So… unless you’ve been living under a rock – but more likely, a mosquito net – you’ll know that there’s a new virus that have Trinis dropping like flies called Chickungunya or Chick V for short. With Miami Carnival coming up, we at Scorch trying our best to avoid catching it so we decided to stock up on mosquito repellent. But after making ah turn in Hi-Lo Massy stores to cop some OFF!, we find de shelf empty like ah Ministry on a Friday afternoon! While most employers bawling with all de sick leave staff hadda take ‘cause of the Chick V, clearly some corporations are benefitting handsomely from it. Which lead us to think, what products have enjoyed a sudden surge in sales and popularity as a result of some random thing happening? Here’s a few that came to mind:
DVDs (and condoms)
Three years ago Tanty Kams implemented the now notorious State of Emergency and national curfew and three years later we still don’t really know what it was for. What we do know however, is with Trinis trapped in their houses all night (especially during the 9-5 curfew), binge watching was one of two vices they could indulge in. From the well-established MovieZone to the random piper hustling on Independence Square, DVDs was selling like hot doubles. As for the other vice, well, nobody does lie down in bed whole night playing Scrabble, so we sure Trojan eat ah food.
Buckets
Dis Carnival we movin’ with eeeet! Swappi’s 2012 release was an instant hit and almost as instant as its success was the rise in bucket sales. Much to the dismay of the innocent household cleaner or gardener who wanted a bucket for well, you know, functional reasons like filling up water, Peake’s and Bhagwansingh’s couldn’t keep up with the demand from fete-goers who were buying buckets by the dozen to put their alco in.
Powder
Much like Swappi did for buckets, Machel did for powder. When The Fog first hit the airwaves it received a mediocre response (by Machel standards at least) but after an iconic performance at Soaka and the music video realse shortly after, it was no stopping Double M and his powder posse. Keeping in mind powder was already a staple for Jouvert, Johnson & Johnson’s was making a killing that Carnival season. Hard luck for all dem baddis who must have been coasting ‘cause they had none to put round dey neck and all dem mothers who newborn was bawling from diaper rash.
Clarks
Ah whey get dem new Clarks dey Daddy? With one small line Vybz Kartel and a then-unknown Popcaan and Gaza Slim brought back a shoe that had pretty much died when the legendary Drag Mall that sold them the cheapest burnt down. But in Summer 2010 that all changed and all of a sudden men was rocking dey Sandman, leather centre-stich and Wallabees like dey going ah old school Mayfair. After all, bag ah sneakers, does give yuh cheesy foot.
Honourable Mention: Mampees
Is years now it have man who like they thick sauce, but with Mr. Killa’s runaway hit Rolly Polly racking up over 3 million YouTube views and a 2nd place finish in this year’s Power Soca Monarch, he really put mampees on the map. While mampees themselves may not be a product, we wouldn’t be surprised if there was a corresponding upsurge in back braces sales after Carnival. #heavylifting
As you may have noticed from our list, music tends to be one of the biggest factors influencing sales. Moral of the story? If you want your product to sell, get a popular person to sing about it. Let’s hope Machel never cuts a track about proper customer service in KFC or a good red ting, ‘cause dem two already hard to get.
