Paying for brands, not the food – some people are really missing the point
I got a bit narky when I went into the shop at Carluccio’s in Brighton recently. And not just Carluccio’s – we have Oil & Vinegar here in Worthing and in Brighton.
They, and their ilk are the home of overpriced Lifestyle (with a capital ‘L’) branded food – one showing a very Body Shop-like corporate image, staffed mostly by evangelistically fired-up young women just like Body Shop, and the other, a chef-as-brand emporium par excellence.
I must admit, I do buy the odd thing in O&V, when I can’t source it anywhere else in Worthing, but Carluccio’s prices are so hyper-inflated that I wonder about the people who buy their food there.
There’s something so 1990s about those who live as consumers, so unsure of themselves as individuals they have to drive certain German cars and wear logos loudly about their person; shoppers who have to have the validation of a brand before they will take the step into something unfamiliar.
I hope that Lifestyle food opens up the market in new ways, to people who wouldn’t usually buy this kind of stuff. I hope that food nutters like me continue to frequent the specialist shops we’ve spent years seeking out, and they will thrive. I just dread that our beloved shops will see what the likes of O&V and Carluccio’s are getting away with and hike their packaging and prices accordingly.
