Pi-Consulting

British author Neil Boorman was worried that branded goods were eating his brain. “I realized I wasn’t buying clothes, gadgets, even food for the functions they performed. I bought them for the way they made me feel”. So he gave up buying anything with a brand-name on it for a year. He found it surprisingly difficult, buying food at weekly produce markets (”You have to plan ahead”), and getting household cleaning products at janitorial supply stores. Technology and entertainment were a problem, since almost nothing came without a brand identity, so he spent a year without TV or DVDs. On the plus-side, he made friends with his local butcher and the fishmonger, whom he now “knows by name”. A surprising by-product of the experience: he lost fifteen pounds in weight, since there were no non-branded equivalents of processed foods and ready-to-eat meals. Source: BBC News, Pi.

Pi Market Research Staff and Pi Consulting wishes every one a Safe and Prosperous New Year!