I am guessing that the target market did not include ETS members for the obvious reasons.

Costco are not renowned for their lack of marketing expertise. I am sure they have calculated exactly how many of these they will sell and how much profit they will make.

The only problem I see with this is typical of many of their offerings - the quantity offered is too large to be practical for me. I have the same issue with Costco's fifty pound bags of flour and rice. I have no space to store and use that quantity in a realistic time frame, so I don't purchase, despite the attractive unit price. iT would e different if I were purchasing for a restaurant.

Comment was made about Costco being full of processed food; they do have lots,but no more than their competition. I get good deals on items like walnuts and raisins; there is good stuff available if you shop selectively.

Like any other disaster preps, repackage it into more suitable-size containers. A 50# bag becomes 25x2# vacuum-sealed bags with an O2 absorber for long-term stability and stored in your disaster pantry. 2# bags get opened and transferred to tupperware containers in your kitchen as needed, either for normal rotation or during an emergency.

I don't think the $3,200 emergency food supply is preying on fears anymore than AMK selling survival blankets. The manufacturer's research indicates there's a market demand and they are trying to address the demand in a way that earns them a profit. The benefit to the consumer is by purchasing this versus around 900 separate #10 cans of Mountain House dehydrated food you can save a ton of money.

If you add up the cost of your disaster food supplies, I'd bet its impossible to put together a 9-month supply of food anywhere as cheaply as $3,200. Around me, a pound of pasta and a can of sauce costs around $3.00, or $0.75/serving. So this is a pretty good value, particularly given the 20-year shelf life. I'm a bit concerned about the long-term effects of living on commercially-manufactured, freeze-dried foods, but many people do rely on these products for their emergency preps.

Mormons are encouraged to keep at least a one year supply of food on hand so perhaps this is, in part, Costco serving a constituency that is concentrated out west - where Costco is based. If one's theology prioritized such preparedness then the Costco offering would be very attractive for allowing one to check-the-box, so to speak, with a single purchase.

$3200 to feed a family of four for nine months seems to me to be pretty economical. And the Costco deal covers the storage containers, necessary dessicants, etc.

The Costco offering would also appeal to those who would like the assurance of a large food stockpile but have more money than time or simply do not want to research and do the laborious work of assembling one themselves.

Reuters recently ran a survey showing that 22% of Americans believe that TEOTWAWKI is going to occur during their lifetimes. That is a lot of people for whom the Costco stockpile could be alluring.

Costco has always been a favored shopping destination for those buying bulk, for whatever reason. They probably are more attuned than most retailers to the preparedness phenomenon.

I think that you're absolutely right, Dagny.

((I'm a new guy to all of this, so correct me where y'all see fit.))

Now, if I had the money, and could convince the wife, I'd really consider buying that Costco bulk pack. I'd have to look around for better deals and comparison-shop against others, but that's just my way of doing things.

Now, trying to live on a year's worth of prepackaged dehydrated/freeze-dried stuff would be rather unpleasant, but if all we had was that, then that's what we would have to do. I'd of course be trying to supplement it (and stretch it out) by adding foods from the garden and whatever critters I could hunt and fish for, which would be a great improvement to the menu.

I for one am glad to see more manufacturers and retailers getting into this game. More competition should mean that they price each other down, saving us money.

As far as I can figure, more people getting into this means two things:
1) Fewer people panicked and in need should a need arises. Everyone with a stockpile of food is one less person storming the empty grocery stores in the event of a disaster, and one less family in need. Should make for a calmer community.
2) The more "normal" this is, the better.

Welcome to ETS, BBQ. (by the way, I lived in Hood River for several years)

You make excellent points about applauding the increased availability of such supplies - prepared people free up resources for others when/if there is a crisis.

I hope preparedness is catching on in the Pacific Northwest, where the a massive earthquake along Cascadia Subduction Zone could cause unimaginable destruction and disruption.

I'm a big fan of Costco and don't see this emergency food supply any more gimmicky than that humongous "All-American" chocolate cake they sell at a great price.

When checking the details, about 80% of the info was for the cheapy solar set-up. I'd prefer to see more detail in the food portion, where the bulk of the money is based.

*edit - please do read the 1 review that they have.

Looks to me to be good value and worthwhile for those who wish to prepare,and have the money, but do not want to expend too much time and effort on buying and storing numerous individual packs of long life foods.

For those prefering a smaller or different selection, the website lists many long life foods and other doomer stocks sold individually rather than as part of a kit.

I wish that we had Costco here in the UK !