Do
you snack? Well, who doesn't? But how many of us know, the word
'snack' that paraphrases our most engaging pastime viz. 'eating
between regular meals' had sneaked into English from Dutch in the
17th century?
Snacking,
many say even as they nibble a biscuit or lick a lollipop, is
addictive and unhealthy. I am not a hypocrite; so nothing stops me
from reaching out to these goodies. And pampering people like me, is
a greedy industry which keeps serving cocktails of tactics and
tricks, vying to outperform market growth.
All
branded snacks, sport dazzling packages with catchy punchlines and
irresistible offers, but non-standard weights and prices. Years
back, such products used to be sold in packs weighing 100, 250, 500
and 1000 grams. Sans such restrictions, it is now easy to confuse
and coax the buyers to buy more than what they really need, while
paying more for less. This clever strategy lines up countless brand
extensions, multi-pack offers, spot discounts and schemes like BOGO
(Buy One Get One)!
Look
at Potato wafers for example. They come in a wide variety of
flavours like Lightly Salted, Simply Salted, Classic Salted, Tomato
Twist, Tomato Madness, Spanish Tomato Tango, Spicy treat etc. Their weight-to-price mix challenges every conceivable and
inconceivable combinations such as 27g (₹10); 35g (₹38); 45g
(₹10); 78g (₹27); 115g (₹38) and so on. So precise is the
strategy that Pop corns are sold in packets of 99g, and Kukure in
21.5g!
If
you are price-sensitive, the task of picking up a suitable
product strains your basic arithmetic skill. Naturally, in such circumstances, I am reminded of the saying:-
"A
fool and his money are soon to be parted.
And, it is just the beginning!"
And, it is just the beginning!"
Nice one! Enjoyed very much!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. Hope to see you again.
DeleteOne word for these types of businesses is ROBBERY. None in this universe can stop this. This is the truth .
ReplyDeleteAgree with you. Nothing could be truer.
DeleteThanks
No comments because like you I also love to snack. So irrespective of the price we buy the snacks that we like.
ReplyDeleteYes. And those who offer them, know that well.
DeleteThanks Asha
A well researched or a well snacked article on snacking!
ReplyDeleteBut the snakes who sell snacks are more dangerous than the snacks and their BOGO taglines become 'No-Go' for the fools like us.
The irony is that we all know it's bad but still keep gulping this venom of these snakes.... sorry... snacks.. Ha...ha..
Cheers.....
Facetious as usual!
DeleteHope, the snakes you introduced do not frighten my 'over the counter' passion for snacks!
Thanks Partha Deb.
Correct observation, dear Rajan..
ReplyDeleteThe greedy guys as you mentioned, research and find various strategies to lure the buyers . Bundle pricing is one they use to sell more items at higher margins while providing a discount to the customers simultaneously.
Another method is price skimming by setting high prices when a new product is introduced and then gradually lowering the price as competition strengthens.
To be frank, I too like to snack and enjoy it.
Continue writing.. Waiting for the next one.
Thank you.
Johnson.
Apt obsevations.
DeleteThe silver lining in this dark atmosphere is 'YouTube' with numerous recipes, easy and simple to make at home, and which to a large extent substitute the need to buy snacks.
Thanks a lot. Please drop in again.