September 2017
Featured in this insight: Food & drink, Medical & healthcare, Public health & wellbeing
Poll reveals upselling food and beverage products aids weight-gain: Conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and Slimming World, the poll revealed that upselling food and beverages can add an average of 17,000 calories per person, each year.
Overall, the poll looked at how retailers in the food and beverage sector persuade people to buy more and to what extent the method of upselling contributes to obesity rates.
Out of 2,000 UK adults, 78 per cent experienced some form of upselling from retailers each week, with the average person expected to gain an extra 5lbs a year if they choose to consume the extra portions offered.
In addition to bulk sales and ‘buy one, get one free’ offers, upselling is also a common method used by most retailers to increase sales. They do this by offering customers additional servings through questions like, “would you like to make that a meal deal?” or “would you like to make that a large for an extra x amount?” Out of the respondents that were offered extra portions, 34 per cent upgraded to a larger coffee and 35 per cent added side dishes, such as chips, to their main meals.
As a result of upselling food and beverage products, a person could add 17,000 calories on top of their regular intake each year, if they consumed unhealthy options. Examples of this can include extra fries, adding whipped cream onto hot beverages or at the side of desserts and upgrading regular meals to larger portions.
Following a discussion about upselling, Director of Food and Sustainability at British Retail Consortium, Andrew Opie, adds: “They [retailers] promote and market products in store, but [they need to] ensure there is a balance of products and it is offered as choice rather than upselling."
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