[bsder]

> A return to the original recipe would win me back, and I’m willing to bet I’m not alone.

People don't notice the gradual enshittification ... until they do. The problem is that, at that point, they're not just going to switch; they are now angry at your brand and getting them back is going to be impossible.

[exmadscientist]

Like many people, I've been making Kraft macaroni and cheese for decades by this point. The recipe is on the box. It's not hard to make.

Or at least, it didn't used to be hard to make. Whatever they've done to the stuff recently, they've actually broken the instructions. It no longer even cooks correctly. Three cooking failures in a row, means I will never buy your product again. Why should I? There's a dozen alternatives. Most are either unhealthy or don't taste right to at least one member of the family, but there's a dozen of them... one worked out.

I'm angry and I'm not going back.

[pimlottc]

Broken how? It’s one of the simplest recipes I can think of. Boil pasta until done, drain, add butter, milk, powder, return to heat, mix.

[explodes]

Whatever the pasta is now, it cooks quite differently. You'll get softer noodles much quicker, and will congeal into a blob unlike the old recipe. Additionally the water gets extra starchy with the new recipe. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else but the quantity per box has decreased as well. Special shapes came in smaller weights, but now even the regular box does too.

[exmadscientist]

> congeal into a blob

That is the specific problem I get now. The powdered sauce-stuff just never turns into a sauce but instead likes to stay in these horrid blobs full of unreconstituted powder, while half the noodles aren't coated. When it happens three times in a row, with three separate batches/box date codes and different milk/butter, I can cook your competitor's product with no issues, and I used to be able to cook yours so I know I'm not just being dense, that means it's your fault and you're out. Forever. Having real alternatives means I have no mercy for enshittification.

I should probably also note that this is specifically the "Thick and Creamy" variant because the " 'Original' Flavor" got banned from the household a long time ago for somehow being inferior to store-brand generic. Kraft just really does not want our business.

[Zacru]

They changed something about the noodles and now they are way overcooked if you follow the box instructions. And you need way more butter to get a similar flavor to before.