Discontinued or Hard-to-Find Groceries

I apparently have a knack for falling in love with food items that soon after will be discontinued or no longer carried in most grocery stores.  My taste buds must be different from those of the average person.  Although the following lists are not exhaustive, they'll give you an idea of what I mean:

Discontinued Items

• Pillsbury's frozen crusty french rolls
• Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Snack Sticks -- Artisan Cheese

Hard-to-Find Items

• Classico's Sun-dried Tomato Red Sauce (only available at Harris Teeter)
• Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Wheat Crisps -- Multi-grain (still listed on the Pepperidge Farm site; haven't seen it in stores in a long time)
• Nestle's Simply Dipped Cones -- Cookies & Cream (still listed on the Nestle site; periodically stocked by Super Target)

The most frustrating thing about the vanishing of these items from grocery store shelves is that other products, which I deem inferior, made by the same companies remain.  For example, I do not at all like the toasted-sesame variety of Pepperidge Farm's Baked Naturals Snack Sticks, but it continues to be stocked by every grocery store I visit.

Classico's Sun-dried Tomato Red Sauce is one of the very few pasta sauces available that has no onions, and I'm not a fan of onions.  Most grocery stores carry several Classico products, so I don't understand why they don't carry this one.  Luckily, Harris Teeter does.  When Jay and I lived in Christiansburg, VA, we always made a trip to Harris Teeter during our visits to Winston-Salem, NC, to stock up on the sun-dried tomato sauce.

I was so disappointed when Pillsbury discontinued the frozen crusty french rolls that I emailed Pillsbury to let them know.  I actually received a reply from the company indicating that the item had not been popular enough to continue making it.

I guess companies should hire me to taste-test their new products.  If I like the product, there's a good chance that it's not going to make it; however, the more I dislike the product, the higher the likelihood is that it's going to sell really well.

So frustrating!