The market here is fascinating, so I plan on updating this information as I learn more. Rio is notorious for having one of the largest wealth gaps in the world. Experiencing that first-hand is both interesting and depressing. Walking out of the chic mall in Leblon and looking at the favela on the hillside fills me with a strange mix of guilt and thankfulness.
The complete nonexistence of a middle class creates a market that is not yet saturated with a wide variety of products (not to mention the infamous Brazilian Bureaucracy that makes entering the market nearly impossible). However, many of the products that are in the market are priced as though they are being sold in Paris. The simplest way to think of the culture and market in Rio is that it is a mix of Portugal and Africa (and literally, those are the people that make up the population). Favelas actually have their own commercial system that is much cheaper, allowing the squatters to survive. Residents from outside the favelas wouldn't dare consume their products, because it is A) somewhat dangerous, but B) Brazilians have an obsession with wealth and beauty that does not allow them to subjugate themselves to inferior lifestyles.
Still, many normal products are cheaper here than in the U.S. I have not quite figured out the pattern. I am in a whole new world of supply and demand that takes time to analyze.
Brazilian food is perhaps the industry I have had the most contact with, since, obviously, I eat everyday. The cuisine here makes very little sense to me. In spite of the coastal climate, Cariocas eat less fish than people from St. Louis, Missouri.
More to come on this topic, but I need to go to a Carnaval party. Até logo.
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