There’s no such thing as obsolete bread, unlike gadgets which can go out of style in a matter of months.

In today’s commercialized world, there’s always something newer, more powerful, and more versatile that comes out in the market on a regular basis. We can’t keep up with the buying.

Human nature tells us to equate “new and latest” with “better.” We get rid of items at a faster rate than ever before.

However, we’re also capable of renewable feelings, which result to renewable demands to the point of perpetual. We are in need of food and water every day.

In man’s hierarchy of needs, among the most important are food, water, and sanitation. Over the centuries, these haven’t changed and will never change. However, man’s ways of getting and producing essential items have gone considerable changes along the centuries.  For instance, he has gone through an evolution of some sort toiletry-wise, from a limited choice of liquid soaps made from animal tallow (still used today in soap-making) to a variety of bar soaps with antibacterial properties.

But more often than not, his ways of making a living and making necessities available to the public still follow the basic path – selling. Man has always loved to do business ever since the ancient times. Socrates often shared his philosophy in the agora or marketplace.

Basically, the stability of a business depends on the demand for its products or services. There are demands that are temporary or valid only for a certain period. There will come a time when all those people who could possibly buy your book have bought it (it’s remotely possible, not impossible). Sometimes, the demand overrides the supply, such as what happens in famines and during natural disasters.

Let’s Get Down To The Basics.

People can go without face creams with exotic add-ons, but they can’t go (anymore) without the simple, white bath soap or shampoo, well, except for those who want to return to the bread-and-water kind of existence.

Businesses that cater to these most basic needs of man can expect a steady flow of demand for their products or services. Examples of businesses where nothing goes out of style (except for hairstyle maybe):

• Salon/Barbershop – People get a haircut every six weeks (unless they want the prehistoric look).
• Farming – There’s always a need for crops like rice and corn.

In this type of business, people still buy the items they bought last year. Breads go stale, and toothpastes expire, but they don’t need hyped upgrades to stay in the market.

But this is not without issues such as:

• People getting allergies
• People getting food-poisoned
• You getting blamed for the public’s bad diet if your specialty is high caloric

Some Things Don’t Change.

It’s amusing to note that, as man makes progress, his definition of necessities encompasses more and more things. He now thinks his smartphone is air.  But he also sheds some things along the way like typewriters, which now exist for another reason: vintage!

Yes, man’s tastes will change, but there are things that remain and will surely remain. Should crude oil, the lifeblood of the world’s economy, get consumed completely, people would still want to eat, drink, and look nice. It’s a truth as old as time.

If you isolate a man and give him a glass of water and a comic book, he’ll drink the water before he’ll read the book.