FOOD BRANDED AS LUXURY; IT MADE IT TO THE EXCLUSIVE TABLE
Hey friends! There's a noticeable shift happening in the marketing world—it's becoming more about curating a full experience rather than just producing ads. Experiences are the best way to emotionally connect with customers, as brands create memories and positive associations. One thing that can effortlessly evoke a universal response is food. It stimulates all five senses, giving you a fully immersive experience. Plus, we all have some precious memories associated with food. Lately, food has been treated like a luxury good, and there's a lot that goes into it.
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"Food is not just eating energy. It's an experience." - Guy Fieri
What is our relationship with food now?
We have seen a major shift in our relationship with food during the pandemic. Health concerns, financial instability, and romanticizing daily life all played a role in why food gained a luxury status. Lockdowns deprived us of many things that used to be normal, such as going out to clubs, dining in restaurants, traveling, and shopping. Suddenly, we were left with 'the bare minimum,' and so daily mundane life became the focus online. Grabbing an expensive coffee or smoothie, baking bread, and receiving salad deliveries were the stars in every Gen Z vlog. Expensive watches and Zara hauls were swapped for edible goods. Food has become a status symbol as it is increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain healthy habits and access good-quality ingredients.
Coming out of the pandemic, food has retained its luxury status as we entered the quiet luxury movement. Quiet luxury prefers a subtle and minimalist expression of luxury over flashy brands. It focuses on quality, craftsmanship, authenticity, and sustainability while reflecting a desire for meaningful experiences, ethical consumption, and a more discerning approach to luxury that values substance over showiness.
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"Luxury is not about buying expensive things; it's about living in a way where you appreciate things." - Oscar de la Renta
Why are Erewhon Stores so popular?
It was during that time that the now infamous grocery store Erewhon earned the title of the "hottest pandemic club in Los Angeles," as Vanity Fair called it. Erewhon's ability to blend fashion, food, and culture has solidified its reputation as more than just a grocery store—it's a cultural phenomenon reflecting the millennial and Gen Z shift towards experiential living and prioritizing well-being over material possessions.
The store's layout and beautiful packaging offer a meticulously curated selection of wellness-focused products, blending organic, gluten-free, biodynamic, free-range, and vegan options—all handpicked by the owners who won’t allow just any product from brands trying to make it in. These editorial-looking products appeal to the Instagramable and vlogable world of Gen Z. These products cost way more than your average grocery store, ensuring that you won't walk out with five items for less than $200. It might sound crazy, but it's not rare to find its customers returning daily.
Who helped make Erewhon Stores so popular?
During the pandemic, Erewhon was deemed an essential service, even though it offers more than just groceries; you can grab hot food for lunch, visit the smoothie bar, or relax in a seating area with tables to enjoy your expensive purchase. This quickly made it one of the few places where people could socialize. However, what truly set Erewhon apart was its now-viral smoothies, the only product with a waiting list of collaborators. Celebrities like Olivia Rodriguez and Chris Appleton have created their own smoothies, but the bestseller remains the Strawberry Skin Glaze Smoothie created by Hailey Bieber, promising glowing skin. This promise must be a covet one since it is selling over 40,000 units monthly.
Erewhon is a taste of luxury. The grocery store itself is set up as if it were a luxury store, with its rare exotic products. If there's one place where you could buy water from the Fountain of Youth, it's there. Yes, these products are expensive, but they represent a lifestyle, a feeling of luxury, and while you might not be able to afford a pair of Louis Vuitton loafers, you can surely afford a $22 smoothie.
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"The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating." - John Walters
How Luxury Fashion is the new cook in the kitchen.
If Erewhon was elevated to the same level as a luxurious fashion store, but with food at the center, luxury fashion brands themselves began integrating food into their sparkling stores, opening restaurants and cafes that validate food’s place next to a Birkin bag. Food made its way through the door of the very selective world of high fashion. Luxury brands know very well that an experience is what their customers are looking for, and that mixing tasty food with their iconic styles creates stories. Plus, it is a clever way to reach the younger generation by offering products they can afford. If you think about it, food and luxury brands have always belonged with each other; they both appeal to our hedonistic tendencies and our desire to display our status (it just hits different to eat profiteroles at Marie-Antoinette’s party).
Of course, the restaurants and cafes that these iconic brands opened are not simple delis but reflect, from décor to the menu, their brand’s identity. Dior’s restaurant called Monsieur Dior in Paris will serve you classic French cuisine. Similarly, Gucci Garden in Florence collaborates with Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura for Gucci Osteria, where innovative Italian dishes are served, blending Gucci's creativity with culinary delights. And you can finally have breakfast at Tiffany’s at their Blue Box café, which makes you feel like you are directly inside one of their infamous jewel boxes.
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"Luxury is in each detail." - Hubert de Givenchy
How is food inspiring Luxury Fashion?
We couldn’t resist sharing the work of some artists who play really well on this theme. We love how popular art always reflects our time and society, capturing something that we couldn’t quite put into words yet. Chloe Wise, Gab Bois, and Tommy Cash all mixed food with fashion in their own unique ways and we thought you just had to see it.
Chloe Wise’s sculpture bag
Chloe Wise has seen her art career kicked off through her bread sculptures parading as Prada and Chanel bags. Initially, these bags were believed to be limited editions of the brands themselves, and we can understand why when you see the level of detail and quality that was put into them.
Gab Bois’s Marc Jacob Salad shorts
In Gab Bois's case, she focuses more on the mundane, transforming everyday food into everyday objects and clothes for her conceptual photos.
Tommy Cash’s bread loafers
Tommy Cash is known for pushing boundaries with his weird and sometimes uncomfortable performances, but we absolutely love his collaboration on these limited edition bread loafers that were launched not once, but twice. The second time around, however, the bread was moldy (genius).
Ultimately, food and luxury fashion are not just about consumption; they are about creating stories, sparking conversations, and offering products and experiences that resonate with the modern consumer's values and aspirations. As we continue to navigate this evolving landscape, the fusion of food and luxury fashion will likely remain a compelling and influential trend shaping the future of consumer culture.
So what’s for lunch?