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!"
