Faced with the purchasing power crisis, Americans are giving up dining out, putting off buying a car and hunting down bargains at supermarkets. Against a backdrop of concerns related to customs duties and, more broadly, the cost of living, American consumer confidence has fallen to levels not seen in more than ten years, according to The Conference Board, an economic think tank. At this point, it is wealthier consumers who carry the bulk of spending in the American economy.
How can we explain, then, the spectacular success of the $22 smoothies (around 19 euros) marketed in the United States by Erewhon, a chain specializing in food? “healthy”? This Los Angeles grocery chain which sells these sophisticated preparations is doing so well that it has opened three new stores in 2025, its biggest expansion since 2011. It would generate between 1,500 and 2,100 euros in turnover per square meter, or up to five times more than a classic American supermarket.
And these aren’t just smoothies: there are ingredients like high-end seaweed gel, adaptogenic mushrooms and even collagen peptides. Often, these drinks are even named after a celebrity.
Premium food products that last
All this is part of the broader boom in the US specialty food market, which has surpassed €187 billion, an increase of nearly 150% in ten years, according to the Specialty Food Association. An increase much higher than that of overall food sales in the United States, which only increased by around 47% over the same period.
Independent data from research firm Circana confirms this trend: despite inflation, which is pushing many consumers to turn to private labels, premium and specialty products are resilient and have even continued to gain market share in value through 2025. On TikTok, content creators who once filmed their luxury bag purchases are now posting platters of $12 canned fish. As for artisanal chocolate bars sold between $8 and $12, they are now presented, without irony, as “self-care”.
@daywithmei a tinned fish snacky plate 🐟🍽️ made by @frankceramics (IG) x daywithmei
♬ Obituary – Alexandre Desplat
If consumers are so anxious, why do they continue to treat themselves? In reality, there is no contradiction: they are two expressions of the same psychological reaction.
When people feel like they are losing control of their lives, they turn to small but expensive purchases that demonstrate certain values. This is the real reason why premium food products are booming, while some traditional luxury brands are struggling, say consumer psychology experts.
We are professors of consumer behavior and marketing and we study how people make purchasing decisions in times of economic uncertainty, and the gap between how they feel and how they actually spend. Our work highlights a recurring observation: when people have the feeling of losing control over the large dimensions of their lives, they seek to regain control over the small ones.
A detour through the makeup bag
Economists have already observed this phenomenon. In 2001, Leonard Lauder, president of the cosmetics company Estée Lauder, coined the phrase “lipstick index” (lipstick indexin English), after finding that lipstick sales increased by 11% following the September 11, 2001 attacks. When luxury products become inaccessible, consumers turn to more modest substitutes. A 60 dollar lipstick (more than 51 euros) remains expensive for a cosmetic product, but compared to the Hermès bag that it symbolically replaces, it gives the impression of being a good deal.
Yesterday as today, individuals seek to regain control where they can. Consumer psychologists talk about “compensatory consumption”: buying to regain control when life seems to be slipping away from us. Even though beauty sales are currently slowing, that momentum hasn’t gone away. She simply found new areas of expression such as food.
In many ways, food is an ideal medium for this form of compensation. It is first of all sensory: we taste it, we smell it, we savor it. It is also emotional, loaded with associations linked to comfort, care and home. And it is visible: in the age of social networks, what we eat has become as exposed as what we wear. Premium food products are not only consumed, they are filmed, published, and staged.
Above all, they remain relatively accessible. Nineteen euros may seem like an absurd price for a drink, but it’s little compared to a wellness retreat costing over 300 euros.
Indulge yourself, with an extra dose of virtue
This is what sets the current situation apart from Leonard Lauder’s lipstick index. This example was above all about pleasure: consumers sought a form of consolation in small, indulgent purchases. Today, premium food products add an additional dimension: they are perceived as virtuous.
An Erewhon smoothie is not just a treat. It is organic, enriched with superfoods and aligned with a logic of well-being. In the same way, a bottle of single-varietal olive oil for 17 euros is not just a fat for cooking; it is a commitment to know-how and health. As for premium canned fish, they are no longer a convenience product: they are proteins from wild, sustainable fishing, presented in packaging that is neat enough to be displayed.
There is a reason why this trend is accelerating. Many premium food purchases are consumed twice: first time physically, second time digitally.
This presentation of virtue accomplishes the most important psychological work at the time of purchase: it transforms a weakness into an investment in oneself.
We don’t spend excessively in difficult times; we do something for our health. We are not frivolous; we support small producers. Research shows that consumers need reasons to justify impulse purchases, especially during times of financial anxiety. And premium food products are particularly effective because this rationale is built into the product itself. The organic label, the sustainability story, the framing around well-being: everything helps to dispel guilt before it even appears.
Consumed in cooking… and on the networks
There is a reason why this trend is accelerating. Many premium food purchases are consumed twice: first time physically, second time digitally. Buying a smoothie at Erewhon isn’t just about that drink; it is also due to the content it allows to produce. The platter of canned fish is set up for Instagram before anyone even tastes it.
Social media isn’t just amplifying the trend; they complete it. By publishing a photo or video of this smoothie, you show your attachment to well-being, quality and a form of intentionality. At a time when showing off a designer bag might seem out of place, food provides ideal cover. This is the most acceptable display of status there is. No wonder, then, that a YouTube video of a “haul”these videos where someone shows everything they bought in a shopping session, produced at Erewhon by the culinary creator @KarissaEats have exceeded 15 million views.
All of this raises a legitimate question: is the rise of the “K-shaped economy” enough to explain this boom? For many economists, low- and middle-income households are reducing their spending, squeezed by the cost of health, housing and even education. Conversely, wealthier consumers more than compensate, by continuing to spend and drive growth in gross domestic product.
In this context, premium food products thrive because they remain accessible to those who are doing well financially, while others tighten their belts. This is partly true. But this explanation is not enough to account for another shift: why wealthy consumers are abandoning certain ostentatious expenses, such as designer bags, in favor of high-end food shopping.
This is why this analysis centered on “virtue” is so decisive. If the question were only about purchasing power, traditional luxury would also be booming. However, this is not the case. As evidenced by LVMH, the group behind Louis Vuitton and Dior, whose Fashion division saw its profits decline by 13% in 2025.
A universal psychological mechanism, but…
Even consumers with comfortable incomes need some form of psychological permission to spend during uncertain times. The phenomenon of premium food products is therefore less about the question of who can afford to spend than about understanding why food has become the preferred area for this spending.
And when a smoothie becomes a status symbol, it says something broader about economic security. Food prices have increased nearly 30% since 2019, compared to 23% for overall consumer prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For a family on a tight budget, 19 euros is not a smoothie: it’s a dinner.
The need for control, the desire for identity, the comfort that a form of moral legitimation brings: these mechanisms are universal. A single mother working two jobs feels the same need to regain control as the influencer who films her shopping. Simply, purchases capable of meeting these needs are increasingly constrained by price. Justification only works if one can afford this kind of expense.
What’s really in the basket
The next time you’re at the supermarket and reach for a product that’s a little more expensive than necessary, pause; not to put it down, but to think about what you are really looking for.
Chances are it’s not really the product itself. It’s the feeling of choosing something, in a moment when everything seems to be out of control. A smoothie for 19 euros is never just a smoothie. This is what we look for when we need to give ourselves permission to be okay.
