There are few foods that have travelled further in status than the lobster. In parts of 18th and 19th century North America, lobsters were so abundant along the Atlantic coast that they washed ashore in piles. They were fed to prisoners, used as fertiliser, and dismissed as poor man’s protein. Today, lobster sits on white tablecloths, features in celebratory banquets, and commands prices that rival premium cuts of meat. Its transformation from survival food to prestige luxury

Outdoor furniture is often framed as lifestyle enhancement — a patio set for summer evenings, loungers for a terrace, a table for weekend barbecues. Yet behind these domestic scenes sits a global industry shaped less by taste than by temperature. Weather is not merely a backdrop to outdoor living. It is the central economic driver. Climate determines demand cycles, material choices, inventory risk, real estate value, and even the geography of manufacturing. The business of ou

A small plastic cup of cider in a supermarket aisle rarely feels like an economic event. It feels friendly. Low-stakes. A moment of curiosity between shelves. Yet the act of accepting a free sample often carries a predictable outcome. The taster reduces hesitation, sharpens desire, and increases the likelihood of purchase. What appears to be generosity is usually a calculated investment. Free samples are not free in the economic sense. They are structured exchanges designed t

Parcel drop-off points rarely attract attention. They sit at the back of convenience stores, inside supermarkets, or next to the counter of a local off-licence. A small scanner, a stack of parcels, a sticker in the window announcing a courier partnership. Yet these modest arrangements form part of a vast logistical architecture underpinning modern e-commerce. When a courier such as DPD withdraws from a local shop, as sometimes happens when contracts change, it reveals somethi

Death is universal. Grief is personal. But funerals are structured by markets. Across cultures and continents, the rituals that accompany death are shaped not only by tradition and faith but by pricing models, supply chains, land scarcity, insurance products, and corporate consolidation. However uncomfortable it may feel, the business of death is one of the most stable sectors in any economy. People are born unpredictably, but everyone dies. The question is not whether funera

Few countries manage to project both natural serenity and economic sophistication as effectively as Norway. Its fjords have become shorthand for untouched beauty, its capital Oslo signals modern Nordic design and stability, and its name frequently appears near the top of global happiness rankings. Yet beneath this image lies a harder economic reality. Norway is one of Europe’s largest exporters of oil and gas. Its prosperity is deeply entangled with fossil fuel extraction. Th

Cruise ships are marketed as escapes. Brochures promise sunsets at sea, unlimited dining, theatre shows, and carefully curated shore excursions. For passengers, they are floating holidays — self-contained worlds where transport, accommodation, food, and entertainment merge into a single purchase. Yet beneath this seamless leisure experience lies a highly engineered economic system. Modern cruise ships are not simply vessels carrying tourists; they are vertically integrated ec

Few foods move as easily between luxury and everyday life as the strawberry. It appears in supermarket discount aisles and on elite sporting lawns, in children’s milkshakes and in carefully plated desserts at summer garden parties. It is at once a nostalgic symbol of seasonal abundance and a year-round retail staple. This dual identity did not happen by accident. The strawberry became both a luxury and a mass-market product through a complex interplay of seasonality, global t