me and [gogi] vs. MixMyGranola: the battle continues
To recap my previous post, I had a very pleasant experience dealing with the me and [gogi] gang and, let’s face it, we’re talking about cereal here so pleasant experiences can really be the deciding factor in choosing between two cereal companies with all other things being equal.
I received a coupon to order from MMG and got the organic muesli with hemp, chia, flax and amaranth seeds and goji berries. It was truly a delicious cereal (I ate it soaked overnight in coconut milk or applesauce with cinnamon and it was always fantastic).
So here are my impressions of who was better in some of the key areas:
Website usability: Tie — each was done well and was fun to use. MixMyGranola (MMG) has a quirk where if you pay by PayPal, you must go back to your shopping cart a certain way or they don’t know what you ordered. I ended up having to cancel and re-submit my order. That’s a PayPal quirk though.
Customer service: me and [gogi] (m&g) wins hands down. MMG was not bad at all, don’t get me wrong. But it was like ordering from Amazon.com, very little unique interaction.
Company image: m&g wins here too. They have a facebook and twitter presence and have that cool start-up vibe. Remember how the Cliff bar guy started a business living in a garage baking stuff in his mom’s kitchen? And Ben & Jerry drove ice cream around in the back of their car? The gogi guys have that feel. I hope they go they way of the Cliff bar and Ben & Jerry’s!
Customizable Options: This was tough. Except from not carrying hemp seeds, me and [gogi] has a lot more options in cereal bases and fruits. They offer things like mulberries, goldenberries, spelt flakes and currants. M&g also specifically targets a gluten-free audience, while MMG does not (for some reason, I have a lot of celiacs in my life these days). However, MMG just introduced a line of enhancers like lucuma or acai powders and it is for that reason that I think MixMyGranola has slightly better options than [me] and gogi. MMG also offers things like gummi bears chocolate peanut butter balls, which sounds weird in a cereal but some people customize trail mixes with these companies. M&g does not offer candy-type add ins, and that’s fine by me.
Shipping Fees: m&g is currently running a summer special where shipping is $4.99 and each additional capsule is .99. MMG’s shipping is $4.99 no matter how many containers you order. Shipping is free at MMG for orders over $40.00. Therefore, MixMyGranola is a tiny bit better on shipping rates.
Cost: m&gi starts between $4.90 and $6.90 for the cereal base. MMG ranges from $3.99 to $4.99. The two companies offer very different additional ingredients, but here is a price comparison for a few ingredients offered by both companies:
Gogi berries: $1.99 (MMG) and $2.00 (m&g).
Dried Pineapple: $1.49 (MMG) and $1.25 (m&g)
Chia Seeds: $1.49 (MMG) and $2.00 (m&g)
Dried Strawberries: $1.19 (MMG) and $2.00 (m&g)
Note: MMG’s prices are based on 16 oz of product, m&g is larger at 21 oz. It seems to me that price-wise, [me] and gogi is the winner.
Quality-wise, there was really no discernible difference between the two companies. You can’t really order the exact same mix from both companies which is what you should do to compare the two products. Both companies have high-quality cereals, so I would choose based on which offers the ingredients I want at the best price. Even though [me] and gogi lacks some of the ingredients that I would want, their prices are good enough and I like their company style enough I would order from them in the future.