http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/business/macadamia-nut-sales-explode-after-a-korean-air-tantrum.html 2014-12-16 05:43:27 Macadamia Nut Sales Explode After a Korean Air Tantrum Sales are booming after the daughter of Korean Air Line’s chairman threw a well-publicized fit on a flight when she was served macadamia nuts in a bag instead of on a plate. === Macadamia nuts were unfamiliar to many South Koreans before Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air Line’s chairman, threw a well-publicized fit on a Dec. 5 flight from New York City when she was served the nuts in a bag instead of on a plate, angrily having the plane return to the gate and ordering the head flight attendant off. After a storm of criticism about the tantrum, she apologized and resigned from her executive roles at the airline. But now macadamia is a household name in South Korea, and its sales are booming. Auction, a South Korean unit of eBay and the country’s second-largest e-commerce website, said on Monday that sales of macadamias surged nearly 12-fold in the previous five days. Before the nut rage scandal, macadamias made up 5 percent of nut sales — now they account for almost half. South Korea’s largest online shopping retailer, Gmarket, also owned by eBay, said macadamia nut sales were 20 times as high as in the previous week. The e-commerce company Coupang was sold out.