Cupmudgeonism

Cupcake Crash Is Coming, Warns Naysayer

“The cupcake crash is coming!” predicts fellow cupmudgeon Daniel Gross at Slate. His reasoning? “Cupcakes are now showing every sign of going through the bubble cycle. The first-movers get buzz and revenues, gain critical mass, and start to expand rapidly. This inspires less-well-capitalized second- and third-movers, who believe there’s room enough for them, and encourages established firms in a related industry to jump in.” But though cupcakes are portrayed as treats cheap enough to indulge in even during a recession, Gross argues that a $4 cupcake isn’t affordable next to the humble, cheaper doughnut.

But Gross is using his cupcake screed to rail against what he really can’t stand: foodies. “In the last few years, as the dread foodie virus has spread, right-thinking Americans have been forced to become experts about a wider range of products: coffee, cured ham, cheese, and, most recently, chocolate,” Gross writes. Our complex and sophisticated interest in food doesn’t mesh with the cupcake, which is “willfully uncomplex, familiar, and comforting.”

The Cupcake Bubble [Slate]

Cupcake Crash Is Coming, Warns Naysayer