Chocolate is still sweet

The search for goods that are income inelastic (and thus recession-proof) continues here at International BS blog.

The Wall Street Journal wants to add premium chocolate to the list. They claim that sales of the high end stuff have proven very resilient in the US.

I’m not quite as convinced by this argument. They may be confusing the aggregate behaviour of consumers (i.e. greater discovery and awareness of the product coupled with incerased accessibility) with the actions of individual consumers. Each chocolate lover might be cutting back their spending yet new consumers sneaking in to the market might be pushing up the total revenue.

Irrespective, it would seem that being a Willy Wonka is still a better career option than a Henry Ford at the moment…

Thanks to Tom Osegowitsch for pointing me at this article.

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Tags: business, chocolate, finance, income elasticity, recession, Strategic management