:31

I pay $18 australian for weetabix because I want to eat weetabix. . That's ten of your English pounds.

thatniceperson · 12/12/2014 22:33

When I stayed with a friend in Notting Hill once the local corner shop was selling American cereal at £10 a box! I bought the one that was reduced to £1 Grin
I used to live in Shoreditch and was a bit of a hipster wanker (still am a bit) but I don't like the look of this cafe, but that might have something to do with the owner looking like my ex, enough to put me off my brekkie

The reporter was a bit harsh, the only reasonably priced thing in that area is a salt beef bagel on brick lane and they're fucking horrendous.

GoofyIsACow · 12/12/2014 22:51

The owner will have reacted like that because he is absolutely exhausted, he has been working hard to open his new business, for some fucking wanker journo to come in and be utterly rude, he is bound to get defensive.

Oh good god... Either go or leave them alone to make a living.

You cannot please everyone

LaurieFairyCake · 12/12/2014 22:58

Here's a really grotty flat for £350k - who the smeg has the money for that - this is in one of the poorest bits

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33102051.html

Waltonswatcher · 12/12/2014 22:59

I gotta ask - what is so special about American cereal?

dreamingbohemian · 12/12/2014 23:00

Well I think YANBU, probably because I used to live in that area and you'd have to be either blind or an idiot not to know there is poverty in the area

If you want to live in a Brick Lane bubble, go ahead, but don't be surprised when people think you're wanky

It's like when Champagne and Fromage opened up in Brixton. Yes, you have the right to call yourself what you want and charge what you want, but there is a certain symbolism involved in gentrification that you ignore at your peril.

Stealthpolarbear · 12/12/2014 23:10

Do they do coco pops?

Waltonswatcher · 12/12/2014 23:14

Stealth
What's the right answer though ?!

Nohootingchickenssleeping · 12/12/2014 23:18

It does seem wanky for the area. £3.20 is a lot of money to some people, I wonder how many residents of Tower Hamlets are regularly using foof banks?

Nohootingchickenssleeping · 12/12/2014 23:19

FOOD banks. A foof bank is quite different I'm sure!

differentnameforthis · 12/12/2014 23:24

It's the same as anything isn't it....McDonalds no doubt have a store there, as does perhaps Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsburys etc.

If you can afford it & want to go there, fine. If you can't afford it, don't go there.

It is a business, regardless of where it is situated. Unless that reporter goes into all places where you can buy overpriced food/tat, he is out of order for singling out this establishment. I bet he hasn't been into any of the aforementioned establishments to ask why they charge what they do!

Fees due to importing anything from America are huge, so it is a valid reason.

SomethingOnce · 12/12/2014 23:30

Here's a really grotty flat for £350k - who the smeg has the money for that - this is in one of the poorest bits

You could get 100,000 bowls of cereal for that sort of money.