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When it comes to food, is small the new big?
By Holly Burns
Staff Writer
While the makers of BMW’s Mini Cooper and Apple’s iPod Mini may have known for a while that good things come in small packages, it looks like the food industry is starting to take note.
A nation well known for its huge hamburgers and bucket-size sodas, America has long been embroiled in a love affair with all things big. But with McDonald’s announcing plans to phase out their “supersize” option by the end of 2004—the largest size of fries will be 5 oz. instead of 7 oz., for example—trend spotters are starting to wonder if small, in the food world, is about to become the new big.
In a recent article in USA Today, consultant Pam Murtaugh cites an “excess fatigue” among consumers; in response to such a phenomenon, many food companies are starting to introduce smaller-sized options. Kraft announced plans last year to downsize some of their portion sizes: a single serving package of Oreos, for example, will contain four cookies instead of six.
Coca Cola is currently testing an 8-oz. can in addition to its 12-oz. can size in some areas of the country, says Donna Shields, senior manager of health and nutrition strategic communications for the Coca Cola Co.
“We created the smaller can in response to consumer demand,” she explains. “It’s part of our plan to give people a broader range of serving sizes to choose from, depending on how much they want to consume at any given point in the day.”
This little piggy
Though McDonald’s spokeswoman Lisa Howard denied that the decision to eliminate supersizing was based on health or nutrition reasons—it was merely a case of simplifying the menu for customers and crew, she says—much of the impetus behind the creation of smaller portion sizes may be indicative of the country’s increasing preoccupation with its waistline.
“Certainly, if you have concerns about your calorie intake, one way to cut down is to control your serving size,” says Shields. “I think you’ll start to see that trend across the board in many different categories of food.”
Though offering half portions of their sandwiches is nothing new for Folly Road eatery Med Deli, there has been a marked increase in the popularity of half-sandwiches, says manager Libiss Eargle. “Often, if people get a smaller portion, they see that a huge portion is unnecessary,” she says.
The National Restaurant Association estimates that 75% of diners customize their food, which includes splitting a dish with a friend, or ordering an appetizer instead of an entrée. “Restaurants will continue to tap into what consumers are asking for; if they’re noticing that they’re requesting smaller portion sizes, that’s what they’ll start to provide,” says spokeswoman Katharine Kim.
“Not everyone will want these new smaller-sized options, but many people will be tired of huge portions,” adds Britt Beemer, chairman of Charleston-based America’s Research Group, a consumer research and analysis firm. “That’s where the marketing whiz kids can pick up.”
Pay more, get less?
From a business standpoint, downsizing portion sizes seems to make good fiscal sense. So far, customers have demonstrated that they’re willing to pay more to eat or drink less.
The proof? A twelve-pack of standard 12-oz. cans of Coke costs $4.99 at Harris Teeter; 144 fluid ounces of Coke at $4.99 works out at 3.5 cents an ounce. If, however, you buy a six-pack of 8-oz bottles, at $3.99 for 48 fluid ounces, the cost skyrockets to just over 8 cents an ounce.
Yes, the cans are aluminum and the bottles are glass, which may account for some of the additional expense, but even in a direct apples-to-apples comparison, buying small costs more. A 6-pack of 16.9-oz. plastic bottles at Harris Teeter costs $3.59, which works out to 3.5 cents an ounce. A 12-pack of smaller 12-oz. plastic bottles costs $5.49, which comes out to 3.8 cents per ounce.
Similarly, a half-sandwich and cup of soup at Med Deli costs $5.49, says Eargle. A whole sandwich, however, will range from $5.49 to $5.99. As well as cutting down on the customer’s wait time, “it works out well financially for us,” says Eargle.
The decline of ‘trough eating’—or not?
Once a staple of the American landscape, the buffet restaurant seems to be disappearing, says Beemer. “You don’t see nearly as many all-you-can-eat places as you used to, particularly in South Carolina. On the other hand, you’ve got the popularity of the Atkins diet, which says you can eat as much as you want, as long as you’re eating what they tell you to,” he says.
Thomas Hydar, manager of the West Ashley Ryan’s Steak House, which is home to the Mega Bar Buffet, reports that he hasn’t seen a drop in buffet sales. If anything, he says, there has been an increase, perhaps due to the fact that the restaurant has added a lot more low-carbohydrate options to the buffet.
Overall, says Beemer, the gravitation toward downsizing in the world of portion size hasn’t become a bonafide trend just yet.
“It’s something people are trying,” he explains. “If it picks up momentum then it could certainly be a full-blown trend. Then people will be saying that small is the new big.”
Holly Burns covers retail for the Business Journal.
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