But sometimes, change simply goes too far: like what some are calling a soft and mushy reformulation of the Pal-O-Mine bar, manufactured by St. Stephen-based Ganong since 1920.
The Pal-O-Mine, sold in a yellow and red wrapper with cursive script, consists of two pieces of brown sugar fudge coated with dark chocolate and bits of peanuts. It is “one of the oldest continuously produced candy bars in North America,” according to the manufacturer.
The yellow-and-red wrapper advertises the bar as ‘original since 1920.’ Some critics say recent iterations of the bar bear little resemblance to the original they remember. (Julia Wright/CBC)
While the signature, super-sweet flavour has always had its detractors — “sugars” are listed as the first five primary ingredients of the bar — that hasn’t stopped New Brunswickers from enjoying them for more than a century. Much like Ganong’s chicken bones.
“It’s unique. It’s one of those things where you crave it,” says Saint Johner Daryl Steeves, 66. “Nothing else matched it. It had to be a Pal-O-Mine.
“I don’t remember a time without them.”
‘Soft and mushy’
But the time-tested texture, which west Saint Johner Heather McBriarty describes as “firm, kind of sandy, crystallized sugar fudge,” has been recently replaced with a filling some are finding “very soft and mushy.”
When she picked up a bar a few weeks ago, McBriarty said she immediately noticed it was “kind of gooey. It’s not that nice, firm fudge texture.”
Steeves said Pal-O-Mines seemed nearly impossible to get for several months — and when they returned to store shelves, he “immediately knew something was wrong.”
If it had been called a something-else bar, and I ate it, I might have said, ‘eh, it’s OK.’– Daryl Steeves, life-long Pal-O-Mine consumer
“It did not look right. It was uniformly square, the chocolate was changed. It was just not a Pal-O-Mine. If it had been called a something-else bar, and I ate it, I might have said, ‘eh, it’s OK.’
“It’s almost like a thick, caramel-y kind of texture.”
The interior of a Pal-O-Mine has recently shifted from what consumers describe as ‘firm, sandy’ fudge to a ‘soft, caramel-like filling, which Ganong attributes to a ‘change in manufacturing processes.’ (Julia Wright/CBC)
Steeve’s observations were confirmed when he posted about the bar on social media, garnering dozens of outraged responses.
“Certainly other people have noticed it,” he said. “I have buddies out west who said they were just disgusted by this.”
Bars ‘reformulated,’ says Ganong
In response to an inquiry from CBC News, Ganong confirmed the bar has, indeed, changed.
“Our Pal-O-Mine Bars have been reformulated due to a change in manufacturing processes,” Ganong said in a statement.
“The formulation is very similar with the biggest change being the texture. The current formula does have a creamy texture versus a sugar fudge bar. We appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to improve our products.”
Ganong did not immediately respond to a request for clarification of what, specifically, in the manufacturing process had changed.
“When you have a classic, and it’s something that people expect, to radically change the formula takes away the uniqueness and the nostalgia of this particular chocolate bar,” McBriarty said.
“For the past 100 years, Pal-o-Mine has been shared between friends and families across Canada,” according to the candy manufacturer’s website — to which die-hard candy fans like Steeves have only one response.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
