Serve Singular Satisfaction

People eat more from a bigger package than from a smaller package. Researchers at Cornell University and University of Central Florida found that study participants given an 8.4 oz. tub of fresh popcorn ate about 45% more than those given a 4.2 oz. tub. A larger single serving subconsciously suggests to the brain we must eat more to show expected progress.
     However, people eat less from what’s in a big package than from what’s in a set of small packages containing the same quantity as what’s in the big package. Researchers at Technical University of Lisbon and at Tilburg University in the Netherlands found that people hesitant about eating a food product were more likely to overcome their hesitations when presented with small packages than when presented the equivalent amount in a large package. In addition, the people who got started on the small packages ended up eating more than did those who dug into the large package. The participants had said they believed small packages would help them limit their consumption. The opposite proved to be true.
     The explanation is that, when faced with an additional small package, the dieter says, “Oh, it would be only a little bit more,” and then after finishing the next one, says the same thing again. The explanation has less to do with the degree to which eating from a small versus large package sates hunger. In fact, studies at Hofstra University and Baruch College indicate that consuming the entire contents of a single serving package gives more of a feeling of fulfillment than consuming the equivalent amount, and therefore not the entire contents, from a multi-serving package. And it applies to medicine as well as food. Patients feel a two-pill dose has been more effective when taking them from a two-pill container than from a twelve-pill container.
     The physical act of closing out the consumption makes a difference. London Business School researchers offered shoppers 24 chocolates and asked each to select one chocolate to eat. Those who replaced the lid after choosing reported higher enjoyment and more confidence they’d made a good choice.
     Health care professionals wanting their clients to feel satisfied when using less medicine should have patients transfer the pills from large bottles into single-dose pill organizers. Grocery retailers wanting to help customers curb gorging on junk food should sell larger packages instead of multi-packs of equivalent amounts.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Influence Consumption with Shape & Size
Label as Small to Increase Trial
Close Out the Purchase