Why do I want authenticity?

I recently saw a sketch of two American people working in a supermarket. They had to sell a new brand of salsa and their (white) manager told them to put on an accent. They refused, of course, and tried to sell it by simply asking people to try a sample. After a couple hours, and no interested people, they caved and put on that accent. And people stopped. They went as far as saying that this recipe was authentic to their village and that their ancestors swore by it and never ate anything different. People bought in droves. 

This scene is only ‘normal’ and even considered comedic because of the institutional racism and ignorance regarding these obvious stereotypes. But it did make me reflect on my own consumer behaviour. I too react more enthusiastically if something is ‘authentic’ or ‘vintage’ or comes with a backstory in any way.

Why? 

Like the title says, I think it’s definitely rooted in a very Western, privileged point of view. Maybe people who crave ‘authenticity’ in a product are all subconsciously aware of the consumeristic society we live in. We see an overkill of random products being advertised everyday. There are so many brands and they alternate constantly, depending on which influencers promote which brands.

I’m sure that by the time we reach adulthood we all have chronic decision fatigue. If a couple of our trusted influencers promote the same brand, whether that’s people we know in real life or online, we’ll switch to that brand. If someone we ‘know’ and trust endorses something, it must be fine. Who still does their own research for every brand and every purchase? It’s simply way too much work, we have to trust someone’s opinion. At least, that’s the behaviour I’ve found in myself. 

It’s a common advertising practice of course, mouth-to-mouth marketing. You’re much more likely to take advice from someone you know or a similar consumer than from the brand itself. That’s why we have reviews and referral discounts. 

That brings me back to the subject of this essay. Do I crave ‘authenticity’ in a product simply because it should be more trustworthy when it’s ‘authentic’? 

Or have manufacturers and organisations lost the trust of so many consumers that the less a product is related to capitalistic organisations who strive for maximum profits, the better chance it has of being a good product?

A lot of products are good, useful and effective in their origin, but the longer they’re on the market and subject to copies and capitalism, the more they become a watered down, bad quality version of themselves. 

I am under the impression that, because the market is so saturated and organisations only care about profits, most products are made to break. Especially if they’re made by a big organization.

I don’t trust salsa made or endorsed by supermarkets. Especially if the supermarket is a big franchise. And, of course I wouldn’t trust the salsa more if employees were handing out samples claiming it to be a recipe from their ancestors. I’d still eat it though.

But for some reason, hearing that something is home-made, small-scale or biologically made; it’s more trustworthy, more appealing. 

We see this more and more in video adverts. Products are organic and straight from the farmers. What is the appeal? We all know companies use greenwashing for sales. The only reason ads exist is to get you to buy stuff anyway. Why would they tell the truth when a story sells better? 

But I’m still unsure why a story like that sells better. Is it a desire to go back to making things from scratch and wanting to know exactly what’s put in my food or products? 

I haven’t done any proper research on it, so I’m not sure if this is a common thing and I’m repeating renowned scientists here. This is just based on my own experience. 

So unfortunately, I’m not getting to a satisfying conclusion. This is just my perspective. If you’ve noticed anything similar yourself, I’d love to hear your experience!