Consumer products are provided to people through several mediums, some people go for restaurants to have a taste of a juicy, sizzling steak, while others go to the store just to buy a low-priced piece of rib eye steak. The pricing of such products are extremely different, and the high price isn’t only accredited to the labor hours put into the making of your mouth-watering steak, but also to the steak itself. The quality and source of the product is a main attributer to its pricing, and the complexity and exclusiveness of the production process play a large roll too. So, if you think the store-bought caviar is so cheap, it’s not a steal, you are not buying real caviar.
This blog post will delve into the polar pricing of consumer products. The polarity of the pricing could be anxiety inducing for some people, however, when u understand the underlying contributors to the pricing, you will know why these 100 grams of wagyu steak sells for a mind-bending 50 USD. The amount of complexity and articulate dexterity put into the production of some products factors greatly towards its high pricing. Several examples will make you understand this phenomenon.
Well, that’s fishy
Bluefin tuna is widely considered to be the Rolex of the ocean by fishermen and restaurant owners. This specific type of tuna lives across the Atlantic and pacific waters and is relatively abundant in the Mediterranean Sea. Each year, bluefin tuna is auctioned in a Japanese ceremonial fish market. In 2019, a 612-pound wild bluefin was auctioned for a brain melting 3 million US dollars! Of course, this fish Is used by restaurants for making tuna steaks. Authentic bluefin steaks are offered at a small number of restaurants at crazy price points (Jesus christ,4900 USD per pound). If you ever had a bluefin steak at a lower price, it’s probably not from a wild-caught fish. The commercial breeding of the bluefin tuna has brought its prices down, making it available for a wider range of people. However, commercial breeding of the bluefin has some negative implications. Chefs at high end restaurants claim that a bluefin in captivity is uncomfortable and stressed due to it being a wild animal. The stress causes the fish to taste less delicious than its wild counterpart. Moreover, bred bluefins are systematically fed, hindering the composition of the meat itself.
I shall warn you, your 3 A.M canned tuna isn’t even made from commercially bred bluefins, so don’t get ahead of yourself. Canned tuna might be the cheapest form of tuna available in stores, and it’s made from other tuna species, and some cases, its not made of tuna at all. Skipjack and albacore are an abundant tuna species used for making canned tuna. The texture and taste of those 2 species are very different in comparison to the rich and extravagant bluefins. Moreover, some companies commercializing escolar fish as super white tuna. Escolar is a type of fish that is like tuna in its texture and taste, however its not even mildly related to tuna. The abundancy of escolar has made it a lucrative choice for canned tuna companies to brand it as super white tuna. Yet, the consumption of escolar isn’t safe at high amounts due to its high fat and wax composition. Several consumers have reported Diarrhea and stomach problems after consuming super white tuna.
Cow says moo, wagyu says 高い(Takai)
Your prime rib eye might be delicious, but it pales in comparison to wagyu steak. Wagyu steak is a piece of heaven provided to the world by Japan, and it doesn’t come cheap. Exclusively bred in Japan, Wagyu cows have a different lifestyle than your common road crossing moo moo. The exclusivity of wagyu steaks come from its feeding process, the geography of Japan, and the Japanese assessment system. Wagyu cows are fed differently, and for a good reason. The diet of those cows consists of rice straws and special types of grains, giving it an amazing texture and signature marbling. Furthermore, Wagyus are fed five times longer than the average cow in the US.
The limited land of Japan also contribute to the high wagyu price. Due to geographical limitations, the amount of land available for life stock just isn’t enough. Of course, not all farming lands available in Japan are solely dedicated to raising wagyu cows. Farms dedicated to raising wagyu cows are limited by history and tradition, this helps the cow sustain in a stress-free environment. Moreover, those traditions keep Japanese labor expensive. In addition, the government regulations put to track the breeding and raising of the Japanese wagyu cows help in maintaining its exclusivity. The Japanese regulations help in grading the wagyu beef based on texture, color of fat, and brightness. This helps farmers deem their cows as worthy of being sold at an extravagant price point. An authentic Japanese wagyu dish could sell for as high as 200 USD per pound.
The exclusivity and high importation costs of wagyu steak has made way for companies to copy the wagyu raising techniques at a wider scale. Wagyu farms started emerging across several countries, mainly in The US and Australia. The wagyu steaks coming from those two countries are known to be juicy and exquisitely tender, however they often fall short in comparison to certified Japanese wagyu. Those are also generally cheaper than the Japanese real thing due to the larger farms and the cows being raised to maturity at a faster rate. Finaly the Japanese grading system deems an A5 piece of wagyu steak as the perfectly marbled piece of steak, on the other hand, store bought wagyu steaks in the US are rated between A2 and A4, deeming is as less exclusive.
Conclusion
Don’t be disappointed, your fake wagyu beef jerky (thank God it’s only available in America) will probably taste better than a prime porterhouse. The sought after exclusive consumer products have let way for large firms to make use of this ever-increasing demand, providing it for cheaper and at an abundant rate. Bluefins and Wagyus aren’t the only dishes that fell into the large commercialization; caviars, Japanese eel and several other products have found their way to Walmart shelves. While the wide availability of such products raise questions about quality and authenticity, firms have done a good job in hiding the short falls of their copycat products.