Fast Food Treats Are Shrinking

Fast-food restaurants are now targeting the nibbler, with smaller, snack-sized portions.

April 20, 2010

ATLANTA - Quick-service restaurants, with a recent reputation for super-sized portions, are now targeting the light snacker, offering smaller, snack-sized portions, CNN.com reports.

Dairy Queen is the latest QSR to shrink a popular menu item. This summer, it plans to launch a 7-ounce Mini Blizzard, 5 ounces smaller than its current small sized portion.

"Our customers really wanted it," said Dean Peters, International Dairy Queen's associate vice president of communications. "They really requested a smaller-portion size of our blizzard ?" smaller appetites. We also felt there was an opportunity there with a smaller size Blizzard ?" which is our signature product ?" to perhaps bundle it with a combo meal or a food meal, as well."

DQ??s move comes more than a year after Burger King introduced its line of mini-burgers, BK Burger Shots. At the time they were unveiled, company execs said that while the burgers "might look small...they are full of the big, flame-broiled taste." Also last year, McDonald??s launched its Big Mac Snack Wrap, a small, burger-burrito hybrid.

DQ??s Mini Blizzard comes seven months after a successful test in 100 of its stores and while the chain is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular frozen treat.

"We really felt that this was an opportune time to introduce our Mini Blizzard to all of our loyal customers, and of course people can come in more often and enjoy their favorite Blizzard flavor," Peters said.

The outlook for the bite-sized trend is anything but certain, though. Despite a 2009 media blitz, BK Burger Shots did not fare well and have since been removed from BK menus.

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