Bacon, Eggs, and Price Gouging

A Response To Our Commenters

We love when people see something unexpected in our glass—it’s part of what makes art exciting. The Venus Water Bottle was designed to be fluid, organic, and full of movement, and if that movement happened to land somewhere between marbleized elegance and a strip of crispy bacon, well… that’s just part of the fun and we’d like to jump in on that.

But while one conversation was all in good fun, another thread had a different tone - accusations of price gouging. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard it, and it won’t be the last. So let’s have that conversation, too. We’ll get into that in a moment.

What really caught our attention, though, was the dedication of one commenter who took it a step further, painting an Egg Water Bottle mock-up to pair with the Venus’s… bacon. That kind of creativity and dedication deserves recognition. We all got a good laugh, so, we did what we do best—we fired up the furnaces and put our glassworkers to the task.

Understanding Profit & Sustainability

A common misconception is that higher prices automatically mean higher profits. The reality for Blenko is quite different. Over the last 20 years, the Blenko family has invested over $4 million dollars of their personal wealth to keep this company alive—nearly $500,000 in just the last year alone. Despite these efforts, Blenko has not turned a profit in decades. Every dollar we make goes right back into the company—paying wages, upgrading our facilities, maintaining our furnaces, and ensuring we can continue producing handmade glass.

We’re not sitting on excess profits. We’re keeping our nose above water in a world and economy that has largely moved beyond handmade goods at scale. And yet, we push forward because we believe that Blenko deserves to exist, that our artisans deserve security, and that handmade glass should continue to be made in West Virginia. When we talk about pricing, we’re talking about survival and sustainability, not excess or greed.

Made in America: The Blenko Way

If you believe in American-made products, there are few companies as true to that mission as Blenko. Every single piece we create is 100% made in the USA, handcrafted in West Virginia using raw materials sourced right here in America. We don’t outsource, we don’t cut corners, and we don’t rely on overseas labor to drive down costs—we invest in American workers.

At Blenko, we are doing exactly what people say they want to see more of in this country. We are hiring apprentices, creating jobs, and training people in a highly skilled trade—on the job, from the ground up. Many of our glassmakers started with no experience, learned the craft here, and have turned their work into a career. We set wages and salaries based on fair market rates, tied directly to the cost of living in West Virginia, ensuring that our employees earn what they need to support their families.

We take raw American resources and raw American talent and transform them into collectible goods that are shipped all across the country. Few businesses can say they take local materials, local workers, and export pure American craftsmanship - culture even, across the nation. That’s exactly what we do, every single day.

So if you believe in Made in America, supporting American jobs, and keeping skilled trades alive in this country, then supporting Blenko isn’t just about buying glass—it’s about standing behind a company that embodies those values.

What Is Price Gouging?

People throw around the term price gouging without always understanding what it actually means. It implies that a business is unfairly inflating prices to take advantage of customers, usually in a situation where demand is high, and supply is restricted. But let’s break down what’s really happening at Blenko versus what’s happening in the economy at large.

In 2015, the combined cost of a McChicken and a Large Sweet Tea was $2.10. Applying normal U.S. inflation (averaging 2.5% annually), that meal should cost $2.56 in 2024. However, in reality, the price has jumped to $4.88—a 144% increase, significantly outpacing baseline inflation.

Meanwhile, the Blenko 384 Water Bottle was priced at $53.00 + shipping in 2015. Using the same standard inflation model, it should cost $67.90 today. Instead, it is $92—a 73% increase (and we’re able to offer free shipping over $99!).

The difference of $24.10 between $67.90 (expected inflation price) and $92.00 (today’s price) represents the cost of:

1. Paying livable wages—ensuring our glassmakers are compensated fairly for their skill and labor.

2. Providing health insurance and benefits—things that were not factored into Blenko’s pricing model for decades.

3. Funding retirement plans with company matching—allowing our artisans to build a future.

4. Reinvesting in our furnaces and infrastructure—so that Blenko can continue producing handmade glass for the next 100 years.

The Price of Eggs – A Case Study in Price Gouging

So if we want to have a discussion about gouging, let’s put things in perspective. The pricing history of a dozen eggs in West Virginia over the last 10 years has been anything but stable:

1. In 2015, the average price of a dozen eggs was $2.47.

2. From 2016 to 2021, prices hovered between $1.40 and $1.74 per dozen—low, steady, and predictable.

3. In 2022, prices spiked to $2.86 per dozen.

4. By January 2023, eggs hit a record-high $4.82 per dozen nationwide.

5. After a brief decline, they soared again in late 2023.

6. As of January 2025, the average cost of a dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.95—a new record.

7. In West Virginia specifically, the most recent data shows a dozen eggs cost $4.64.

That’s a 231% increase in egg prices over a decade. Unlike Blenko, where prices have risen to correct decades of undervaluation and sustain our artisans, the egg market is a textbook example of corporate-driven price inflation, blamed on everything under the sun. 

Addressing Limited Stock Concerns

Another frequent complaint we hear is that we only sell very limited quantities at a time. Sometimes, our colors turn out an unexpected but stunning shade—beautiful, but not exactly what was ordered—which means we can’t fulfill bulk orders with it. So what do we do? We sell what we have.

Glassmaking isn’t a perfect science. It’s a highly unusual medium that sometimes allows for one-of-a-kind results. When that happens, we must maximize revenue from those limited pieces to sustain our operations. If that means we can only produce 20 of an item, then we will sell it accordingly.

Does that make us evil? No, it makes us glassmakers who need to stay in business. Limited stock is not a trick—it’s a reality of handmade craftsmanship. And that’s something worth celebrating, not attacking us over on social media.

In fact, we’re releasing a whole category of “experimental” colors where we’ll be releasing these extremely limited runs.

The Egg Water Bottle – A Statement on Actual Price Gouging

To celebrate the dedication of the commenter who handcrafted his own Egg Water Bottle concept, we’ve taken his vision and brought it to life. Only two “Egg” Water Bottles exist:

• Egg Water Bottle 1/2 will go directly to the artist behind the original concept—our way of saying thank you for the inspiration.

• Egg Water Bottle 2/2 will be listed at auction now HERE, with the starting bid set at the true cost of a single egg—the price of a dozen eggs, divided by 12, which by our data should be around $0.39.

That way, anyone who thinks they’re being gouged can bid freely and gouge themselves as much as they’d like.

Blenko is glass. Blenko is color. And now, Blenko is eggs.

We hope to see you soon - and challenge you all to continue to engage with us in a positive and friendly way.

Enjoy, and be nice to each other.

Sincerely,
Dave W, VP of Manufacturing

Sources:

• US Inflation Calculator - Egg Prices Over Time

• Nerdwallet - Egg Price Inflation

• BLS Consumer Price Index - Food Costs

• McDonald's Pricing Trends