Small Packages

In honor of the company's 40th birthday, Starbucks recently unveiled a new logo:

Not really a big deal to most, but I work in the design industry where there is always commotion over rebranding

To celebrate, for a few days Starbucks offered one of their new "Petites" with any drink purchase:

 

  

Basically, they are trendy, bite-sized minidesserts.

Minidesserts seem to be exploding among restaurants, and Starbucks has jumped on the bandwagon. In a recent interview with the Seattle Times, Annie Young-Scrivner, global chief marketing officer at Starbucks, said:

"Our research shows that customers are looking for that little something in the afternoon. They don't want it to be very big. They just want a couple of bites of something to complement their tea or espresso or other beverage."

The reasoning experts give for this growing trend seem simple enough:

1. Money
People are eating out less, and dessert on top of that is a superfluous expense. Minidesserts are relatively cheap.

2. Choices
Restaurant patrons are now able to sample several different desserts for the price of one large dessert, without having to share several plates.

3. Calories
The growing trend toward "healthy" eating and living says that smaller portions are healthier. The Petites at Starbucks are even advertised as being "all under 200 calories."

Let it be known, I do not condone this source

Under 200 calories? Should I really consider that bar low?

A whole bagel with light cream cheese is under 200 calories. So are six cups of popcorn. And what about all those 100 calorie packs full of junk food?

source

Completely by accident, we did end up going into Starbucks during the celebration and getting our free Petites. We chose one Red Velvet Whoopie Pie and one Tiramisu Cake Pop.

Neither was very good.

The cake pop had the consistency of raw cookie dough, and the whoopie pie cakes crumbled in my hand as I ate. They both tasted like your basic, store-bought baked goods (i.e. slightly fake and not as good as it looks).

The nutritional information for all of the Petites is not yet listed on the Starbucks website, but based on my calculations, I think it's safe to estimate that each item they offer is roughly 5 PointsPlus Values.*

Wait, what?

I eliminated 95% of the drink menu trying to pare down my PPV to 2 or less for a drink, and you're throwing in a one-bite treat that is worth 5 PPV??

The worst part is, the same Seattle Times article by Michelle Locke equates the new dessert trend with changing snacking habits:

"People who once packed a bag of trail mix or brought a banana to tide them over the 3 o'clock blahs now may pop into a quick-serve restaurant for a snack wrap or other small menu item."

So instead of a filling 5 PPV worth of trail mix, or a 0 PPV banana, people are buying one bite of cake, on top of the 4 PPV+ drink they're already splurging on, that likely won't keep them satisfied through the end of the day, all of which will likely cost upwards of $5? Seems healthy to me!

Says Kathy Hayden, food-service analyst for Chicago-based Mintel research company, on the snack food trend:

"I don't think anyone's losing weight from them. I think that they're a nice little extra."

Really, Kathy, you think so?

*The Lemon Sweet Squares are probably the best option at 3 PPV.

The full Seattle Times article is here

Find 200 snacks under 100 calories here