FACT SHEET #2
THE INDUSTRY INCREASES DRINK PORTIONS AND SIZES TO INCREASE CONSUMPTION.
RELATED TO PRODUCT IN THE “4-P” OF MARKETING.
The large size of portions and drinks targets more consumers and encourages greater soft and energy drink
consumption.
3 KEY MESSAGES
to reveal the various traps or misleading messages in food marketing
1. Larger to get you to drink more
• Since the beginning of the 20th century, Coca-Cola sizes have increased by 1000%!!! Sizes 10 times larger than what existed at the
time are now available. Larger sizes are also 10 times more present in supermarkets than in 1970 a-b.
- Early 1900s: a single regular size of 6 ounces (170 ml)
- In the 50s: introduction of 12-ounce (355 ml) and 26-ounce (768 ml) sizes and six-packs
- Today: 237 ml, 355 ml, 591 ml, 710 ml and family-sized 1 L or 2 L.
• This trend can be seen in most junk food: hamburgers and French fries are 300% to 500% larger than they were in the 50s.
• The availability of large sizes and portions reaches various consumer targets but also means greater quantities of the given product
are consumed c.
- You consume 20% to 50% more when you draw a portion from a large container (for example a family-sized bottle of soft
drink) or when you are in the presence of larger portions.
- Why is that? The portions and sizes available have an effect on consumption standards. How? You mind takes a shortcut! You
basically rely on what you see to assess what seems normal to consume, rather than taking the time to determine the exact
quantity served and whether it is appropriate or not for your needs. The portions and sizes you are now offered are for the
most part larger than before, but they appear “normal”. Their omnipresence on the market has changed the standard of what
seems acceptable or desirable for consumption and promotes purchase.
- The larger the portion, the more difficult it is to estimate the actual quantity of food it represents.
- Consumers of large sizes are not aware or inclined to admit that they consume more.
2. Larger sizes to get you addicted?
• The larger the drink sizes, the more you tend to drink and so, the more sugar and caffeine you consume. (See additional
information in fact sheet #1 under paragraphs “A lot of sugar to get you addicted?” and “More caffeine to get you
addicted?”)
3. Still large, but with a smaller name!
• Considering the growing pressure on the junk food industry to revise its marketing practices, certain companies seem to be
burying their heads in the sand. For example, they manipulate consumers by renaming portions with “smaller” names
without actually changing the content or discontinuing the large sizes.
• At Burger King, at least in the United States, the sizes of several items have been renamed, including soft drinks. The “king”
size is now a “large”, and still contains as much soft drink as before; the former “large” size is now a “medium”; the “medium” is
now called “small”, and the “small” is now “value”. The “kiddie” size has not changed name. d.
a) Peluredebabane.com kit. Références- Encore Faim ? Association régionale du sport étudiant Québec et Chaudières-Appalaches.
b) The Coca–Cola Company. History of bottling. Online: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/historybottling.html and Heritage Time line.
Online: http://heritage.coca-cola.com (accessed October 19).
c) Peluredebabane.com kit. Références- Encore Faim ? Association régionale du sport étudiant Québec et Chaudières-Appalaches; J. B. J. Rolls, E. L. Morris and L. S. Roe.
Portion size of food affects energy intake in normal-weight and overweight men and women, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 76, no 6, 2002, pp. 1207-1213;
Brienza V, Elserafi J, Herman P (2010).
The Portion Size Effect: A Review. Journal of Undergraduate Life Science, 4 (1): 78-80.
d) Rudd Center For Food Policy and Obesity (2010). Fast Food Facts: Evaluating Fast Food Nutrition and Marketing to Youth. Yale University, p.43.
FACT SHEET #2
THE INDUSTRY INCREASES DRINK PORTIONS AND SIZES TO INCREASE CONSUMPTION.
RELATED TO PRODUCT IN THE “4-P” OF MARKETING.
Example: Quantity of sugar and caffeine in various sizes of soft drinks
From left to right:
SIZE
1) 237 ml
2) 355 ml
3) 591 ml
4) 1 litre
5) 2 litres
=
=
=
=
=
Teaspoons of sugar
(grams)
Caffeine (mg)
7
(28.5 g)
31 (approximately the equivalent of a 40-g chocolate bar)
10
(42.5 g)
46
17,5
(70 g)
77
30
(120 g)
130
60
(240 g)
260
(approximately the equivalent of a regular cup of coffee)