You know us Savinliers. We adore coupons. We’re constantly scouting for another voucher, a deeper discount, a better bargain.
We especially favor coupons for groceries because food is one of the few things you pretty much have to purchase. (Personally, if I’ve got food, shelter, clothes and caffeine, I’m satisfied.) That’s why you won’t find us in the supermarket without coupons in hand.
That made us wonder: What would happen if we contacted food manufacturers directly and requested coupons? How many brands will mail coupons if you ask politely?
For the sake of research, I reached out to a variety of huge food conglomerates like Kraft, Kellogg’s, Nestle, Nabisco, Post, Tyson and General Mills.
I visited the websites of Dannon, Dial, Dole, Downy, Del Monte and Duncan Hines. I asked Welch’s, Windex, Whiskas and Wonder Bread. I wrote to Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, and to 7-Up and 9 Lives.
I contacted 100 brands. I received more than $120 worth of coupons in return.
How I Flattered Companies and Praised Their Goods
During this process, I never revealed I was writing for Savinly. I simply gave my name, email and mailing address. That was me — Joe Blow, ordinary consumer.
I followed the lead of the savvy couponers at Couponers United, who have perfected this approach. Their suggestion for asking companies for coupons is: “When you email them, try to stay positive, offer them advice, or simply tell them how much your family loves their products.”
Couponers United keeps a list of nearly 200 companies from which members have successfully obtained coupons this way. I used the same method, though my success rate differed.
Out of the 100 brands I contacted, 26 mailed me physical coupons. Another 16 directed me to webpages where I could print coupons.
When I got to a company’s website, I would locate its “Contact Us” page and submit a message similar to the following:
“Dear (Company),
Our household loves (your product) and we use it nearly every day. (OR, we enjoy it all the time.) Do you ever issue coupons that might reduce the cost of your excellent product?
Thank you!
(My name)”
What the Process Felt Like
I discovered this was surprisingly time-intensive, even though I was essentially sending the same praise to each brand. Contacting 100 companies required many hours.
When requesting feedback, every brand’s site wanted my age and gender. They all required my name, address and email. Over and over, I had to complete online CAPTCHA checks to prove I wasn’t an automated bot.
Honestly, brands, I’m not a robot.
My recommendation: Only contact brands whose products you already use regularly. Anything else is likely a waste of time.
Here are the results of my inquiries, organized by category.
Brands That Sent Coupons in the Mail
After I sang their praises, 26% of the brands dropped coupons into my mailbox. Even better: Most of these manufacturer coupons won’t expire for close to a year.
- The clear standout was my pals at SC Johnson, makers of many household staples. The company mailed me a haul of 17 $1-off coupons for Drano, Fantastik, Glade, Off!, Pledge, Raid, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, Windex and Ziploc products.
- Close behind were my pals at Unilever, the global consumer goods titan with hundreds of brands. After I contacted several of its labels, Unilever mailed me 11 coupons totaling $11 off for brands like Axe, Country Crock, Dove, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Magnum, Pond’s, TRESemmé and Vaseline.
Unilever! Who knew?
- Blue Diamond sent six $1-off coupons for assorted almond and cracker products.
- Schick mailed three $2-off coupons valid on its razors or disposable razor packs.
- Edy’s sent four coupons totaling nearly $5 in savings on its frozen treats.
- The J.M. Smucker Co. mailed two coupons for $1.50 off Meow Mix cat food and two coupons for $0.35 off Jif peanut butter.
- King’s Hawaiian sent a coupon for a free package of rolls and another for $1 off, plus tempting recipes for French toast and mini ham sandwiches. Suddenly I’m hungry again.
- White House Foods, best known for applesauce, mailed four coupons — two for free items and two for $0.25 off. These are valid for nearly two years!
- After contacting several other brands, I received coupons from companies with per-brand savings of $3 or less: Beech-Nut, Blistex, Chobani, Dannon, Haagen-Dazs, Henkel (Right Guard), Hostess, Hot Pockets, Land O Lakes, Mars Petcare (Whiskas), McCormick, Michelina’s, Pepperidge Farm, Pinnacle Foods (Birds Eye), Post, Red Rose, Tyson, and Wells Blue Bunny.
Several of these companies mentioned I could contact them again in six months to request more coupons.
Brands That Asked Me to Print Coupons at Home
Some brands pointed me to printable coupons instead of mailing them.
Kraft is the undisputed leader in this category. At any moment you can print coupons from its site for $1, $2 or $3 off Air Wick, Arm & Hammer, Edge, Excedrin, Garnier, Hefty, Hershey, Huggies, L’Oreal, McCafe, Purina, Skintimate, Speed Stick, Sudafed, Suave Kids, Tidy Cats, Tums, Venus, Visine and others.
Procter & Gamble had me print coupons offering $1 or $2 off Bounce, Bounty, Cascade, Charmin, Crest, Gillette, Swiffer and Tide products.
Bayer directed me to printable coupons for $1 to $4 off Alka-Seltzer, Aleve and Miralax.
Other brands that sent me to printable offers included:
- Coupons totaling $5 off various Jennie-O turkey items.
- $2 off Glade air fresheners.
- $1.50 off Cottonelle toilet paper.
- $1 off Charmin, Clearasil, Gevalia coffee, Hefty trash bags, Swanson broth or Uncle Ben’s rice.
- $0.75 off Haagen-Dazs.
- $0.50 off Bounce sheets, Campbell’s soup, Crest toothpaste or Lysol cleaner.
Brands That Said, “Check Your Sunday Paper”
“We sincerely regret that we have no coupons to send at this time,” Dannon Yogurt replied. “For your convenience, we often promote our products through newspaper inserts. You may be able to find valuable coupons in your local Sunday paper.”
I received nearly identical replies from 7-Up, 9 Lives, Bic, Curel, Entenmann’s, General Mills, Lean Cuisine, Mott’s, Nabisco, Ocean Spray, Sargento, Snapple, StarKist and Tropicana. Georgia-Pacific — maker of several popular paper towel and toilet paper brands — offered the same guidance.
Brands That Asked Me to Join Their Insider Club
“While we do not have coupons available upon request,” Kashi replied, “we encourage you to join our online community.”
The story repeated with Ball Park Franks, Clorox, Crayola, Dole, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Neutrogena, Stonyfield, Uncle Ben’s, Welch’s and Viva.
I was frequently invited to enroll in each brand’s insider program or newsletter, which promised product news, recipes, corporate nutrition updates and possible downloadable coupons.
My inbox filled with messages like: “We invite you to join Folgers® Wakin’ Up Club for special promotions.”
“Please join Welch’s Grapevine Insider newsletter.”
Brands That Pointed Me to Their Websites
Chiquita, Duncan Hines, Glad and Pine-Sol suggested I periodically check their websites for manufacturer coupons. I haven’t spotted any yet.
Brands That Said, “We Can’t Afford It”
Bigelow Tea, the longtime tea maker, says it’s been overwhelmed with coupon requests recently.
“Recently we’ve experienced an astonishing increase in coupon & sample requests, with as much as one out of every two customers contacting us now asking for coupons and samples,” its site notes. “We wish we could honor all requests, but as a small family company our ability to accommodate all of the wonderful consumers that contact us is beyond our means. We hope you will understand.”
It’s all right, Bigelow Tea. We’re still fans. At least you were courteous about it.
Brands That Didn’t Reply
Some brands simply never responded. I won’t list them here. No hard feelings to companies like Gorton’s Fish, Hawaiian Punch or Krusteaz.
You might have better luck with some of these brands. The site Couponers United, which inspired this experiment, has recorded greater success with this tactic.
This was my personal result after one round of contacting these companies. As always, your experience may differ.
Me? I’m heading to the grocery store now.
