When you buy something in an expensive specialty food market (Draegers, in my case), you’d expect its quality to be at least as good as the same item purchased in a warehouse store (Costco), no?

I mean, the Draegers item is carefully displayed, elegantly packaged in a beautiful glass bottle, has an Italian label, and costs more per ounce than gold. The Costco item comes in a 20oz plastic bottle, is sitting with 200 others on a forklift pallet, and is cheaper than maple syrup.

So the Draegers item should be higher quality than the Costco item, right?

Nope. Apparently I am oh so wrong to believe this. At least in the case of white truffle oil.

[A digression: white truffle oil is typically mixed with olive oil to be packaged and sold. The combination is a wonderful substance, used for many purposes, among them being the “Philadelphia Truffle Surprise” appetizer, featured at Alta in New York City, much loved by the Blonde Bombshell, at least 20 other people I know, and yours truly.][To make ‘em, combine 1-3T Philly cream cheese, white truffle oil, and a hint of garlic oil, then wrap in Phyllo dough and bake.]

Turns out Costco oil is magnificent, while Draegers tastes like strong, stale olive oil. Barely a truffle in evidence.

So what’s going on?

My first instinct is to believe, as the Beastie Boys say, “Oh My, It's A Mirage / I'm Tellin' Y'all It's a Sabotage”. (Or, borrowing Stephen King’s Gunslinger series, “Draegers… has forgotten the face of their father”).

In other words, Draegers is relying on their brand to justify the price markup on their food, forgetting that their brand was built on providing truly excellent, markup-worthy food.

This would be strongly reminiscent of the Harley Davidson story of a few decades ago, where the brand cut quality and nearly destroyed itself selling crappy motorcycles. 

But just as I was winding up to deliver a full soap-box lecture on the stupidity of one more brand growing fat and arrogant and self-destructing by hollowing out its core value proposition, I stopped, and reconsidered (hence the question mark in my title): maybe Draegers brand isn’t about quality.

Maybe Draegers brand is about the brand: it’s about beautiful packaging and expense, not the thing inside the package. 

Consider: by giving someone something from Draegers, you’re saying “I care enough about you to spend on the most beautiful, pricey thing I can find”. It’s very Japanese-gift-giving. http://www.temarikai.com/giftgivinginjapan.html

So I’m puzzled, and have to end today’s blog on an uncertain note, perhaps with two morals:

1. Don’t get lazy with your brand. If your brand is built on (and symbolizes) quality, or value, or speed, or whatever core proposition people have come to  expect – be sure you continue to deliver on that value.

2. That said, brands don’t have to have traditional core values. Sometimes a brand is just that: a brand. It can be faddish, but intangible values are still values.

With that, I’m off to Costco. I’ll stick with the tangibles, thanks.

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