🍫Guilt lanes: The supermarket’s lucrative sweet spot

The grocery store is packed. You’ve battered your way through the obstacle course of the produce section, elbowed aside the mob at the deli counter, and waited in an endless queue to reach the cashier. Just before you’re finally free, you hit the junk food gauntlet. At the very moment your willpower and blood sugar levels bottom out, you’re confronted with a double-barreled row of candy, gum, chocolate, and other junk food impulse purchases. This is not an accident. The UK has an apt name for these aisles: “guilt lanes.” And the government there is threatening to [ban grocery stores]( from stocking them with unhealthy sweets. Ultimately, guilt lanes are only one of the cognitive tricks used by supermarkets and food companies—but they’re perhaps the most nefarious, and hardest to resist. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Brought to you by [Quartz Obsession] Guilt lanes July 19, 2018 Price check, aisle three --------------------------------------------------------------- The grocery store is packed. You’ve battered your way through the obstacle course of the produce section, elbowed aside the mob at the deli counter, and waited in an endless queue to reach the cashier. Just before you’re finally free, you hit the junk food gauntlet. At the very moment your willpower and blood sugar levels bottom out, you’re confronted with a double-barreled row of candy, gum, chocolate, and other junk food impulse purchases. This is not an accident. The UK has an apt name for these aisles: “guilt lanes.” And the government there is threatening to [ban grocery stores]( from stocking them with unhealthy sweets. Ultimately, guilt lanes are only one of the cognitive tricks used by supermarkets and food companies—but they’re perhaps the most nefarious, and hardest to resist. 🐦 [Tweet this]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [1%:]( Grocery store real estate taken up by the checkout aisle [4%:]( Grocery store profits generated by the checkout aisle [90%:]( Proportion of checkout aisle food offerings that are unhealthy, according to one study [40%:]( 10 and 11 year olds in London that are overweight, one of the highest rates in Europe [71%:]( Percentage of Americans who are overweight or obese [20 lbs/9.1 kg:]( The average amount of chocolate eaten per day by the Swiss, the most in the world [350 million:]( Cadbury Milk Bars sold per year [£5.1 billion:]( Yearly cost to the NHS because of obesity-related illnesses [30:]( Countries that have or will have a tax on sugar Quotable “People come to the category as a ‘reward me’ category. They know it’s indulgent. It’s not a food group. So as we think about the future, we’re thinking about the total snacking continuum.” — [Former Hershey CEO John Bilbrey]( Brought to you by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Meet Hugo 👋 — a chatbot that will keep you on the cutting-edge of tech. --------------------------------------------------------------- In a world of pizza-delivering drones, quantum computers, and AI assistants, it can be hard to keep up with all the change. That’s why Hugo is here to help.[Say hi to Hugo.]( Giphy Million-Dollar Question Do sugar crackdowns work? --------------------------------------------------------------- Forcing citizens to cut back on sugar and calories has had mixed results. There are 30 countries [that already are or soon will be]( a tax on sugar, including France and South Africa. The hope is that, [according to Henry Bodkin of The Telegraph,]( “Either the higher cost of production is passed on to the consumer, who, deterred by the increased price of the soft drink, makes a healthier choice. Alternatively, to avoid paying the tax, companies can take steps to make their drinks healthier, a process known as reformulation.” Mexico is one successful example. After introducing a tax on full-sugar soft drinks, purchases of such beverages [fell by 6 percent.]( But after Denmark introduced a tax on foods high in saturated fat, [it was forced to reverse course]( as consumers flocked Germany to purchase food items, which led to higher food prices in Denmark and did nothing to [change eating habits](. At the very least, the crackdown in England is leading to noticeable changes in popular products, including smaller candy bars. Several manufacturers, including Mars, Nestlé, and Cadbury, offered to reduce the size of their chocolate bars by [20 percent]( after Public Health England announced a goal to reduce the sugar content of foods by the same percentage before 2021. Fun Fact! In Scotland, fans of the popular soft drink Irn-Bru [have been stocking up on the drink’s full-sugar version]( after changes were made to the original formula. Two-litre bottles were selling on eBay for £10 as of March. Giphy Because Science! Why did I buy that? --------------------------------------------------------------- As soon as you enter a supermarket and grab a shopping cart, the mind games begin. Doubling the size of a cart leads to the purchase of 40% more food, [according to Martin Lindstrom, a marketing consultant]( that’s what happened to Whole Food’s carts a few years back. The placement of key items also makes a quick visit nearly impossible. Staples like dairy tend to be [located far from the entrance]( leading customers on a serpentine journey past many of the 44,000 items the average grocery store carries. Then there’s the music. [A study]( of background music and grocery stores found that customers spent 34 percent more time shopping when there was music being played. So yeah, Kenny G is basically lulling you into a trance so you end up buying more yogurt. But the core strategy is to exploit the psychological phenomenon of [decision fatigue]( which afflicts everyone from [judges]( who make lower-quality decision later in the day, to the economically disadvantaged, who have to weigh so many financial trade-offs that they often end up making poorer choices. One of the biggest contributors to decision fatigue is low glucose levels. Making decisions actually takes more energy, and by the time we reach the checkout line, our neural reserves are tapped. So ironically, the only way to traverse the “guilt lane” checkout counter gauntlet might be to eat the very chocolate bar you’re being tempted to buy. Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch Pop quiz What's the world’s most popular candy bar, based on total sales? Cadbury Dairy MilkGalaxy/DoveSnickersMilka Correct. Fifteen million Snickers are sold per year, amounting to more than $424 million in sales. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. The future of food The end of the checkout line? --------------------------------------------------------------- Food companies are running scared: Checkout-line crackdowns like Britain’s, along with voluntary moves by grocers like Aldi, mean that customers could soon be seeing less chocolate and other unhealthy snacks at their weakest moments. And that’s far from the industry’s only problem. The boom in mobile phones has been linked to a [huge downturn in gum and snack sales]( since people now have a ready-made distraction while they’re in the guilt lane. Other technological advances are also chipping away at the retail sweet spot. Self-checkout lanes, which don’t offer the same retail display opportunities, are becoming more common, and futuristic store concepts like Amazon Go [do away with checkouts altogether](. What are candy makers to do? [Pinar Hosafci, senior food analyst with Euromonitor International]( suggests they “reduce their reliance on impulse categories such as [countlines and bagged softlines]( and divert more resources to tablets and boxed assortments.” In 2015, as the trend was just taking shape, Hershey’s vowed to “reinvent the candy aisle,” with uncertain success. One saving grace: Roughly 40% of candy sales come from “convenience retail” like gas stations, which are not affected by the same crackdown or retail changes. But that silver lining may not last long. Electric cars are threatening to [decimate that industry]( as well. Did you know? Guilt lanes aren’t just for supermarkets. Retailers like Home Depot also [stock junk food and candy]( at their checkout lanes. Giphy 🐯tiger takedown Junk food’s most wanted --------------------------------------------------------------- England’s health and social care select committee is [pushing for characters like Tony the Tiger to be banned]( from promoting unhealthy products. Tony, who first appeared in Frosted Flakes commercials in 1952 and [“loves exercising”]( isn’t the only one with a target on his back. 🍯Honey Monster: Introduced in 1976 as the mascot for Sugar Puffs cereal, which was rebranded as Honey Monster Puffs. The slogan [“You’ll Go Monster-Mad For The Honey”]( was a hit in the 1980s. The product is currently 3.6 percent honey. 👦Milkybar Kid: Several different child actors have been used to portray this character since 1961. Terry Brooks, the first Milkybar Kid, [grew up to be a gardener.]( 🐮The Dairylea Cow: The Dairylea Cow tempts children with triangles of cheese, which [has come under scrutiny]( for its high fat and salt content. 🐻Pom-Bear: This bear-shaped potato snack was born in 1987. Pom-Bear is distinguishable from other bear mascots because [he wears nothing but a red and green neckerchief]( and crown (for some reason). Watch this! The Milkybar Kid: Through the Years --------------------------------------------------------------- Nestle has used the Milkybar Kid to promote its product since 1961. See how he has evolved over the years. take me down this 🐰 hole! [The Guardian]( profiles the British scientist who first sounded the alarm on sugar—and how he was silenced. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan Poll How do you resist temptation in the guilt lane? [Click here to vote]( Play Candy Crush on my phoneBuy exactly one of everythingBring own candy bar from homeDig fingernails into own palm while silently screaming The fine print In yesterday’s poll about [office chairs]( 55% of you said you “appreciate their ergonomic efforts.” Today’s email was written by [Justin Sablich,]( by[Adam Pasick]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. 📹big news from quartz! 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