At some point in your life, you have probably made or consumed a meal that had Velveeta as one of the ingredients.
This popular cheese product has been around for many years.
Velveeta is easy to use, has a variety of applications, and most would agree that it tastes pretty great as well.
The only real downside (aside from sodium) is that Velveeta is a bit expensive.
Depending on where and when you buy the product, you can spend several hard-earned dollars on a block of this product.
If you have ever wondered why Velveeta is so expensive, you are in the right place.
Here are five reasons Velveeta is so expensive.
Why Is Velveeta So Expensive?
1. Packaging
Most of the time, Velveeta is sold in a box.
Inside the box, the product will be wrapped in a sealed foil type package.
The packaging of Velveeta is simple, yet it is costly.
The boxes have a removable top, and then inside the box, there is even more packaging.
Without the box, the chunk of Velveeta would get smashed down and potentially rip open.
This is not a way people would be interested in purchasing a product.
If you tried to just put the Velveeta in the box without the other foil wrapping, it would make a mess and stick to the side of the box.
As you can see, Velveeta’s cheese product is a difficult one to package properly.
Since the product tends to be quite sticky and malleable, it is hard to find the right solution for it.
Velveeta is packaged in a way that works just fine, but it is likely not the cheapest way to package it.
In addition to the packaging of the product, you have to look at the graphic design and the printing that is done as well.
Velveeta has a very recognizable brand that is used in all of their advertising.
The bright and bold colors are put on the packaging to make sure it stands out and looks different from other products out there.
In fact, there aren’t any other cheese products that are quite the same as Velveeta.
If you are wondering why Velveeta is so expensive, part of the reason is that you are paying for the packaging it is sold in.
2. Ingredients
Velveeta is not really cheese.
Velveeta is made from cheese, but it has a lot of other ingredients.
Not all of these ingredients are all that easy to come by and to put everything together does get costly.
By the time the manufacturers combine everything that goes into Velveeta, they will have handled about ten ingredients or more.
Of course, this is the proven recipe, and it works quite well.
If Velveeta were to change their recipe, they might also change the taste of the product.
This is not something people are looking to have happen.
Years ago, when milk and cheese were expensive for a household to obtain, people started choosing to eat Velveeta instead.
They thought it was a perfect replacement when it came to calcium and protein as well.
Although Velveeta does have these nutrients, it is also quite full of sodium.
The sodium content in Velveeta is very high.
As years went on and milk and cheese prices started to drop, the Velveeta prices continued to rise.
Some of this has to do with the popularity of the product, and another part of it is the cost to obtain all of these different ingredients that are in Velveeta.
When you drink milk, it has been processed, but the ingredient is coming directly from a cow.
Velveeta is not that simple.
Ingredients need to come from a variety of sources, and then they need to be put together to create the cheese product.
This costs money and will be made up for in the cost of the Velveeta.
3. Processing
As we mentioned, Velveeta is not really even cheese.
Since 2002, it has been officially designated in the United States as a “pasteurized prepared cheese product.”
When Velveeta was first created, it was made by taking a bunch of cheese scraps that no one would purchase and making them into a cheese-type product.
The result was a velvety smooth product which was very easy to use when melted.
This is how it got its name Velveeta.
People started seeing the benefits of the Velveeta cheese product, and they wanted to use it more and more.
The fact that it was processed and not made entirely of cheese did not bother most people at the time.
As time has progressed and science has developed, people have become aware of the dangers of eating too much processed food and it has certainly become a real issue.
It takes time to process Velveeta cheese, and the product itself is not all that easy to work with.
You will notice that, when you use Velveeta for cooking, it is a bit messy and sticky until it starts to melt.
There is no question that the processing part of the production of Velveeta is going to cost consumers a few extra dollars.
One of the reasons the price of Velveeta has continued to go up through the years is that the processing of the product never really got any easier.
Milk and cheese processing is fairly streamlined at this point, but that of Velveeta is not.
4. Ease of Use
One of the reasons Velveeta is so expensive is that it is easy to use.
As a society, we are fairly lazy.
People say they want to cook and prepare meals, and then, when it comes down to it, the actual process of this is time-consuming and quite a bit of work.
Velveeta makes things easy as it is perfect for making cheese sauces, macaroni and cheese, and some great dips as well.
The product melts very quickly, and you can stir in a whole host of other ingredients to give it a unique flavor which appeals to your family.
To make a cheese dip using a variety of cheeses and milk is going to take you some time.
You will have to wait for the cheese to melt and work on getting a proper consistency as well.
People don’t enjoy a watery cheese dip, and they don’t want something too stringy either.
With Velveeta, there is nothing to worry about.
You simply melt the cheese, and the consistency will be perfect every time.
You can then add in any other ingredients you want to flavor the Velveeta accordingly.
During busy times when people don’t have the time to prepare their own cheese sauces, Velveeta fills a perfect need.
Velveeta works quite well in a crockpot or slow cooker as well.
You won’t have to do anything aside from placing the Velveeta in the pot and turning it on.
Although Velveeta is easy to use, you should pay attention to the number of calories and the high sodium content if you happen to be on a diet of any kind.
In a society where time is money, Velveeta saves you time and therefore costs quite a bit of money.
5. Popularity
Last but certainly not least on our list is the popularity of Velveeta.
During World War II, the popularity of Velveeta went through the roof.
Throughout history, this has happened several times.
People really like the taste and the recipes that can be made with Velveeta, but they are sometimes turned off by the price.
Part of the reason Velveeta got so popular was that it was easy to use and affordable.
As it started to gain more popularity, it was not quite as well known for being affordable, and the pricing actually started to increase.
Since Velveeta is a unique product, it is something people know just by the name.
There are not many other products out there with the same consistency.
In fact, you can learn to make a version of Velveeta at home, but it is challenging to get the same consistency.
With the popularity of a product like this and people being into appetizers and dips that you can make with Velveeta, the price remains high.
In fact, about ten years ago, there was actually a shortage of Velveeta, and it was a very difficult product to find.
Today, there is plenty to go around, but with a long shelf life and people turning towards products that don’t need to be refrigerated, the convenience of Velveeta is still going to cost you.
If for some reason, the popularity of this product starts to fade, you could eventually see a decrease in the cost.
However, we don’t see this happening any time soon.
Is Velveeta Worth It?
With the price of Velveeta, you may be wondering whether or not it is worth purchasing at all.
The truth is that it really depends on what you are making.
If you are making something like a cheese dip or macaroni and cheese, Velveeta is a great choice.
If you are making a recipe that simply needs cheese, you can use a variety of different products.
We don’t recommend Velveeta as a cheese to eat on a daily basis.
Let’s remember that this not really a cheese, and instead, it’s a product that tastes like cheese.
For your daily intake, you should be considering foods that are more natural and more likely to be healthy for you in the long term.
You should look for sales on Velveeta.
After the holidays and the Super Bowl, you will sometimes see a sale on the cheese product.
The pricing drops because the summer months are not as popular for Velveeta.
You can also check your store to see if they have a generic version of Velveeta.
For instance, Walmart puts out a cheese block that is very similar to Velveeta, but it is offered at a considerably lower price.
When you compare the ingredients of the two, you will be surprised how similar they are.
If you are using Velveeta in a dip that gets mixed with other ingredients, chances are you will not notice the different cheese being used.
Most likely, it will taste almost exactly like the actual Velveeta product.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several good reasons behind Velveeta being priced so high.
It is really not the company simply trying to rip you off.
The product is just a bit more complicated to make than other cheeses.
Velveeta also has some conveniences that traditional cheese does not have.
To get around these things, Velveeta is going to be priced quite a bit higher.
Save this for a treat for when you have friends over or are watching a big football game.
Use Velveeta in your diet sparingly, and it will help your budget as well.
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