Food | Luxury
Food Is The New Luxury And Ultimate Status Symbol
The Great Cheese Heist Was Only The Beginning
Food has always been a cornerstone of human existence — not only as a necessity but also as a symbol of celebration and togetherness. From birthday cakes to Taco Tuesdays, sharing meals has always been about more than just nourishment. Lately, though, food has gained a new status: the ultimate luxury item and social status symbol, as trends in social media and lifestyle marketing reveal.
Lately, food has had another badge added to its name. It has become the ultimate status symbol and the IT item to have. There is no greater trend in food than with the rise of the trad wives on social media. From Ballerina Farm to Nara Smith cooking everything from scratch, food is now the epitome of luxury and a status symbol.
Food’s new role as a symbol of wealth has reached such heights that the UK recently experienced one of its largest “cheese heists,” with 22 tons of cheddar cheese — worth nearly $600,000 — stolen.
While the UK was shocked by the great Cheese heist, in Spain, Olive Oil has become a common target for thefts in the supermarkets. This shift speaks to a broader issue: food is no longer just a staple; it’s an item some people struggle to afford.
Before inflation and shrinkflation, people hardly thought about food. It was always there, in abundance, and often taken for granted. Before the pandemic, food insecurity in places like the UK affected fewer households. Today, as reported by the Yorkshire Foodbank, the number of people relying on food assistance has skyrocketed from 4,500 to 16,000 since 2020, indicating a drastic increase in need.
Food is a necessity and a basic need in life. Yet, with global inflation and recession, food has now become a luxury for many and a necessity that is often out of reach.
Globally, people are tightening their spending and purchasing only necessities. Even in the US, shoppers are tightening their budgets at grocery stores by buying necessities instead of nice-to-haves.
As food becomes harder to afford, and people spend only on necessities leading to the decline of luxury brands, the brands have taken note. Prada, Dior, and Coach have opened cafes around the world, turning coffee and pastries into exclusive experiences.
What used to be aspirational luxury items, like handbags and sunglasses, are now rivaled by “everyday luxuries,” such as eating a croissant in a Dior café.
With a global recession looming, people are less likely to spend on high-end accessories, but a premium snack or coffee is a smaller indulgence they might splurge on. According to Deloitte, consumers are increasingly spending on these “little luxuries,” from specialty coffee to gourmet snacks.
Before the pandemic, a luxury item would be a new Louis Vuitton purse or a Prada sunglasses. However, with the decline in luxury brands around the world, high-end brands have to tap into a market that people are willing to splurge on which is part of a necessity, such as food.
The idea behind this is that since luxury brands frequently raise their prices, such as the Chanel Classic Medium Flap bag which now retails for USD 10,800 people are no longer shelling out their hard-earned money on luxury items.
With the rise of inflation and shrinkflation, today, people often prefer to spend their money on little treats and experiences that are considered more affordable and yet bring satisfaction.
Moreover, let’s not forget that today’s food and produce that we pick up in the grocery aisles are not the same as what our mothers and grandmothers picked up.
In addition to being expensive, modern food is different from what it used to be. Grocery shelves today are filled with highly processed options, often marketed as healthy alternatives. Labels that say “natural flavors” or “organic” create the impression of wholesome food, yet many of these products contain additives, preservatives, and sugars that weren’t part of our diets in past generations.
During the 1980s and 1990s, fresh produce and protein were affordable and readily available to most households, regardless of income. Today, however, studies like The Food Foundation’s “Broken Plate” report show that healthy foods cost twice as much as less healthy options, making nutritious choices more challenging for many families.
Today, the concern of food availability and price is a subject that unites everyone in the entire world. Especially when it comes to eating healthy and providing healthy meals for our families.
The traditional ways of farming are gone. Farmers are being increasingly challenged by depleting agricultural resources, shortage of labor, and high fertilizer costs which have increased 60% from 2021 to 2022.
This leaves only multinational and Fortune 500 corporations in charge of our food production. The aim of any corporation is to increase profits and lower costs which is today, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food that many of us grew up with in our childhood has become a luxury.
Many families who are not able to buy premium produce and vegetables are left with buying unhealthy options. Whether it is fast food, frozen dinners, or junk food, items that are high in sodium, sugars, and saturated fat, eating healthy is not an option anymore.
Despite this rising cost of food and groceries, people still have the perception that a sign of someone’s wealth is in the brands that they wear. Which is why luxury brands and items were coveted.
What the truly wealthy people of the world are gatekeeping from the rest of us is that true wealth and luxury are not the Gucci belt around our waist or the Hermes bag on our arms. True wealth is being able to grow and harvest fruits and vegetables in abundance right from your own backyard.
Take for example Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Martha Stewart. They may be in different industries catering to a different audience but they all have one thing in common, they all have their own farms.
Bill Gates is the largest private landowner of farmland in the United States owning 275000 acres of land. Mark Zuckerberg is currently raising Wagyu cows on his USD 100 Million estate in Hawaii. Martha Stewart currently lives in her 153-acre property in Bedford, NY, which is bursting with flora and fauna and greenhouses.
Thanks to social media darlings, Ballerina Farm and Nara Smith, food has now become a fashion trend. Their content focuses on cooking meals for their families from scratch, with fresh produce.
These influencers never have to use alternative ingredients for a recipe due to financial constraints nor have they ever had to stretch a dollar to make a meal work — a reality that many families are experiencing around the world.
Today in Russia, supermarkets are locking butter due to a 25% price increase which is leading to butter heists. The great food heists are rampant around the world.
However, despite the prevalent food heists, influencers such as Nara Smith keep taking their meals to the next level and showing abundance by not only having endless ingredients to cook with but also by wearing high-end haute couture to make her meals in the kitchen.
It is disheartening to see that a basic necessity such as food has now become a status symbol and luxury. However, all is not lost when it comes to food.
There are still good people in the world who are willing to lend a helping hand to their fellow man in these challenging times. Take for example in Canada, Tyler Heppell — a potato farmer, occasionally hosts an Ugly Potato Day to help curb food waste, inviting people and fellow farmers to bring in edible but visually imperfect produce.
He started the event in 2022 and has continued until today. In October, 2024, the event drew 15,000 attendees. Many of them waited in line for hours in the pouring rain and expressed that they were not able to buy produce to feed their families.
When people are waiting in line for hours to get free fresh produce such as potatoes, apples, tomatoes, and carrots, sipping a USD 8 cup of tea at a Prada Café is indeed the ultimate flex of having plenty.
The influencers and content creators are constantly on our screens with the latest makeup, skincare, or IT bags, convincing us that this is the best thing they have discovered and that we too have to have it. It seems, the latest IT item that no one is talking about, secretly gatekeeping and yet subtly flexing on, is food.
This brings us to a very important question, what can we do in a world where families are counting pennies at the checkout and people are shoplifting butter, cheese, and olive oil from the supermarkets?
How can we live in a world where butter, cheese, and olive oil are being coveted, guarded, and desired like precious metals? How do we make sure that parents no longer have to line up for hours in the pouring rain, waiting for ugly potatoes and imperfect carrots to feed their families?
Given these challenges, are we doomed as a society or is there a way for us to flip the script and change the conversation?
The good news is, there is something that you and I can do about it. A practical, empowering solution lies in home gardening and small-scale farming.
You don’t need to be a billionaire to grow a tomato plant. Whether you live in Kansas, Kenya, or Nicaragua, growing your own produce is possible — even with just a small pot or rooftop garden. Starting with a single seed can make a difference, offering fresh produce that’s free from the additives and costs of supermarket goods.
Whether you are in the US, Nicaragua, or Hong Kong, planting a tomato is done the same way. It all starts with one seed. One tiny seed is all we need. Thanks to the technology that we have today, even if you live in an apartment, a small house with no backyard and only a rooftop, or if you have a quarter-acre backyard, you can all grab one potting plant or grow bag and throw a seed in.
That’s it, it’s that simple, take one seed, put it in some water or some soil, or both, and watch as mother nature takes over.
Farming doesn’t have to be a full-time job. There are plenty of homesteaders and part-time farmers on social media who can show us how to be self-sufficient and grow the food that we need by spending only 1 hour a day in the garden.
It takes willpower, determination and perseverance. But in my opinion, it still beats waiting for hours in the rain for somebody else to have mercy on us and give us ugly potatoes.
Most of us easily spend more than one hour doom scrolling on social media. If we can afford that kind of time, we can afford to dedicate an hour to growing a tomato or garlic plant.
If you are currently feeling crushed and helpless with the ever-rising prices of food and the amount of pesticides that are being pumped into the produce that we seem to have no choice but to tolerate, just remember, you and I, do have a choice.
All we need to do is take the first step and sow that seed into the soil.
Will you join me in planting that first seed?
