Why bother going on a mission to Mars? It will be smaller by the time we get there.
The size of a Mars Bar has been reduced from 60g to 53g or a decrease of 11.66%, but did the price drop by an according 11.66% to $1.50? Heck No!
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25563517-36398,00.html
Mars Snackfood Australia general manager Peter West said the move was a direct response to Australia's obesity debate and the company's bars had too many calories.
"Big food is an issue - the portion size that people are eating, whether (it's) the muffin you buy, or the cake, or when you go to a restaurant, the size of the plate in front of you," Mr West said. "We want to make sure we sell our portions in the right size."
Mr West said the price of Mars Bars (from $1.70) had not decreased, although some of the company's other brands would be cheaper.
Admittedly complaining about the price of chocolate is rather a foolhardy thing to do, especially when coupled with the fact that this was reported in a Murdoch newspaper but I have several questions here:
When has there ever been an "obesity debate"? I would have thought that simple common sense (which apparently isn't so common anymore) dictates that obesity is caused a surplus of calorie intake. ie More calories consumed than expended. Where's the debate? There's no debate. So what exactly is going on here?
Does Mars Snackfood Australia (the name snackfood should give the game away here) suddenly care about the health and welfare of its customers? Of course not. The real issue can be boiled down into a very few select words from the article:
11 per cent smaller - The price, however, won't change.
The same simple equation which governs obesity also governs profits. Profits is caused a surplus of monetary intake. ie More dollars collected than expended.
We've seen this before. Cadbury reduced the size of their chocolate blocks from 250g to 200g. Once upon a time there were 13 Tim Tams in a packet before it became 12, 11 and now only 9. Coca-Cola have introduced a new 450mL bottle which is set to replace their 600mL. Head and Shoulders reduced their 500mL bottle down to 450mL. Even the standard size of a loaf of bread fell in 1998 from 750g to 680g and for what purpose? Profits.
Yet again we see business gouging the wallets of people and then "sugar coating" it with an emotional excuse. Well guess what Mars? I'm never going to buy another one of your products again. As a riled consumer who votes with my wallet, I'm taking my hard won moneys and spending them on Titan bars at Aldi, so ha and nyah. And just to add insult to injury, I'm adding to my list of companies that I have contempt* for. Ha and double nyah!
*Rollo's Contempt List:
News Corporation, Holden and GM (but not Opel or Vauxhall), Chrysler, AIG, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, St George, BMW, Vodafone, Telstra, Fiat, Qantas, Emirates, Optus, Campbell's, Wesfarmers, Microsoft, Caltex, Shell, Mobil, Total, Lion Nathan, Renault, and La Porchetta.
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