Truffles, caviar, champagne, saffron: so many foods that have risen to the pinnacle of chic and have become symbols of luxury and supreme sweetness. The questions that bother are these: why so much aura around a product, and does it deserve its price?
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Champagne is inseparable from major celebrations and social events. If his sacrifice on the hull of the boats can be perceived as the squandering of a precious elixir, it is all the same easier to ward off fate than the blood spilled by the sailors of ancient Greece. It takes what it takes ! The sea gods would love bubbles. Moreover, the White Star was wrongly shunning this symbol of luck, it has been said. We know the tragic end of titanic…
The secret of this nectar which “captivates like the lights in the evening attract moths” lies, as the Union of Champagne Houses points out on its official website, in an image and a great wine: a delicate combination which, one thing leading to another, has made it a universal metaphor for happiness.
A product reaches this level of superiority for different reasons that tend towards one characteristic: its rarity and therefore its exclusive character, explains Marie-Ève Faust, luxury specialist and professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at the University of Quebec. in Montreal (UQAM). “As the product is rare, the demand is more difficult to meet, which increases its price proportionally. »
The elders of New Brunswick or the Gaspé can still testify to the disappointment of finding a lobster sandwich — vulgar “baloney of the seas” — in their lunch box. Question of context, then. But no fashion, let’s be clear. Luxury is long term.
An exceptional product
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Caviar costs what it costs due to the time involved in its production and the scarcity of the resource, as the sturgeon is now a protected species. Its eggs, taken once from the abdomen of a female aged 6 to 20, are harvested and sorted by hand.
The rarity of a product comes from a combination of factors: its terroir, its know-how, the complexity of its production, its heritage, its quality and the context in which it takes place.
Take the example of Saint-Émilion, an appellation contrôlée that only includes wines produced on the eponymous hills of the Bordeaux region. Within this niche is formed another hierarchy: that of the great wine estates which produce them with exceptional know-how and which themselves have their own Grands Crus Classés and their vintages deemed exceptional. This refines the pyramid of luxury. Thus increases the price of luxury.
Maintaining this aura is a balancing act between the highest quality standards, a pampered image and profit, even if it means sacrificing short-term results for sustainability. Such radiation is not created in the blink of an eye.
Products that are just flashy won’t hold up and will become mundane.
Marie-Ève Faust, luxury specialist and professor in the Department of Strategy, Social and Environmental Responsibility at UQAM
A luxury product generates pale copies and exposes itself to counterfeiting, but only one has what it takes to be appreciated by connoisseurs. We sell three times more saffron in the world than we produce! “When a luxury food is sold at a discount, there is something fishy,” warns the owner of Emporium Safran Québec, Micheline Sylvestre. Producing saffron – the most expensive spice in the world, which is also called red gold – requires, to harvest the precious and rare pistils, laborious work that only the delicacy of the hands can accomplish.
“When the word ‘caviar’ is used in all sauces to include other fish eggs, it does not do justice to the real product”, declares for his part the founder of Oysters & Caviar, François-Xavier Dehédin. . “The real one, the only one, is the one that comes from the sturgeon. Afterwards, we will find the one that suits us. Caviar costs what it costs due to the time involved in its production and the scarcity of the resource, as the sturgeon is now a protected species. Its eggs, taken once from the abdomen of a female aged 6 to 20, are harvested and sorted by hand. Oscietre, Beluga or Siberian sturgeon caviars are the most renowned and can be recognized by the perfection of their grain and the delicacy of their taste, with no dominant note and no bitterness. Black gold.
“Luxury is an experience, according to François-Xavier Dehédin. For some, it’s a pleasure to tick on her bucket list. Mushrooms, there are 1000 of them, but there is only one that costs $5000 per kilo. Just put a thin slice of truffle on your tongue and if you like it, you’re tripping! »
When the case turns to snobbery
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Lobster
The price of a Beluga caviar is around $30,000 per kilo. A Dom Pérignon brut can reach $45,000 a bottle for the greatest vintages, while the price of the most expensive truffle in the world, the Blanche d’Alba, fluctuated between $7,000 and $10,000 a kilo in 2021.
Some pay that price for the premium quality and satisfaction that comes with it. Unless one is interested in it for the exclusive side of the thing. This is called the Veblen effect — or snobbery effect — a concept put forward by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in the late 1900s.and century and which underlines the particular character of luxury: a good which allows a certain social distinction. The fact that it is expensive, and therefore inaccessible to the majority, makes it more desirable and reflects a high social rank.
When does luxury fall into snobbery? “When you don’t enjoy the product itself, but use it to elevate yourself,” sums up the director of the Bensadoun School at McGill University, Charles De Brabant, who taught the marketing of luxury for five years at the renowned China Europe International Business School MBA in Shanghai.
“Luxury is appreciated above all with the left hemisphere of the brain. Connoisseurs, without ignoring the factual [ou ce qui explique sa rareté], are able to assess the distinct sensory value of the product. Luxury can be tasted, felt, seen and heard above all”, emphasizes the man who worked for 15 years in Asia and as many in Europe, notably for major brands. But we must not forget that to offer it, even without appreciating it, is also a way of demonstrating the exceptional character of a person or an event for oneself. »
Luxury for whom, for what?
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“Luxury is an experience, according to François-Xavier Dehédin, founder of Oysters & Caviar. For some, it’s a pleasure to tick on her bucket list. Mushrooms, there are 1000 of them, but there is only one that costs $5000 per kilo. Just put a thin slice of truffle on your tongue and if you like it, you’re tripping! »
“A luxury product is not a perfect product, but it is a perfect product for those who dream of it”, points out Charles De Brabant. A Ferrari has major flaws when it comes to transporting a family of five and its Bernese mountain dog. Going out to a fancy restaurant can be a challenge for the parent who only dreams of an evening under the covers.
It has been associated, throughout history, with an elegance inaccessible to ordinary mortals. “But is this still so true in our time when access to a certain level of luxury has become more democratic? asks Charles De Brabant. I think the question we can ask ourselves is this: what is luxury for oneself? »
To this question, everyone answers with their own parameters. It’s freedom for the actor Romain Duris, the dream for the writer Jules Renard, the pleasure for the painter Francis Picabia, the simplicity for those who have everything, the time for those who see him spinning at high speed with helplessness.
“Luxury is relative. It depends on how you look at it, and this look varies according to tastes, priorities, values and the moment. A luxury product has little interest without what accompanies it, notes Charles De Brabant. Its magic lies in an alchemy: a special moment of life that calls for a rare product. »
In one sentence
Luxury is not a pleasure, but pleasure is a luxury.
Francis Picabia, painter and writer (1879-1953)