Sometimes back, it was the bubble tea. Then we have the craze over frozen yogurt in the like of llao llao followed by everything to do with salted egg yoke.
Recently, people were going gaga over a brand of milk tea from Taiwan - Chun Cui He, which means just drink.
The demand for this bottled milk drink was so high that they were snapped up immediately when stock arrived. There was even a Page set up on Facebook to provide the latest update on availability of stocks, even up to the timing to go to the selected 7-11 outlets that retail it to ensure higher chance of getting your hand on one. It seemed many people were going all over 7-11 outlets in search of the tea, some to be greatly disappointed for being just a little bit slower than others. And there was a rumour of a guy buying 80 bottles of it at one go and even prevented others from buying.
There is a stall owner who actually bought this drink at $2,80 each and reselling them for $5 at his outlet. And there's no shortage of willing buyers. As a consumer, you can also choose not to pay this price as it does not make a difference to you (unless you cannot live without it which is an exaggeration).
The relevant government authority has since recalled and stopped the sale of this drink as it contained a non-permitted food addictive, although it does not pose a food safety risk, The food company that produces the milk tea will have to register and obtain approval for the food addictive that will takes up to a year.
Singapore has its first case of Zika infection on 27th August.
Stocks of insect repellents and medications are flying off the shelves in supermarkets with some completely out of stock.
There are comments online about online retailers selling these hot items at highly marked up prices.
It is not surprising for business owners to mark up prices especially when there is very strong demand for a product.
People are afraid they will be infected by the Zika virus. Many of them are taking precautions especially for the pregnant moms and those with kids.
It makes a lot of difference whether they buy these insect repellents and medications.
No doubt, if you are selling these products now, you can make a huge profits by marking up as much as the market can accept. Even if the prices are exorbitant, people will still buy them for the sake of protecting their families health. They may even be happy and thankful to you that they can get their hands on these products.
So will you hold your customers to ransom? Or you do not see these buyers as sheeps in line to be slaughtered?