Luxury Food
Luxury food can often be described as outrageous.
I mean, would YOU pay $40 for a bottle of water?
Well, Bling H2O water cost $40 for a 750 ml bottle. Seriously.
Samuel Adams’ Utopias costs $120 for a 24oz bottle.
Lambda olive oil costs $182 for 1,000 ml.
While many people are being as frugal as they can, there is a completely opposite trend of outrageously overspending on luxury foods that, some say, are no more than beautifully packaged and cleverly marketed basic food staples.
As the American economy slows down, and people struggle to creatively cope with ever-rising costs, the sales of luxury foods are up 17% over the past two years, compared with 4% for overall food sales.
Joel Stein thinks that while some of these gourmet foods are good enough that it actually makes sense to buy them if you can afford it, paying $40 for a bottle of water never makes sense.
I haven’t tried any of those luxury foods. But I wonder: if a food item is priced at ten times the price of a generic item, is it really ten times better? Is a $700 pair of Dolce & Gabbana skinny jeans 10 times “better” than a $70 Calvin Klein pair
And how should we define “better” anyway? Better-tasting food? Higher quality clothes? Don’t these prices in fact represent a hefty premium that is paid for the designer label and fancy packaging? How much are people willing to pay for the designer label? And, if you can afford it, should you even care about consumerism or should you just spend away to your little hearts’ content?
I wish I had the answers, but I don’t. If I can’t afford something, I don’t buy it. That’s easy enough, and thanks to this approach, I never got into credit card debt. But in other areas, my personal choices are probably somewhere in the middle. I am not nearly as frugal as I could be, but I am trying to simplify, buy less and avoid paying “designer premiums.”
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Related reading: Organic Food
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Mrs. Micah responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 7:25 am →
If I wanted to spend $40 on a beverage, I’d buy champagne. Or a heck of a lot of water. I can’t quite understand the conspicuous consumption which leads people to pay more for the exact same thing. Unless they have some good reason for purposefully getting rid of money.
The only thing I can understand is patronizing a very good and expensive restaurant on a special occasion. That’s like going to the theater, you’re paying for an experience.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 10:48 am →
“Unless they have some good reason for purposefully getting rid of money.” – that’s exactly my question. If you have so much, is it okay to throw it away? Also agree that a good restaurant is an exception.
ironman responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 11:16 am →
Throwing away money is irresponsible. The $700 pair is not 14 times better than the $50 pair. I find it disgusting that people spend so much on basics.
But maybe I’m just jealous.
Chris responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm →
The only reason why things are overpriced is because you have too many people who have more money than God, and too many people who pretend to have more money than God.
The only thing that’s really worth spending money for is a 1st class ticket to a 16 hr. flight and a 5 star hotel…LOL
Naomi Dunford responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 2:03 pm →
Man. I thought I was bad ’cause I spent $15 on salt. Jeez.
I’m all for specific extravagances — I’ve said on my blog that I see nothing wrong with spending $600 on a purse — but I think each person’s break-the-bank items should at least provide them with extraordinary value. My salt makes me feel like the tomato salad I make at home is 100 times better than the one in the bistro, so it provides me with value. That purse — which I haven’t bought yet — will last me ten years and make me feel like a million bucks when I wear it.
Dunno. Guess it’s to each their own. But I like what Chris said — too many people pretending they have more money than God. Those are the ones doing the damage, both to their peers and to their own retirement funds.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 8th, 2008 at 7:02 pm →
@ ironman: I agree!
@ Chris: so, we have a good restaurant and a first class flight on our list of exceptions.
@ Naomi: agree about damage to retirement funds. It’s a matter of priorities, I guess.
Andre Kibbe responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 8:06 am →
I think the increase in specialty food sales actually results from the larger trend against conspicuous consumption. The affluent still want luxury, but don’t want to be seen wearing, driving or owning extravagant things; so they direct their luxury spending where it can be enjoyed discreetly: in the kitchen. The same phenomemon is happening in the service sector. People are spending more than ever on personal trainers, gurus, tours, and other sprees that leave no material artifacts that the frugal like to criticize.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 8:32 am →
@ Andre: this is interesting. I haven’t thought about it. So this enables rich people get their “luxury fix” without drawing criticism.
Ann responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 5:01 pm →
I really struggle with this because I work for a specialty food company. While there are many wonderful products I love, I rarely purchase them; I just can’t justify the expense, and I object to what I label the elitism of it all.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 10th, 2008 at 6:18 pm →
@Ann: I don’t envy you… unless you can get a significant discount on those products.
JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, You responds:
Posted: April 18th, 2008 at 12:55 pm →
…Bling..water?
really?
MomGrind responds:
Posted: April 18th, 2008 at 5:58 pm →
@ JEMi: yes… remarkable, I know.
Claire responds:
Posted: April 25th, 2008 at 4:04 am →
If you spend $40 on a bottle of water. you should have your head examined! However, I have tried Lambda Olive Oil and it is totally worth the hefty pricetag. It has lower acidity than other extra virgin olive oils so the taste is much fruitier and more intense than the typical oil you can buy at Dean and Deluca.
Taylor responds:
Posted: May 26th, 2008 at 7:52 pm →
I wouldn’t pay $40 for water. That’s insane. I’ve tried Lambda and it is truly worthy of all the hype. I just cooked some roasted vegetables with it and it made my dinner taste truly gourmet. The flavor is unreal. It infuses whatever you cook with it with a fresh, fruity, flavorful bite.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: May 26th, 2008 at 7:55 pm →
Now I am curious to try Lambda too!