This shouldn’t count as a product recommendation, really. But I was served a bottle of this “Honest Tea” last week, and was delighted. Partially because of the taste—it wasn’t too sweet, unlike most commercial soft drinks—but more because of the label that explained whythey use less sugar than the typical bottled tea:
Sugar, like most goods, has a declining marginal utility. One teaspoon takes away the tea’s bitterness. Another adds a nice sweetness…[but] more sugar adds calories but not much more taste.
Tea + an economics lecture = geek-friendly refreshment!
Apparently, though, I’m late to this tea party: the blogospheredissected this label (and other elements of the company’s marketing) months ago. And it should go without saying that I could save even more calories—plus the energy used for ingredients, brewing, bottling, and shipping—by drinking plain old tap water. Still, the lesson that sweeter does not equal tastier is something that’s probably quite helpful to reinforce.
