"La loi du Bake and Shark" was a phrase first coined by a Frenchman visiting visiting Maracas Beach, a popular spot on the island of Trinidad. Trinidad is the larger of two of the main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
He observed that the majority of people on the beach bought a sandwich called "Bake and Shark" from one stall although there were many stalls to choose from. People would rather line up at the popular stall and wait for up to 30 minutes before getting served than to go to another stall where a similar sandwich could be bought in less time and in some cases for less money.
This author explained to the Frenchman that this was the way most Trinidad and Tobago natives behaved. They would use the popularity of a vendor to decide where they were going to buy. The vendor with the most customers would get even more and those with fewer would get less. They base this on the assumption that the vendor with the most customers would have the best tasting Bake and Shark.
Little did the Frenchman know that this author and himself would observe similar behavior in many other aspects of life both in Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. Whenever we saw people patronizing the store with the most customers just because it had the most customers, we began to say that these people are obeying "la loi du Bake and Shark." After the Frenchman left the island, I was left saying the Law of Bake and Shark.
The Law of Bake and Shark commands that buyers pay less attention to quality and more to merchant popularity. This law is harmful to startups and independent players who would therefore never get the business of the masses, no matter how good their products or services were.
It also dictated the start of a vicious cycle whereby the big players would get a constant flow of business and therefore be able to continuously re-invest and improve their offer while the small would have to fight harder to achieve the same goals.
Trinidad news often shows this struggle. Many news stories report people moving like a herd, buying from those who receive the most business and rarely giving a chance to smaller players to show their ability to exceed customers' expectations. This is the Law of Bake and Shark.
