“Global food prices are up 30% year-on-year. House prices have jumped a record 21% in that same period. Oil has doubled,” says Bernhard Weber of Fortune. “You get the picture. And wages? Meh, paychecks are roughly 5% fatter in 2022. You don’t have to be a quant whiz though to see pay is well undershooting the rising cost of living.”
And that’s the problem facing President Biden and Democrats this fall. It’s also a problem for bev/al execs. When will consumers decide to trade down from super-premium and decide that plain old premium is good enough?