H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

1 minute read

Handy-Andy "Coffee 59¢" black-outlined oval grocer ad bundling Master Chef with Folger's, Maryland Club, Maxwell House, and Handy-Andy Premium — bespectacled chef mascot peeking over the oval — San Antonio Express-News, 25 March 1968, p. 9

Large black-outlined oval display ad from the San Antonio Express-News of Monday, 25 March 1968 — a Handy-Andy coffee-war price-cluster ad bundling Master Chef with the major national-brand competitors at the same per-can sale price: all grinds 1-LB. CAN 59¢, 2-LB. CAN $1.17, limit 2 Lbs. total; additional 1-lb at 75c and 2-lb at $1.49.

A small bespectacled chef mascot peeks over the top-left of the oval — the recurring monocled-chef character used by Master Chef Food Products since the late-1966 color-keyed-cans refresh (HH-CLIP-1966-0001, HH-CLIP-1966-0002).

Three takeaways:

  • Master Chef is explicitly named in Handy-Andy’s “Premium” tier alongside Folger’s, Maryland Club, and Maxwell House. The grocer’s own Handy-Andy Premium house brand is at the same sale price — useful private-label-strategy datapoint for San Antonio retail history.
  • Sale-price 59¢/lb in March 1968 is the same temporary 59¢ sale price as the 15 June 1967 SA Light grocer-banner cluster. Suggests 59¢ was the dominant coffee-war floor for 1-lb cans across multiple South Texas grocery chains from mid-1967 through early 1968.
  • Add’l-quantity price 75c/lb — the actual non-promotional shelf price in early 1968 — matches the H.E.B. shelf price 30 months earlier in September 1965 (HH-CLIP-1965-0002). Stable shelf price across 1965-1968 despite frequent coupon/sale activity.

Transcription

FOLGER’S, MARYLAND CLUB,

MAXWELL HOUSE, MASTER CHEF

OR HANDY-ANDY PREMIUM

Coffee

ALL GRINDS 1-LB. CAN

59¢

2-LB. CAN $1.17

Limit 2 Lbs. Total

Add’l. 1-lb. 75c; 2-lb. $1.49

Source

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