Spam, spam, spam, spam, wonderful SPAM!!

Now if you are are younger than a baby boomer you most likely think of Spam as those annoying “unsolicited bulk junk emails” that grace our cyberspace in-boxes daily. The rest of us either hear the lyrics of the 1970’s era Monty-Python created “Spam-a-lot” song running through our heads, or simply remember our parents serving the product on our sandwiches during childhood.

The canned meat product was invented in 1937 by Hormel Foods Corporation, and was an immediate culinary hit even before it was sent off to war to feed the troops in 1941. Since it’s release, almost 7 billion cans of Spam have been sold in the U.S. and abroad. The product has such a following it even has it’s own fan club and website, www.spam.com.

The news is, it seems that Spam sales are thriving as the economy is (reported) to be heading into recession. Even as consumers are cutting back on all sorts of goods, Spam is among a select group of thrifty grocery items that are showing steady sales. The CEO of Hormel, Jeffrey M. Ettinger, indicated in a September briefing that sales figures for Spam were growing “by double digits”.

Apparently, consumers are taking seriously the need to cut back in all areas of their spending. Given that food is a necessity for sustaining life, we certainly can’t quit buying food but we can modify our choices to include less expensive alternatives. Spam, which is considered an inexpensive source of meat protein, certainly fits the bill at about $2.50 a can.

Other products that seem to be enjoying renewed interest and higher sales in the down economy remind me of my menu back in the college days: boxed macaroni and cheese, plain instant rice and mashed potatoes, beans and pancake mix, according to October data released by market research firm Information Resources.

Kraft Foods recently confirmed the trend as well indicating that several of their value-oriented products such as Jello, Kool-aid, Velveeta and macaroni and cheese were experiencing higher than anticipated sales and increasing growth.

So, folks, if you believe the economic forecasters and that worse times are yet to come, it’s time to stock up on affordable foods: and maybe, speaking of stocks, Hormel isn’t a bad bet right now either…

Anybody have some great Spam stories they want to share?

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