#product-quality

#product-quality

What you see is what you get here: a thin-crust pizza with no frills, no surprises, and unfortunately, not a whole lot of flavor. I will say that there was nothing overtly wrong with this pizza, per se, but when you're paying more than $10 for a frozen cheese pizza, it's only natural to hope it might have a little something special to make it stand out amongst other plain cheese pizzas out there.

Back near the end of 2021, COVID-related panic was subsiding and the vibe around new EV startups was still very much optimistic. Almost every other week, a new brand was vying to be the next Tesla, as if that company's sky-high stock price could be anyone's for the taking. VinFast, like other small car brands with larger-than-life plans, wanted a piece of that pie and quickly pivoted its plan from gas-powered BMW-based sedans and SUVs to self-developed EVs meant to take the world by storm.

Whether that's pumpkin spice drinks, pumpkin soup, or pumpkin pie; this is truly the season of everyone's favorite big, orange gourd. It has become a seasonal comfort staple, and it's hard to deny the popularity. According to Grandview Research, pumpkin pie was a $1.59 billion industry in the United States in 2024, and it has been deemed the most popular Thanksgiving pie by YouGov.

In recent years, companies have turned to marketing as a shortcut to growth, pouring millions into campaigns, cultural plays, and acquisition tactics. But this focus often comes at the expense of what truly drives loyalty: better products and services. Consumers see the gap between glossy promises and lived experience - and their patience is wearing thin. The customer satisfaction crisis Customer satisfaction is at an all-time low. Across industries, American consumers are frustrated, feeling they get less value for more money.

"In some ways, Scale lost the focus on product, on scaling quality," Foody said. "And that was one of the largest challenges of the business."

Many of us get lured into IKEA with a promise of flatpacks and Swedish meatballs and end up leaving with kitchenware we didn't know we needed. As it turns out, some of those items are better to avoid buying. All those model kitchen displays give you the illusion that, if you just have these accessories, your kitchen will be complete. And so the stacks of cheap kitchen goods beckon.

Universally loved and endlessly customizable, pizza is often a staple meal to satisfy any cheesy or zesty cravings. No matter which way you slice it (pun intended), there's nothing like enjoying your favorite pizza. Even frozen ones can do the trick, whether you're on a time crunch or simply have a few options on hand. Most major grocery chains, such as Walmart, have a lower-priced store brand version of frozen pizza.

"If you want to buy an electric vehicle for under $50,000 today, I would say in the United States there are well under five great choices," Scaringe said during a wide-ranging interview on InsideEVs' Plugged-In Podcast that airs Friday morning. "Until you start to have a number of choices, we're not going to see the market really expanding."

Whole Foods' 365 brand maintains secrecy regarding its manufacturers, opting to protect the identity of brands that produce its products while assuring quality and sourcing standards.

This ongoing struggle is taking a toll. A 2023 study published by Frontiers in Psychology found that materialism is consistently associated with mental health problems like depression and anxiety.