The Smaller, The Better?
By Elaine Jair
May 14, 2015If you're a fan of Starbucks, you've probably already heard about the Mini Frappuccino (hereafter dubbed, mini frap), which is the younger, shorter brother to Starbucks' existing beverage sizes. Standing at 10 oz, this drink size is just 2 oz smaller than Starbucks' tall-sized beverage and will cost around 20 to 30 cents less. Starbucks has stated that the Mini Frappuccino was introduced in response to a number of customer demands for a smaller drink size. The Mini Frappuccino was tested in select regions in the United States and the company found that it performed well enough for it to be introduced nationwide and in Canada.
Starbucks isn't the first to introduce smaller portions - after all, McDonalds has a snack sized McFlurry and Booster Juice has snack-sized beverages, just to name a few examples. On the one hand, this is a pretty great marketing tactic. Most health-conscious consumers should be aware of how many calories are in the aforementioned goodies, and by introducing a smaller size and advertising its lower calorie content, companies are able to market towards these customers. Even individuals who rarely frequent these fast food places may feel more inclined to go buy something, as they can now indulge without completely using up their daily calorie quota. Plus, the smaller sizes are a little less expensive, which means customers are likely more willing to purchase these items. Of course, customers also benefit from the lower calorie drinks and they get save some money as well, which is a nice win-win situation for both.
Normally, I applaud companies for introducing a smaller alternative, but in Starbucks' case, I had to wonder, "Why?".
For starters, the mini frap is only 2 oz smaller than a tall, which is roughly 60 mL. In comparison, a snack-sized McFlurry has a serving size of 181 g and the regular sized McFlurry has a serving size of 286 g; a snack-sized Booster Juice is only 355 mL, which is half the size of the regular sized Booster Juice (710 mL). Furthermore, you're only saving 20 to 30 cents, so the mini frap will still carry a price tag close to $4. In my opinion, the difference between a tall and a mini frap are almost negligible to the point where the mini frap might start cannibalizing the sales of a tall. After all, why pay more for just a little more frap? On the flip side, why pay a little less for a little less frap? You could argue that Starbucks isn't attempting to create a snack-sized beverage, but then why would they name it "mini" as opposed to "short"? With a name like "mini", I was actually expecting sampler-sized frappuccinos - which, on second thought, would not be a bad idea at all! Honestly, at this point, I'm just wondering if Starbucks is testing the market to completely replace the tall size with this new "mini" size. Is this a huge conspiracy? or am I just going crazy?
Either way, the mini frap is now available at your local Starbucks through July 6. Try one and let me know what you think.
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