Saturday, April 10, 2010

Do They Eat Salads In The South ?

... A noted blogger ask me.
"No",I replied.

The guy was looking at options for a business to open which would benefit Blacks and their well being.
Being from California, "Salads" seemed like a logical business opportunity worth exploring.
But the South is the fattest region of the country for a reason - people here like to eat for taste... not nutrition.

I further explained that the best way to sell salads to Blacks was to market the concept to whites first.
But why does this make sense?

Salads are expensive.
No, not the old Cobb Salad at the Brown Derby but the newer more trendy salads that look like weeds.
In California, produce is affordable and readily available.
There is little need for storage or delivery.
So most produce is grown and sold locally at a reasonable price.
Since there would be a bigger markup down here - there is little room for profit.
The only option would be to charge ridiculous prices for things most people could grow at their own homes.

Salads cost a lot but are not filling.
Who would spend $15 on a salad when the same amount of money could be spent on a bucket of chicken?
Well... there are some groups down here who would.
Many from the Black aspirational class would follow anything they saw on The Hills or heard about on reruns of Friends.
(Have you ever seen a huge Black woman bragging about fitting into a pair of "Skinny Jeans"? It ain't a pretty sight.)
Many from this group associate anything thought of as being from a higher class with anything practiced by whites.
Many qualify their 'superior' upbringing by pointing out how exclusive their lives are because they live around, work with, or went to school in an (almost) all white area.
Sure, some Blacks down here would choose a salad over a plate of ribs - but to be able to support a restaurant one has to appeal to more than just those from out of state.

But what is the goal?
Is it to help people to learn better eating habits?
If so - how does it matter how it was accomplished?
Is it to make money?
If this is the case you'd be better off offering teacup pig legs and selling them as "Atlanta Pig Wings".

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welp sometimes it's just asking to probe what is possible and impossible. I am sure Subway would've went through a similar Q&A until they rolled it out.

The goal is to make money but it's also to find a niche that hasn't been tried. Can't always make money making the better burger or chicken wing.

But like anything else in business you cater the food to the people's likes. This recession skews your ability to determine what people like and what people are willing to pay for.

Either way Pig Legs will have to be done by someone who doesn't object to pigs in the first place.

Reggie said...

Sure we eat salads, as long as there is a hog in it!!!

uglyblackjohn said...

@ Anon - This is the South - Pork is King.

@ Reg - Exactly.

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