Over at LandingTheDeal, I told you about chocolate that was selling at $2000 per pound.
Not to be outdone, there's news today of a new hamburger that will set you back a cool $110. Here's part of the story:
A luxury hotel in Indonesia has launched a million-rupiah (110-dollar) hamburger, thought to be the world's most expensive, in a bid to marry the tastes of East and West.
Vindex Tengker, the executive chef with the Four Seasons Hotel who created the dish, said 20 of the burgers had sold since going on the menu early this month.
"The idea is not that we are selling the most expensive hamburger. It is our dream to marry the East and the West through food," he told AFP.
The seven-ounce (200-gram) burger is made from finest Japanese Kobe beef with wasabi mayonnaise and Italian portobello mushrooms in a home-made onion-wheat bun.
It is served with Asian pear and French foie gras plus, of course, French fries and is washed down with a glass of wine.
"Asians have developed a love for food. They appreciate the variety we offer. We had a local couple dining here and the man ordered the hamburger for his girlfriend," Tengker said.
He admitted there were initial reservations about the burger but hoped it would catch on abroad.
"Of course when you start something new, there will be doubts. But those who appreciate food will pay for the hamburger," he said.
Read the last two paragraphs again. That's the key to this sales lead strategy: Overcoming the initial shock of the price, and slowly gaining acceptance.
How does the price translate into sales leads? It's getting talked about. The same kitchen that could have served-up a normal hotel restaurant hamburger for $9 is getting extra publicity by turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Same story goes for the chocolate in the earlier post I referenced.
Sometimes, taking a new slant (a super high price because of a rare ingredient) on an old product (a hamburger) can result in publicity...and more incoming sales.
You are probably right that the ridiculous price translates into sales leads. How sad that people can be manipulated so easily.
However, the hotel may have actually sold more hamburgers and even made more of an actual total profit with the regular prices, even if they weren't given any publicity for them.
Posted by: WORTH A BILLION | December 27, 2006 12:28 AM | Permalink to Comment