Although food and beverage manufacturers all try to keep the cost of their products low, they never endeavor to get them to the lowest level possible. What's the use of going too far below the competition? As long as the dominant companies have their comfortable market share, there is little need to go to extra ordinary lengths to make the product less expensive. Actually in many instances, the cost of the product is small compared to the cost of putting that product in a six color pressboard box or in 16oz plastic bottles. Often the packaging cost is greater than the value of the food it contains. In short, the consumer is paying the manufacturers for colorful enticements to buy the brand named item rather than for the nourishment that product provides. And when one considers the prolific numbers of snack food items on the shelves at $2.49 to $3.99 per bag, one can see that the heavy emphasis is on the impulse and mindless consumption part of our diet.
The highest markup can be made chipping and dipping a 30 cent potato and packaging it in a shiny metallic plastic bag for $3.00. After all that bag isn't cheap. Twelve ounces of Wheaty Oaty Ricey flakes in the box costs twice that of a one pound loaf of bread in a simple plastic bag. But if the manufacturer would forego to the colorful packaging and be able to charge the single dollar the food is worth, then the store that makes only a 2% markup would only make 2 cents. Now that is hardly worth stocking on the shelf.
A lot of people and a lot of companies piggy-back on the sales of 'hot items.' Remember the Cola advertising competition that draws a billion dollar annual budget. There are a lot of people behind those costs who derive their livings from the consumer who wants a cold sweet or salty drink and a crunchy potato treat. If the welfare of the consumer were important, we would sell our products without all the hype and pass the saving on to them. But then a lot of people would not be able to earn their livings.
The epidemic of obesity in this nation is part and parcel of the lack of concern that the economy has for the people who consume the goods and cycle money through the GDP. Our companies pound the airwaves with inducements to eat, eat, drink and eat some more. They produce foods and snacks that contain sugars, salts, fats and carbohydrates and bombard the eyes and ears of everyone with the message to consume it. And we consume it.
We consume it to the point where soon an economy airline seat will be obsolete. Our children have reached the point that even the most rigorous exercise regimen cannot offset the calories they consume. Just one teaspoon of sugar daily equals 16 pounds of body weight when consumed in excess of the caloric needs of the person and his/her activity level. One regular 12 oz. soda per day is approximately the same as that raw sugar. But carbonated sodas and salty carb and fat snacks constitute a multi-billion dollar segment of the GDP. So eat it up. Our corporate sponsors need the revenue.
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