as nervous voters await presidential election results, many are also channeling their instinct to prepare for the worst. sales are growing fast of <u+201c>emergency food,<u+201d> enormous bins of dehydrated and freeze-dried fruits, vegetables or beef stew meant to be eaten in an emergency, say executives from companies that specialize in such food. phil cox, chief executive at legacy food storage, a salt lake citybased company, said the company sold out of freeze-dried meat over the weekend and is waiting for a replenishment shipment in the coming week. sales for its products<u+2014>which includes a $150 bucket of 18 pounds of stroganoff, pasta alfredo and other meals with a 25-year shelf life<u+2014>rose about 300% on monday, the eve of the election, compared with a typical weekday, mr. cox said. the industry<u+2019>s shopper base<u+2014>often politically conservative or independent<u+2014>is worried that democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton may beat republican nominee donald trump, executives said. <u+201c>regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, a political win for hillary is a business win for this industry, in the short-term and for the next four years,<u+201d> said greg allison, vice president of marketing at blue chip group inc., which owns the augason farms and live prepared emergency food brands. starting wednesday blue chip will offer sales to capitalize on an expected spike in <u+201c>fear, uncertainty and doubt,<u+201d> said mr. allison. the emergency food industry in recent years has worked to broaden its appeal beyond those preparing for the apocalypse or severe disasters since repeat sales are tricky when disaster never strikes . companies have introduced smaller packages meant to fit under a bed to appeal to urban dwellers, meals that might also be eaten as a quick dinner and shifted some marketing to focus on more common emergencies like a power outage. but an election year fosters nervousness, and nervousness is good for the emergency food business. each presidential election season orem, utah-based emergency essentials, llc boosts inventory and staff to handle orders, said scotty pectol, director of outside sales for the company. sales of the company<u+2019>s emergency kits and dehydrated ingredients like milk and raspberries have risen week-over-week for about two months, says mr. pectol. on monday, the company had the most orders ever on walmart.com, its largest external e-commerce outlet, he said. still, they are below the level typical after a large natural disaster or president barack obama <u+2019>s two election wins, mr. pectol said. there is still time. some emergency food companies believe shoppers are waiting for election results to buy. sales have gradually increased leading up to the election, but haven't yet spiked, said aaron jackson, chief executive of wise company, inc., a salt lake city-based emergency food company. shoppers believe the race has been tight, so are still waiting to buy, said mr. jackson. then those <u+201c>that voted for the loser<u+2026>will grow more concerned,<u+201d> spurring buying after the election, he said. write to sarah nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
emergency food sales spike ahead of election - wsj
sarah nassauer