Case in point: the other day I was craving a good, old-fashioned peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich. After a long, stressful day, I didn't feel like making a full, balanced dinner and just wanted throw together something quick and easy.
So on the way home from work, I stopped by my neighborhood grocery store. I just wanted a single serving of peanut butter. Not only because I just wanted one sandwich, but because peanut butter is one of my weaknesses. In fact, it's like crack. I can empty a whole jar of peanut butter in just a few sittings - standings, is more like it, since I often shovel it into my mouth while hovering in my kitchen in a trance-like state.
Although Jiffy make single servings of peanut butter, you have to buy these packets by the case. And grocery stores don't carry those single servings of jelly like the ones you see at restaurants like Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel.
Luckily, many grocery stores do carry single-serving packets of almond butter. So I picked up one of those. For the jelly to complete my sandwich, I decided to substitute agave nectar. I figured this would "kill two birds with one stone," so to speak, since I could use the agave nectar to spread over the peanut butter and use what was left over as a healthy sweetener for tea and oatmeal.
I looked for a small bottle of agave nectar, like those tiny little squeeze bottles of honey, but the only ones I could find are industrial-size helpings of agave nectar. (Okay, maybe "industrial size" is a bit of an exaggeration.)
Maybe it's not cost-effective for manufacturers to make certain foods in single servings. For example, you can buy a pre-made sandwich at a grocery store deli, but you can't buy two pieces of bread instead of a whole loaf. Who decides this?
A savvy marketer could make a fortune by introducing a line of single-serving food products aimed at single people, those who are always on the go and health-conscious consumers who are trying to control portions and watch their waistlines. I'd love to whizz by the frozen food section and pick up a package with just two slices of bread that I could take home and pop in the toaster or microwave to make a quick sandwich.
And if a fast-food chain had the foresight to start offering peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, even if it was just on the kid's menu, they would attract many customers. Including me.
I looked for a small bottle of agave nectar, like those tiny little squeeze bottles of honey, but the only ones I could find are industrial-size helpings of agave nectar. (Okay, maybe "industrial size" is a bit of an exaggeration.)
Maybe it's not cost-effective for manufacturers to make certain foods in single servings. For example, you can buy a pre-made sandwich at a grocery store deli, but you can't buy two pieces of bread instead of a whole loaf. Who decides this?
A savvy marketer could make a fortune by introducing a line of single-serving food products aimed at single people, those who are always on the go and health-conscious consumers who are trying to control portions and watch their waistlines. I'd love to whizz by the frozen food section and pick up a package with just two slices of bread that I could take home and pop in the toaster or microwave to make a quick sandwich.
And if a fast-food chain had the foresight to start offering peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, even if it was just on the kid's menu, they would attract many customers. Including me.
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