You Won’t Believe How Much This Sandwich Costs…

Today is National Grilled Cheese Day (according to my handy-dandy holidays calendar)…

…so I think I’ll grab a couple of Kraft singles and two slices of Wonder bread, smear some butter on the bread, slap it all together, fry it up in a pan, and enjoy a warm-gooey sammie.  

Toss in a some Campbell’s Tomato Soup, and it’s a holiday feast! 

That’ll set me back about $1.90 (give or take). 

Meanwhile, Serendipity3 restaurant in midtown Manhattan will serve its version of the American classic, complete with: 

• Champagne bread made with Dom Perignon and 23K edible gold flakes
• White truffle butter
• Caciocavallo Podolico Cheese

Rumor has it this cheese is better than Kraft singles. It comes from cows who “graze free-range, feeding on strongly aromatic grasses such as fennel, licorice, juniper, laurel bay and wilder strawberries, infusing the milk with these sweet aromatic perfumes.”

(But does it come with each slice conveniently wrapped in plastic?! Me thinks not!) 

Anyhow, they serve this sweet, aromatic, perfumy, gold-flecked sammie “on a Baccarat crystal plate with a Baccarat glass filled with South African Lobster Tomato Bisque as a dipping sauce.” 

They call it the “The Quintessential Grilled Cheese Sandwich,” and it can be yours for the low-low price of…

…(brace yourself)…

$214!!!!

(And it doesn’t even come with BACON! )

Crazy, huh!? 

But here’s the thing…

That gold-flecked sammie has been marketing platinum for Serendipity3. 

Since 2014, Guinness World Records has recognized it as the most expensive sandwich. 

Every year, media share stories about it. 

I’m sharing this story with you now because I saw a CNBC article about it in my news feed yesterday. Their take: 

“…for someone with plenty of disposable income who wants to try a one-of-a-kind sandwich, the Guinness World Record-holding grilled cheese is hard to beat.” 

And therein lies the marketing lesson. 

Serendipity3 is not selling two slices of bread, melted cheese, and a cup of soup. 

They’re selling “one-of-a-kind.” 

They’re selling “record-holding.” 

They’re selling status. 

They’re selling the opportunity to tell this story: “I bought and ate the most expensive sandwich in the world. And it was spectacular.” 

In some circles, that’s a priceless story to tell — easily worth $214.

I’m not asking you to dish out $214 for a sammie. (I wouldn’t do it either). 

I am asking, though, that you think about what motivates buyers…

…and how many humans — including, perhaps, your prospects — will spend lots of cheese to elevate their status and tell a one-of-a-kind story.