According to an article in yesterday’s NYTimes, Sabra is planning to spread across America with its line of refrigerated hummus and dips (here). Sabra, which is owned in part by PepsiCo, is one of the healthier offerings that the company plans to push to atone for more poisonous fare like Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, and Tostitos. But will Americans actually eat hummus, knowingly, and on their own volition?
According to Sabra, an advertising campaign to promote the hummus with the theme “Adventure awaits” (here) has so far been well-received. The campaign is specifically targeting “adventurous eaters… who don’t know what hummus is or what it tastes like.” Now, I know I live in a tahini-fortified liberal bubble — where hummus is ho-hum and the adventurous eaters partake of durian fruit, bone marrow, and Rocky Mountain Oysters (aka tendergroin) — but… question? What exactly are the adventurous eaters who don’t know what hummus is eating now?
Bob Jones sits at the table for lunch and peels back the top slice of bread on his sandwich to reveal not bologna, not pastrami, but tan-colored mush. “Honey? What kind of sandwich is this?” he calls to his wife. Mrs. Jones bustles out of the kitchen. “It’s hummus,” she explains, her face radiating with excitement. “It’s an adventure! I’m feeling… epicurious.”
Hey, I think it’s great. Certainly hummus is healthier than most of the processed crap that one can buy in a supermarket, and perhaps if the standard American culinary repertoire extends into the Middle East we’ll start to develop a cultural consciousness about this crucial area of the world, but I wonder, what exactly will these newfound epicureans be dipping into their tubs of hummus? Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, and Tostitos?
