4. Ideas Illustrated;

Written by Collyn Ahart, illustrated by Yeji Yun.

Like so many middle-class families in the 80s and 90s, mine seemed to go on a mission to declare its class station and upward mobility outside the confines and limitations of money.

We weren’t wealthy and we were modest travelers. But we were a fairly well-educated family, with college and graduate degrees going back several generations on both sides of the family (prohibited from doing a chemistry degree, my maternal grandmother received a MSc in nutritional sciences the 1940s). But we weren’t art buyers; we didn’t have fancy cars, fly first class or go to expensive restaurants.

We did, however, seem to fill our refrigerator and pantry with all things that made us seem culturally sophisticated. And in the 80s and 90s these things seemed to take their cues chiefly from continental Europe: specifically derived from France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain. With the exception of foodie epicenters like Alice Water’s Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, foods like garlic, baguettes, olive oil, even lattes and swiss chocolates were pretty niche until the 80s when something changed. That something was arguably market deregulation and nouveau riche wallets flooded with cash.

Needing a way to keep up with the influx of BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches, designer superbrands and exotic travel; the less-affluent but educated middle classes used the more affordable FMCG brands trickling down as a way to distinguish themselves as culturally educated.

So while brands like Lindt, Ritter Sport, Starbucks (with all its Italianese Venti, Grande, Frappe, and -ccinos), Alpen museli, Pizza Express and Müller had enjoyed some niche appeal through the 60s and 70s, they were about to find a mass market willing and ready to look sophisticated by buying their products.

Olive oil, pesto and kalamata olives, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, brie, feta, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, Swiss and Belgian chocolates, lattes, cappuccinos, espresso, yoghurts, French and Italian wines, pasta (Fettucini, Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, Fusilli, Penne, even Spaghetti,) garlic, tapas, even crusty white baguettes became the defining food products of the era.

But culture is a moving target. If everything just stayed the same, people like me would be out of a job. But lucky for us, the world is a constant ebb and flow of shifting values, dominant inspirations, opinion leaders and those big bad black swan events that unexpectedly uproot everything and change the game.

A few weeks ago, I was asked why Lindt chocolate remained so popular despite have no claims to being Fair Trade, no organic credentials, nothing artisan, local or creative about it. It seemed counter-intuitive to do so well in a premium market. But it’s worth keeping in mind: Lindt’s success is largely among people over the age of 50.

Of course it is. Being “continental” was the definition of sophistication during their formative years of starting families, nesting and making consumer choices that would determine their level of cultural capital.

Trends don’t usually die. They do, however age. Right now (just like the “continental” brands of the 80s and 90s) all the “ethical” brands of the Noughties are starting to age. They won’t disappear, but they will slowly age and lose cultural relevance as the culture target moves around.  How they evolve to hit the culture target when it arrives at its new destination will determine their success.



Collyn Ahart is a freelance insight, innovation and brand strategy consultant working with YCN.
Yeji Yun is a freelance illustrator, living and working in London.

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