Portion Control 100

With consumers becoming more health conscious, manufacturers are trying to get the message across that you don’t need to cut their sugary, hi-fat, additive-addled products out of your diet, you just need to eat less of them, hence “portion control� is the next, new thing in product packaging.

Cadbury has already introduced this idea to the chocolate category with portion-controlled chocolate bars. With Cadbury Thins – Dairy Milk and Premium Dark, customers can still enjoy all the pleasure of chocolate at only 100 calories a serving. In fact, 100 seems to be the magic number in this game. Every kind of snack/junk food from Pringles to Ritz crackers are about to be offered in 100 calorie-sized packages. As will servings of fruit flavoured yoghurts and cottage cheese, not to mention frozen pizza.

For the manufacturers, what works out to be less for you, is more for them. We purchased one of the low-portion chocolate bars and guess what? It cost more than the regular-sized one. So who’s getting fat here? The companies, counting on the fact that consumers don’t have the willpower to purchase the large size for less money and only eat half of it (they are probably right), figure that consumers will pay extra for the discipline they are providing. In their minds, it’s a win-win situation for both sides.