FOOD: Imports, Knock-Offs, and Joint Ventures

Buying food in China has been one interesting experience.

Can you guess the brand of juice that is being knocked off here :)?


Careful which can you grab.... The imports (specified with a large white sticker on the side) are almost $6 a can. The Chinese Joint Venture ones (where Chinese factories team up with the American factories to produce their variation of the product) are just over $2. Then there's a few random flavors that are about $4. Go figure.

And now, for my Shanghai Sistas,

------------Insert Drum Roll Here-------------

I'm about to take our friendship to a whole new level. Be prepared to love me forever. I just found a joint-venture version of Cream of Chicken Soup. I bought all they had at just over $1.70 per can. As oppose to the imports that are upwards of $4 per can.

So I called Tracey, whom I visit teach. She's been in Shanghai almost as long as the terracotta soldiers have been in China. Or so it seems. She is totally independent, and I use her much more than she uses me.

One day I called Tracey and told her I was not going to give up until she let me do something for her. She finally gave in and said she could use some Cream of Chicken, if I had any on hand. I brought them over.

A week later, I found the below joint-venture, I called during her dinner time, and then bought every can they had at that little mart.

Before you scroll down... a little background to the upcoming pictures.
I tell Tim all the time he married a funny wife. I remind him all the time how lucky that makes him. Most times he rolls his eyes. Then he smirks and says "you really think you're funny, don't you!" I smile back the affirmative. Scroll down...

This is how I delivered Tracey's cans of joint-venture coveted Cream of Chicken:

I was laughing at myself until I was almost crying. I could barely tape the labels on.


With Tim out of town, I had nobody to laugh my own funny to. Hate that.

So I laugh this your way. Maybe you're rolling your eyes like Tim. Or maybe you're like me and thinking of her pulling these out of her cupboard and shaking her head.

Or maybe you're like me and thinking of someone calling her to borrow a can. And hoping it's someone that doesn't know me, and will ask Tracey why her friends are so weird.

Tell me you don't think it's funny.