Naming a product after the world’s most notorious terrorist may not seem like a surefire route to commercial success, CNN writes.
”For bakers in the Malawian city of Blantyre, however, this marketing ploy is helping to reel in customers while ensuring that their produce has an unmistakeable identity. ”We make bin Laden buns,” said Mahomed Hanif Valimamade, co-owner of a patisserie within the city named the Portuguese Bakery.”
A Bush Fire for Revenue
The standard bread rolls — which are not exclusive to any one company and are produced by a variety of outlets in Blantyre — were initially given their unconventional moniker by customers who likened their appearance to similar bread made in the Middle East, says Valimamade.
The tag quickly caught on, and when businesses realized how their products were being identified, they began to label them as such, to great effect.
”It seems to me this is nothing to do with politics. Malawian people are very pro-Western.” CNN quotes
On a good day, Valimamade claims, small bakeries like his own can sell as many as 2,000 ”bin Ladens,” adding that a large part of what makes them stand out is their attention-grabbing title.
Source: CNN
Stig Björne
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Stig Björne