r/assholedesign • u/the-kontra • 18d ago
This cannolo has pistachio filling only at visible ends, giving the impression that it's completely filled. In reality, the middle part is empty. Bought in Lidl, UK.
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u/CitizenKing1001 18d ago
That actually takes effort. I guess they have no illusions of repeat customers
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u/alvenestthol 14d ago
These are special Lidl products that rotate every week, chances are you not see them again until you've forgotten the asshole move they pulled
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u/Unindoctrinated 17d ago
I wonder whether market research tells companies that this sort of deception, which must result in many one-time-only purchases, is more profitable than making a product that pleases the consumer, and therefore results in a higher percentage of customers making repeat purchases.
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u/Geno0wl 17d ago
MBAs give the perception they don't care about long term sustained success. Sell this little treat on the cheap, tout how good your sales are, get a huge payday by being bought out by a big company, move onto to do the exact same plan for the next company not caring about what happens from there.
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u/ZetaZeta 17d ago
Speaking for myself, when I visit my local international market, there's more choices than I can even hope to try in my lifetime.
There's a massive store called Jungle Jim's in Ohio that is a 200,000 square foot campus that can take multiple days to fully explore.
The Italian treats aisle has a few hundred options. I try something new each time I'm there, and it would take me years to get through just Italian cookies and treats. Lol.
So in that case, yes, getting the eye of each of the thousands of customers each day would result in more sales than enticing me to try the brand a second time (unlikely, even if it is incredible).
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u/falknorRockman 18d ago
Technically this could theoretically break the packaging rule in regards to making things seem bigger than they are
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u/rubensinclair 17d ago
Couldn't you also file suit specifically because of the word filling? it's literally not filled.
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u/kappa_demonn 17d ago
Tip I learned from my chef in college: only get cannoli if they make it to order. If they're just sitting in a display case, good cannoli will just get soggy. If they dont get soggy, then they're not good cannoli anyway
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
This is how I usually buy cannoli (not that I buy them often, but still) - at a stall or in a cafe, fresh, where they display just the empty shells and fill them to order in front of my very eyes.
I was just craving something pistachio flavoured while grocery shopping and these caught my eye. Rookie mistake.
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u/BoAR3D 17d ago
This is not a cannolo at all! This Is just pure garbage that every italian would spit on
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
Yeah these were shite. I was just craving something pistachio-flavoured. My expectations were really low but this was just rubbish.
What's annoying is that Lidl also has chocolate-covered pistachios sold under the same brand name, they are a banger, absolutely awesome and I always buy them. They were, however, sold out so I've made a mistake of buying these "cannoli" instead.
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u/lallapalalable 17d ago
A tale as old as time. This is why I like the store near me that sells cannoli dippers: cannoli cookie chips and a tub of that ricotta/marscapone filling. Set your own ratios.
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
a tub of that ricotta/marscapone filling
Oof, I'd just take a bucketload of this filling for takeaway and I'm sorted, please and thank you.
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u/lallapalalable 17d ago
They sell it all separately too lol, I usually grab an extra pint. Still never enough, though
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u/_Monika- 17d ago
They tried to make us do that at the Italian restaurant I worked at, but I always filled them all the way up
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u/gravity_is_right 17d ago
Rule of thumb: the more Italian they try to make it look, the less Italian it actually is.
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u/Brilhasti1 17d ago
I wonder how some products can exist when you buy it once, realize it’s bullshit, and never buy again.
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u/Bubba-Bee 17d ago
No respectable cannoli comes in plastic wrap. This is shit masquerading as food.
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u/Le-Pepper 13d ago
What were they trying to accomplish with this? People are just gonna see this, get pissed off and not buy their products again.
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u/BoilingCold 17d ago
I am so tired of people telling me what good value Lidl is. Every now and again I go in and check things like price/100g for products and they so often fool people by selling stuff in packaging that looks incredibly similar to name-brands and other supermarket brands but contains significantly smaller amounts for slightly lower prices. Or has much worse ingredients. Lidl are NOT good value, they're just really, really good at hoodwinking customers.
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
Tbh I usually shop in Lidl and Aldi for most of my "basic" groceries. I think it's less about them being a great value and more about the fact we get royally shafted everywhere else. I'm assuming you're also in the UK. Not trying to convince you, just explaining my reasoning.
Most of the regular, basic items are the same or there's no difference in quality, but they often are cheaper. I'm lucky to have Lidl, Sainsbury's and Aldi in close proximity and I already know what items are good quality + best price in all these shops, so on my grocery run I usually swing by all these stores and I get what I want from each without overpaying. Easily saves me 20%-ish on groceries.
I'm lucky that I don't have to count my pennies, but if an item I'm using a lot costs £0.35 in Lidl and £1.10 in Sainsbury's, I'd be stupid to overpay.
These cannoli were awful and I got scammed. On the other hand, Lidl also has chocolate-covered pistachios sold under the very same brand name and they're absolutely amazing, and I usually buy a dozen packs whenever they're available. A massive hit and miss, so I'll just stick to pistachios.
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
selling stuff in packaging that looks incredibly similar to name-brands and other supermarket brands but contains significantly smaller amounts for slightly lower prices
I'm with you on this one, these are often shite, but some of these knock-offs are worth it and I'm a regular. But, again, it's a trial and error and a matter of figuring out what's actually good.
Lidl has a good black rum "Liberte", about £16 a bottle, a knock-off of Kraken rum which normally sells at £22-25. It's sliiiightly worse for 30% less, and I'm drinking it with coke so doesn't really make a difference.
Lidl-brand bog roll, it's literally the same as Andrex and also over 30% less (£6 vs £9-10).
Aldi has a good Monster energy drink knock-off called "Dark Thunder" for about half price. Mars-bar knock offs called "Titan" are also very good, much cheaper, sold in multipack and I actually prefer that each bar is smaller than a "regular" Mars.
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u/OutlyingPlasma 17d ago
Haven't you heard how great dollar general is? I got a box of Ziploc bags for $1.50! Sure it's only 5 bags, but think of the value, a whole box!
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u/OutlyingPlasma 17d ago
This is every cannoli I have ever had, even at very expensive restaurants and bakeries. They are nothing but disappointment in a hard shell. It's one of those things everyone thinks they make the best one, how I haven't had a good one and I just need to try theirs. Nope, still half filled sadness.
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
Sorry to hear that. I love cannoli, I had them in my local Italian restaurants and street food stalls, as well as in Italy, and was never disappointed. The best one I had was in a cafe in Palermo.
The trick in recognising an actual cannolo is they should only have empty shells on display and fill one in front of you.
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u/ConsistencyWelder 17d ago
Also, it's not "pistachio filling". It's "pistachio FLAVORED filling".
So it's fake pistachio creme.
Typical Lidl. The lowest of the low in highly processed factory food. Garbage that clogs your intestins. Often marketed in the most assholedesign way.
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u/the-kontra 17d ago
It's "pistachio FLAVORED filling".
Tbh I don't see the problem with this wording. In the end, this is supposed to be a mostly ricotta filling with added pistachios. A pistachio flavored ricotta, isn't it?
I've checked the ingredients, the filling was basically vegetable oil with powdered milk (perhaps this is why they called it a "creme" and not "cream" filling) and 6% pistachio nuts, so while surely not good, not the worst IMO. At least it had actual pistachios.
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u/ConsistencyWelder 16d ago
If it had enough pistachios to call it "pistachio filling" instead of "pistachio flavored filling", they would do so.
They're using artificial flavoring to fool you into thinking you're eating a delicious treat filled with pistachios. It's not.
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u/TH3_54ND0K41 18d ago
Somebody should file a torte lawsuit for false advertisement