I would love to know their reasons for this but they refuse to say. It's not the first time this kind of thing has happened. 

Kellogg's used to sell "Cocoa Rice Krispies" when I was a kid. One day they disappeared from store shelves and never came back. We never knew why. And yes, they're still for sale in the States. 

More recently, Henkel Noth America failed to live up to its last two names, when it halted sales of Dial soap, which had been around for decades and decades, north of the border. I tried to find out why and was told only that it was a "corporate decision," but nothing more. But they're still making it and it's still for sale on store shelves down south, just not here. Why? No one seems to know.

Taking it back to broadcast-related items for a moment, for decades I subscribed to the U.S. TV Guide, because the Canadian one was subpar after Telemedia wrecked it. Then suddenly, with no warning, I got a letter from the company telling me they would no longer sell the magazine to Canadians, even if I was willing to pay in U.S. funds and cover the extra postage. I never found out why, only that "there have been some changes." Dropped me like a hot potato after years of being a loyal customer with no explanation at all.

Canadians still can't subscribe to any of that publisher's magazines to this day. 

Although I'm not a Kleenex user, per se, I'd love to know the thinking behind why one of the most popular brands - so big it's become a generic name for tissues of any kind - suddenly decided to pull back from this side of the border. 

What else are we going to lose out on? But more importantly, why? I've never yet gotten a straight answer out of any of these guys as to why they would kick out an entire country. Hey maybe simsub is now being applied to U.S. products. Want an American brand? You'll have to substitute a Canadian one instead!

There are lots of reasons why a brand leaves certain markets.  Kimberly Clark will still have many products sold here, just no longer Kleenex.  Could be that Kleenex was losing market share, no longer making profit on the brand etc.   I know I usually buy Sobeys or Loblaws house brands for tissue.  Lower cost than Kleenex and no difference in quality. 

They do have a manufacturing plant in Huntsville and the press release sounded like Kleenex was one of the products produced there along withsome  Scott products. They celebrated 50 years in Huntsville two years ago. 

Kimberly Clark closed 10 plants in 2018 and let go over 5,000 employees or about 12% of their worldwide staff.  I don't think the press release indicated that the Huntsville plant was closing, but it wouldn't be a surprise if operations winded down since it apparently just serves the smaller Canadian market.

It is odd though that they decided to drop the Kleenex brand altogether here and not just import it from elsewhere.  

Last edited by paterson1 (August 25, 2023 10:13 pm)

My wife and I spend our winters in Florida. We always take along lots of No Name tissues. Paper products are really expensive in the US.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66621028

from the above article it looks like they didn't like the Kleenex product being an afterthought after popular Canuck brand Scotties as paterson1 said, plus the usual complexity of selling in a foreign country and their marketing strategies weren't as good as Scotties

I always found Kleenex way more expensive than Scotties, also the lotion added and antibacterial Kleenex facial tissues seem like a lot of faff

I won't miss Kleenex but boy do I really miss Bugles

Last edited by betaylored (August 25, 2023 9:53 pm)

Noxema shaving foam. When it was first taken off the market, Giant Tiger had their stock on sale. I bought about a dozen cans. I still have a few cans in Florida but I'm near the end of my last can here at home.

betaylored wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66621028
I won't miss Kleenex but boy do I really miss Bugles

CBC Radio's "Cost of Living" had a segment regarding the vanishing Bugles:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/the-case-of-the-vanishing-bugles-1.6680577

I wonder how this affects the Huntsville tissue plant?

Centerline wrote:

I wonder how this affects the Huntsville tissue plant?

Finding the answer to that will require some nosing around
 

Radiowiz wrote:

betaylored wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66621028
I won't miss Kleenex but boy do I really miss Bugles

I'm sure anyone could make a nice long list of foods that have left or are about to leave Canada, including Delissio Pizza and Lean Cuisine dinners. I still miss Skippy Peanut Butter...

I did a search on Amazon and both Skippy peanut butter and Bugles are being sold on the Canadian site but for an ridiculous amount, like over 35.00 a jar/bag.

I switched to Jif, it's better than the other most popular brand. 🥜

betaylored wrote:

RonaldS wrote:

betaylored wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66621028
I won't miss Kleenex but boy do I really miss Bugles

CBC Radio's "Cost of Living" had a segment regarding the vanishing Bugles:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/the-case-of-the-vanishing-bugles-1.6680577

interesting, wonder why some Canadian company doesn't come up with a Bugles dupe, they'd clean up. Have a contest to name the little golden crunchy nuggets as their first ad campaign.🌽

I think the issue was that Bugles weren't selling well.  Bugles were also dropped in Canada in 2010 according to wiki but were brought back one year later. Also dropped in the UK in the earlier 2000's for several years but brought back in 2016 and manufactured by another company.  So there may be hope for Bugles coming back here but they were dropped by General Mills in Canada in November 2022 and it didn't sound like enough people noticed.

Another product line that is almost impossible to get at the store is anything from Welch's.  I used to pick up Welch's grape juice in the bottle but nobody seems to carry it anymore. Also the clear grape juice or frozen concentrate doesn't seem to be around either. I am not sure if their grape jam is available or not. 

Welch's has been going through some things and working through a few lawsuits.  Welch's products are available in the US but even there can be hard to find in various parts of the country apparently.  Welch's had a plant in St. Catherine's that was closed around 2008 and in the day they bought a lot of concord grapes from the Niagara region. 

betaylored wrote:

Interesting, wonder why some Canadian company doesn't come up with a Bugles dupe, they'd clean up. Have a contest to name the little golden crunchy nuggets as their first ad campaign.🌽

They should call them Horns, or something like that!

Speaking of knockoffs, here's some hilarious fast food chains around the globe that have tried to capitalize on world-famous name brands.





PJ