January 17, 2006 · Posted in: General
Mini-size me
AS the disposable income of millions of Filipinos continue to shrink every day, many families are now reduced to buying food commodities and other consumer goods in ever smaller quantities. Nearly 90 percent of Filipinos, mostly from the D and E classes, according to the marketing research firm Synovate’s Global Omnibus Survey in 2004, now buy products in sachets and mini-sizes. A considerable segment of the more affluent A, B and C classes are also opting for mini-sizes, buying mainly food items in smaller sizes.
Because of hard times, the package-downsizing trend, which began in the 1990s with non-food items, has crossed over to processed food. This has meant big business for manufacturers who are now able reach out to an erstwhile untapped segment of consumers who cannot afford to buy items in larger portions.
"Mini-size Me" takes a closer look at this micro-marketing trend that has been primarily responsible for the sachet phenomenon in consumer goods in the last three years. Patterned after the neigborhood sari-sari store’s tingi (retail) system of repacking food items like cooking oil, vinegar, or sugar into smaller quantities, it has allowed cash-strapped consumers to continue buying items that their shoestring budget could afford.
But consumers do actually save up on their expenses when they buy items sold in sachets since the packaging is cheaper by 10 to 20 percent compared to plastic or glass bottles. As Christophe Joyeux, development manager of Unilever Philippines, says, they pay for the content, not the packaging. For the upper classes, sachets also have the added convenience of controlled usage — having just the right amount of item that makes them easy to carry around.
To some though, the sachet mania is not all that good. Sociologist Arnel de Guzman says that while seemingly an economic necessity, it is only a reflection of the Filipino mentality of smallness and nearsightedness. There is also the serious environmental impact to be considered as the the manufacturing industry is generating tons of waste from these plastic materials that are harder to recycle and reuse.
Read on at pcij.org.
5 Responses to Mini-size me
rego
January 17th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
It also prevent so many waste! Which is one of the problem in US. People here are buying things in larger quantities and large quantities are left unconsumed and therefore becomes garbage. This was also traced to their obesity problem. Then there is a problem of storage too!!!
Sleepyjohn
January 18th, 2006 at 8:53 am
All these mini-sizing in consumer products boils down to economics! It’s consumer companies’ marketing/promotions strategies to improve sales during economic crunch. Squeeze out spending money from the consumers in every possible way, despite the low take home pay.
Companies want to survive and so do we! We need to have our daily intake of food, fresh or processed, jumbo or mini-size, etc.
However, the advent of advertising and innovative promotions has made the consuming public suckers to this marvel of media mileage. A low-income family’s food priorities are most often, diverted to other non-essential products, which, are part of the brainwashing scheme of advertising. The creativity of a copywriter in making a product mean good, look good and sounds good is one of the ‘culprits’ in a ‘splurge’ from a low income family bracket.
I just hope that there are others like Candelaria who also know how to stretch their peso. The maturity of the consuming public has also come alive. Because of sad experiences, perhaps, in buying a product which was just polished by advertising, the consumers now tend to have an analytical mind before even taking the plunge again of buying a new product or an innovative/improved/more value packaging.
It may sound that I’m abrasive to advertising/promotions. NO SIREE! I’m into it, being in the media industry spanning for more than 30 years.
However, what I wanted to stress here is the fact that consumer companies are also thinking of making ways to meet the shrinking consumers spending, which is now termed as mini-sizing. As what was stated in the synovate survey, the public embraced the sacheting of products for all the given reasons.
Now, if the economy is good, I’m sure the consuming public will buy essentials or non-essentials products, in varying sizes for all I care.
Just some words to fellow colleagues in media. Let it be an object lesson that the best print material to read is still based on actuarial facts. Let’s leave sensationalism to those media practitioners who are short-sighted, perennially clouding the public’s minds of negativities.Truth in Advertising is still the best tenet in advertising.
mukilteo
January 18th, 2006 at 9:34 am
get rid of the corrupt president and her cronies who are crooked if you want the country to improve.
Chabeli
January 19th, 2006 at 2:30 am
As mentioned by Mr. Arnel de Guzman, a sociologist, “that while seemingly an economic necessity, it is only a reflection of the Filipino mentality of smallness and nearsightedness.” It may also be a reflection of our so-called PRESIDENT.
baycas
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:10 am
“Here’s an interesting business question: if roughly two-thirds of the world’s population makes USD 1,500 or less per year, why try to sell them expensive, bulky goods and services originally designed for consumers who easily make twenty times as much in North America, Western Europe or Japan?”
“To the rescue come innovative micro-selling methods, aimed at new consumers in developing mega-economies like China, India, The Philippines, Mexico and Brazil. It’s all about serving up your products, services and loans in affordable portions, sachets or sizes, so that consumers get to know and like your brand.”
“Meanwhile, you the manufacturer or service provider can still make a good profit from sheer overall volume (smaller sizes, but more buyers). Our sister-publication Springwise New Business Ideas has already been paying quite a bit of attention to these interesting initiatives: now it’s up to TRENDWATCHING.COM to coin the overarching trend:
“SACHET MARKETING.”
read on… http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/sachet_marketing.htm