BAGEL OR HERRING? ODESA-STYLE MARKETING A HUNDRED YEARS AGO
As part of the “Incredible Port” project
At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the paddle steamers operated a coastal route between Odesa and Akkerman (today’s Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi). The voyages ran daily, except Mondays. The passengers were a diverse crowd: summer residents, small traders, and Bessarabian peasants who brought grapes, vegetables, and other gifts of the land to Odesa, and returned home with “urban goods” – everything that rural life lacked.
This idyll was disrupted by the appearance of a competitor on the same route. The new steamer quickly started attracting passengers, prompting the owner of the original vessel to urgently look for unconventional solutions.
Today we would call it a service upgrade; back then, it was simply cleverness. The solution came unexpectedly: every passenger who bought a ticket received a free… bagel.
Odesa business, however, was just as quick to react in those days. In response, the competitors began handing out Danube herring together with the ticket.
Thus, on this quiet coastal line, a real “food war” unfolded – bagel versus herring.
How it ended, the archives remain silent. But it is easy to guess: the generosity of both sides had its limits. Further escalation of the “stakes” in this gastronomic rivalry could easily have driven the steamship companies into bankruptcy.
Most likely, the free extras disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving behind only a humorous reminder that Odesa-style marketing has a long – and very tasty – history.
