Saturday, November 1, 2014

I hate to dispute the marketing experts, but as a chocoholic, I object

Skittles

(demonstrating that variety isn't always a good thing)

Well, Halloween was yesterday, but the chocolate-y remains will last for ... at least another 5 3 2 hours.  Which brings me to this article on how, despite increases in chocolate prices, sales of chocolate continue to rise:

Chocolate candy sales for last Halloween hit $217 million, up 12 percent from the year before, the consumer market research firm Packaged Facts reported in September. For all of 2013, the American market for chocolate grew 4 percent, to $21 billion in sales. But chocolate lovers took a hit this summer, when Hershey and Mars announced price increases of 8 percent and 7 percent...  But don’t expect higher prices to dampen sales, analysts said....

Chocolate makers have also adopted a marketing strategy that is increasingly driving sales: the variety bag, a single package filled with several different types of bars. Mars said sales of the variety bag it introduced a few years ago (with Milky Ways, Three Musketeers and such) grew by 14.5 percent in 2012, accounting for 54 percent of its total Halloween sales growth, and have remained strong.

Scientists who research how our brains respond to food have another term for variety: the smorgasbord effect (as in stuffing yourself at Chinese buffets). Studies show that we quickly acclimate to any food or flavor we’re eating, causing the brain to register a feeling of fullness. Variety delays this process by keeping food exciting.

Okay, look, I'm not denying that we habituate to certain flavors, or that variety packs can introduce consumers to things they wouldn't otherwise buy.  But people buy big bags of smaller candies for a reason:  To distribute.  And in that context, they like variety not because they get bored with one flavor, but because as a Halloween candy-giver, you want to give trick-or-treaters a choice.  You never know which kid will hate almonds or love dark chocolate or which kid (uh, kid, yes, we'll go with kid) treats peanut butter cups as a meal replacement.  Variety packs are an easy way of making sure you offer the best treats in the apartment complex no matter who shows up at your door.  I'd rather buy two variety bags than 10 bags of different single-type candies just to give trick or treaters a choice. 

I mean, if I bought 10 bags of candies to make sure I catered to every kid's idiosyncratic tastes, I'd have the equivalent of 8 bags left over.  Which would be... terrible. 

Yes.  Terrible.  That's totally the word I was looking for.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/business_law/2014/11/i-hate-to-dispute-the-marketing-experts-but-as-a-chocoholic-i-object.html

Ann Lipton | Permalink

Comments

TFFW, Ann! I love this post. Please don't make me admit how much my husband over-buys for Halloween, how I keep a bag with assorted minis (various brands and assortments) outside the door of my office, how I offered candy to all of the students in my classes this week in a Halloween candy bowl (chocolate and non, to please everyone), and how I love to buy those elegant Trader Joe's candy bars . . . ! If I had to admit any of that publicly, well, it might be embarrassing, you know? :>)

You know that the "bowl experiment" raises all kinds of different issues, of course--no wrappers, similar sizes, shapes, undifferentiated colors, etc. The note is a hoot, however! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: joanheminway | Nov 1, 2014 5:38:06 AM

This is very interesting. My own observations of consumer behavior are different, and I've responded to your post here:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/cannabis_law/2014/11/variety-bags-of-chocolates-just-for-halloween.html

Posted by: Frank Snyder | Nov 1, 2014 10:39:02 AM

Very interesting perspective, Frank. Perhaps it's a generational thing - I myself find myself deeply conflicted about children who want my favorite candies from the pack - "No, they're mine" versus "Dear God, take them away from me!" You're right, the subject merits extensive further study.

Joan - I am not familiar with the Trader Joe's bars, but now that you've alerted me to them, I'll keep a look out. Recently I was in a candy store in Fredericksburg, Texas, where I had the opportunity to conduct an in-depth comparison of two different kinds of "red velvet" chocolate bars, plus red velvet fudge. For Science, of course.

Posted by: Ann Lipton | Nov 1, 2014 1:04:59 PM

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