Small, medium or large? Those options sound simple enough, but my how have they changed in the last few decades.
I went into a convenience store the other day to buy a small fountain drink. I searched for the small cups. And searched. And searched. The “small” was 30 ounces — the equivalent of 2.5 12-ounce cans of soda. The medium was 40 ounces, and the large was 50 ounces. Each of those options was far more soda than I wanted.
So I walked over to the cooler and looked for a can of soda. And looked. And looked. This store only sold 20-ounce plastic bottles of soda. I was working up a thirst just trying to find a small soda option.
Then along comes Starbucks and throws another wrench in the serving cup dilemma. Now I have to remember that a small coffee is a Short, a medium is a Tall, and a large is a Grande. My, lord, this is confusing, and I am not even into the Venti or Trenta sizes.
What changed? Why is a small no longer small, and why is a large a behemoth? Has our consumer behavior really dictated this?
A 2012 story in Mother Jones explained the trend at the time, noting that when McDonald’s struck a partnership with Coca-Cola in 1955, the only beverage size available was a 7-ounce cup. By 1994, McDonald’s was offering fountain drinks size six times larger. The article goes on to state that franchises like 7-Eleven and Kum & Go all offered drinks upwards of 85 ounces — about three times the capacity of a normal human stomach!
After further research I learned that, yes, our consumer behavior is dictating this. But don’t fret, there is a one-word, post-COVID solution for all this: share.
Have a medium Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman President and Publisher Big Green Umbrella Media shane@dmcityview.com 515-953-4822, ext. 305 |