Here’s a strange proposition: you can find out what the state of the economy is by checking on the sales of branded hotdogs.

Reason? When the economy goes down, certain foods that are at the border of being staples and being indulgences will tend to be sacrificed. Among these are branded hotdogs.

And when the economy picks up once again, the market goes back to buying these items once more.

Actually, it goes beyond just hotdogs. Among the first foods to go from the market’s diet would be ice cream.

So what replaces these lopped off items? Well, for the broad DE market, it happens to be instant noodles. As income goes down, instant noodles replace hotdogs as merienda fare.

And if one’s economic condition becomes really crippling, then instant noodles end up being the staple food, replacing the need to buy real meats and fishes. Ouch.

This goes back to the economic concept of inferior goods — certain products end up being purchased by the market to cut on costs. But once disposable income increases enough, the market actually goes back to buying these forsaken goods.

And so hotdog sales pick up once more.

So if you’re selling a really cheap item that serves as a substitute for more expensive goods, you may be bound to get good sales during lean economic periods… but brace yourself for when the economy gets better, since your market is bound to go back to their higher-priced preferences. In which case you can play it safe by coming up with a broader portfolio of products, which include higher value goods for when the economy picks up.