My Cheesy Valentine

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner grocery and drug stores are starting to stock their shelves with many of the usual sights: Teddy Bears, candy heart candies, roses, and greeting cards. These products have been staples of the Valentine’s holiday for decades. However, in recent years manufacturers of other products have attempted to make their way into the seasonal market. Aldi grocery stores is offering a number of products dressed up for the occasion including a Valentine’s pizza (Pizza My Heart, get it?), heart-shaped pastas, heart-shaped cheeses, and more.

In an effort to enter the Valentine’s market, Kraft Foods is making a special Valentine’s version of their famous macaroni and cheese. The special version is a bright magenta pink and tastes like candy. The pink color comes from beetroot and carrot concentrate, and the candy flavor comes from fructose and vanilla. Before you go running to the store to buy a box, there’s a catch. It cannot be bought, it can only be won. Contestants will need to enter at a special website to be 1 of 1000 lucky recipients of this special edition product, and have the chance to give their sweetheart something truly…cheesy.

Discussion Questions

1. Some common Valentine’s gifts (roses) are available year round, others (heart-shaped chocolates) are only available around the holidays. Using supply and demand analysis, how would you expect the equilibrium price and quantity of roses to differ between November 13^th and February 13^th? What do you expect to happen to the price of heart-shaped chocolates on February 15^th? Explain.
2. How would you expect the prices of heart-shaped pasta and heart-shaped cheeses to differ from their regular-shaped counterparts?
3. If Kraft is only giving the pink mac and cheese away for free, what benefits are they receiving in return?

Sources: sheknows: These Aldi Valentine’s Day Foods Are Perfect For a Romantic Night In, Today: Kraft launches pink mac and cheese for Valentine’s Day that tastes like … candy?,