Because it’s incredibly delicious. Next question.
Ok, all kidding aside. How did the SPAM® brand become a global icon? We could go on for days about this. But rather than get all Socrates on you, let’s look to the people for the answer -- the legions of SPAM® brand lovers all over the world who crave, and celebrate, this delightful meat.
Now some might attribute the international popularity of portable SPAM® products to the fact that they were sent around the globe during World War II. But that surely can’t account for the following phenomena:
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In Southeast Asia, a SPAM® gift pack would be considered an appropriate wedding gift. SPAM® products are regarded as luxury goods, with gift packs selling for as much as $45 US. So if you travel there for business, leave the cigars at home and pick up this delicacy for an introductory exchange.
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The Philippines’ SPAM® brand craze is so strong that it inspired a restaurant based entirely around the brand. The SPAM JAM® restaurant is a magical place where you can order SPAMBURGER® hamburgers, SPAM® Spaghetti, SPAM® and Egg, and a multitude of other SPAM® dishes.
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In Hawaii, SPAM® products are practically the national food. It’s served everywhere from grocery store delis to fancy restaurants. Even McDonald’s features several SPAM® items on their breakfast menu. This fanaticism fuels sales of 7 million cans of SPAM® products per year in the Aloha State.
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Guam may be a tiny island, but its appetite for SPAM® products is humongous. How humongous, you say? The average annual SPAM® product consumption comes out to 16 cans per person. Guam has also been the site of SPAM® Games, where locals sample and honor the best original SPAM® recipes.
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Even those blokes in the UK love SPAM® products. Of course, it’s prepared in proper British style in a dish called SPAM® fritters. Similar to English fish ‘n chips, SPAM® products are dipped in batter and deep-fried. Once it’s good and crispy, it’s ready to serve -- with a sidecar of vinegar, of course.
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In America, the expressions of SPAM® brand passion are as diverse as the people. SPAM™ lovers used to come from far and wide for Hormel Foods’ annual SPAM JAM® celebration of all things SPAM® brand in Austin, Minnesota, where the company, and the SPAM® Museum, are based.
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In 1998, SPAM® product packaging was donated to the Smithsonian. How many meat products can boast such a distinction?
All of this passion and demand has amounted to this: in 2002, the seven-billionth can of SPAM® product was produced. Chew on that for awhile.